Dr Lynne Copson

Professional biography

Before joining the Open University, I spent 10 years at the University of Bristol, where I studied for a BSc (Hons) in Sociology and Philosophy, an MSc in Social and Cultural Theory, an MSc in Social Science Research Methods, and a PhD in Sociology.

I joined The Open University in April 2016 as Lecturer in Criminology and was made Senior Lecturer in 2021.  Prior to this, I held positions at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh, where I also served as co-director of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Law and Society from July 2014 until April 2016.  In addition, I have previously taught on undergraduate courses in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol and in the Department of History, Politics and Philosophy, University of the West of England.

Professional Affiliations

European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative (HERC)

Research interests

My principal research interests lie in theories of crime, harm and justice; knowledge production; and utopianism.  My current research focuses on exploring the contemporary production of knowledge and the impact of this on conceptualisations of harm and justice, particularly in terms of their respective policy implications for realising justice and ‘the good society’. In this research, I am particularly interested in the development of a utopian methodology. 

Publications

A list of my research publications is available via The Open University's Open Research Online pages or on my publications profile on this site.

PhD Supervision

I have experience of PhD supervision across various areas of research.  I particularly welcome applications from prospective PhD candidates interested in zemiology or the study of social harm; utopianism; and any area of criminological theory.

Teaching interests

Course Development and Teaching

DD105 Introduction to criminology

DD212 Understanding criminology

DD311 Crime, harm and the state

DD804 Crime and global justice

In addition, I have previously taught across a wide range of subject areas and disciplines, including political theory; social theory; sociology; criminological theory; criminal justice; and gender and crime. At the University of Edinburgh, I was course organiser for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses exploring gender, crime and criminal justice.

I have experience as an External Examiner and External Assessor for undergraudate and taught postgraduate courses at a number of institutions.  I also have experience of PhD examination.

Impact and engagement

Reflecting my interest in public sociology and the contemporary climate of knowledge production and consumption, I am interested in breaking down the barriers between 'academic knowledge' and 'the public', as reflected in some of my recent public engagement activity.

I have 'performed' my research on a number of occasions as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's 'Caberet of Dangerous Ideas', organised in conjunction with The Beltane Public Engagement Network, and was an invited panellist at ‘Mark Thomas: The Manifesto Roadtest’, Sunday Herald Verb Garden during the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I have also written about the experience of performing my research in The Beltane Public Engagement Network Magazine (The Beltane Networker).

In February 2016, I was also invited to deliver a TED talk as part of the TEDxUniversityofEdinburgh annual conference.

International links

I have presented papers at a number of conferences internationally, and during my doctoral studies, held an ESRC-funded Visiting Research Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.