corbets
Dr Steven Corbett

SENIOR LECTURER IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

BackgroundI completed my PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2014, having studied a BA in Social and Political Studies and MA in Sociological Research in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. I worked for two years as a University Teacher and Research Associate on a series of projects at the University of Sheffield, including as an RA on the How Audiences Form project (https://filmhubnorth.org.uk/how-audiences-form). I joined Liverpool Hope University in 2015 as Lecturer in Social Policy.
Research interestsMy research focuses on social quality theory and democratic participation. I am interested in social quality and its application to society, including the politics of social quality, the democratic nature of the concept, and its potential as an approach to public policy and social justice. I have researched the social quality concept of social empowerment in relation to forms of participatory democracy, such as worker cooperatives and participatory budgeting. I am developing a social quality analysis of the rise of populism across Europe, focusing on Brexit and its implications.I am also interested in cultural participation and have researched how audiences cope with uneven and unequal access to diverse film in under-served northern English regions on the How Audiences Form project.Currently, I am developing a research project on the social quality and social impact of Everton Free School as part of SEARCH
PublicationsCorbett, S. and Walker, A. (eds.) (forthcoming) 'Themed Section: European Social Policy and Society after Brexit: Neoliberalism, Populism and Social Quality', in Social Policy and SocietyCorbett, S. and Walker, A. (2018) 'Between Neoliberalism and Nationalist Populism: What Role for the "European Social Model" and Social Quality in post-Brexit Europe?', Social Policy and Society (forthcoming).Corbett, S. and Wessels, B. (2017) 'Active Audiences and Reflexivity: How Film Audiences Form in Northern English Regions', Participations, 14(2), [forthcoming]Corbett, S. and Walker, A. (2017) ‘Putting “the Social” Back into Social Policy’, in Atkinson, R., McKenzie, L., and Winlow, S. (eds.) Building Better Societies, Bristol: Policy PressCorbett, S. (2016) ‘The Social Consequences of Brexit for the UK and Europe: Euroscepticism, Populism, Nationalism, and Societal Division’, International Journal of Social Quality, 6(1), pp.11-31.
Corbett, S. (2015) ‘The Big Society Five Years On’, in Foster, L., Brunton, A., Deeming, C., & Haux, T. (eds.) In Defence of Welfare 2, Bristol: Policy Press, pp.165-167.
Corbett, S. (2014) ‘Challenging the Commodification of ICTs: The Hacker Work Ethic in a Free Media Lab’, First Monday, 19(12)Corbett, S. (2014) ‘A Critical Qualitative Study of the Relationship between Social Empowerment and Participatory Democracy in the UK’, International Journal of Social Quality, 4(1), pp.7-25.Corbett, S. & Walker, A. (2013) ‘The Big Society: Rediscovery of the Social or Another Fig-Leaf for Neo-liberalism?’, Critical Social Policy, 33(3), pp.451-472. 
Corbett, S. & Walker, A. (2012) ‘The Big Society: Back to the Future’, The Political Quarterly, 83(3), pp.487-493.

Teaching and PhD supervisionI currently teach comparative social policy, social policy theory, social research methods, and corporate power and welfare at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
I welcome PhD proposals in the subjects of social policy and political sociology, in particular focusing on analyses of neoliberal 'social' policies, social quality, participatory democracy, and Brexit and its implications for social policy.
Professional Affiliations
Foundation member: SEARCH, Liverpool Hope UniversityAdvisory board member: European Institute, Liverpool Hope UniversityEditorial board member: International Journal of Social Quality (Berghahn)Editorial board member: Social Policy and Society (Cambridge) (from January 2018)Fellow of the Higher Education Academy