It's possible to discern three main themes & points of interest in my work over the past ten years

i) Explanations of the social/the self/ideas of the human in terms of the biological - this connects my interest in physiognomy and phrenology in the 18th and 19th centuries, with my interest in genetics and genomics as these sciences evolve in the 21st.

ii) Normative debates over the value of nonhuman life, and how these impact upon social theory debates on modernity, postmodernity and progress. Relatedly here I'm interested in the role of dualistic thought in shaping the human, as well as posthumanist (feminist, ecological) alternatives to this.

iii) Attempts in social science and philosophy to unravel overly pure conceptualisations (ontologically incorrect such as false separations of society/nature, and human/animal as well as ideologically constructed e.g. gendered) and so to take into account the hybridity of nature/society and emphasise how sociological concepts are historically constructed.

Over the last few years I have been working in these areas -

BIOETHICS - critical bioethics / feminist bioethics / animal bioethics / enhancement

REGULATORY/POLICY SPHERE - stem cell research / animal genomics / research dissemination / policy engagement – DEFRA

SOCIOLOGY OF HUMAN/ANIMAL RELATIONS – empirical engagement with animal science communities of relevance to emergent technologies in farm animal breeding / toward theoretical understandings of animal biotechnologies / issues around reflexivity and the role of the social scientist in this area.

Here is a sketchy overall chronology -

At Stirling i initially enrolled as a major in Environmental Science (1991), but dropped this after the first semester to concentrate on Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology. Some of the most significant courses I took during my undergraduate degree were on sociological theory, women's studies, psychology of the emotions, the sociology of the body, the sociology of health and illness and environmental sociology. Influential tutors were Sue Scott and Mick Smith. It was also during this time that I developed an interest in critiques of the idea of the body as representational and readable. Unsurprisingly this led me to an interest in Physiognomy. The other main interest to coalesce toward the end of the degree was an interest in non-reductionist and intersectional theories of power. This led me toward Ecofeminism.

Straight after Stirling in 1995 I made my way to another 1960s campus university, this time in Essex of all places. Not as picturesque as Stirling yet the home of a world renowned Sociology department, and strangely enough where both my parents had studied Sociology nearly 30 years earlier (see Fred Twine ). This was an intensive year training in research methods and social theory. Also, coincidentally a course on ecofeminism. I was able to further my knowledge of feminist theory, post-colonial theory and environmental sociology. An influential tutor at Essex was Tony Woodiwiss.

After a year of participant observation rat racing in London, I returned northwards in 1997 to Manchester to start a doctorate. This was a chance to craft together various strands of interest already developed. You can download a copy here. Here I must thank Gail Hawkes for supervisory duties and Anne Witz who was my external examiner. This was also a chance to begin teaching (aged 23) which also turned into opportunities to explore new interests such as the sociology of the new genetics, animal ethics and the sociology of sexualities.

Post-doc in 2002 I obtained employment at the Institute of Environment, Philosophy, and Public Policy (IEPPP), Lancaster University,and began exploring in more detail the field of bioethics, under the guidance of Ruth Chadwick. In 2004 I remained at Lancaster but became formally associated with the ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics, as a researcher on a project entitled 'Reconfigurations of human-animal relations in Genomics and beyond'. On this I work on my own as Principal Investigator. At Lancaster I have furthered my teaching experience by participating in postgraduate teaching. In 2005 i put together my own course entitled 'Animals, Ethics and Biotechnology'. In 2005 along with Ruth Chadwick I created the online journal Genomics, Society and Policy. In 2006 I was made Postgraduate Director of CESAGen in Lancaster. In 2007 I was awarded a Faculty research prize in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster University, as well as a Visiting Fellowship at North Carolina State University (Animals and Society Institute).