About us
We are established internationally as a centre of excellence for research in the fields of personal life, relationships, and everyday life.
The Centre brings together a dynamic group of researchers who are committed to breaking new empirical and theoretical ground, as well as developing innovative and creative methodologies for researching the subtleties and complexities of contemporary everyday lives and socialities.
Our research
We are interested in a diverse range of everyday life issues in the study of intimacy, relationships, and personal life.
Our research is attuned to broader social changes within contemporary societies, and in recent years we have hosted cutting edge studies of civil partnerships and same-sex marriage, the kinship implications of assisted reproductive technologies, and the growing incidence of shared living arrangements.
Sexuality, gender, lifecourse and generation form cross-cutting themes in much of our work, with our methodological influences reflecting our diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
We also have a strong methodological strand to our research, reflected in the Centre having hosted two successive ‘Nodes’ of the ESRC’s flagship National Centre for Research Methods.
Our academic area
The Morgan Centre is based in the Department of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, but the disciplinary backgrounds of our members are diverse, embracing social policy, social work, human geography, cultural studies, gender studies, anthropology, socio-legal studies, biology, and psychology.
We also work collaboratively with colleagues from other discipline areas and research centres, to develop interdisciplinary work and joint research projects, and regularly welcome international visitors.
Our teaching and training
Our teaching portfolio includes undergraduate courses on:
- Sociology of Personal Life.
- Sociology of Family and Intimacy.
- Gender, Sexuality and Culture.
- Self and Society.
- Power and Protest.
- Reproduction and New Medical Technologies.
- Sociology of Fashion.
We also teach undergraduate and postgraduate methods courses, including a master's course on Creative Methods. We also provide training in research methods for postgraduate students and staff.
We welcome students who are interested in conducting PhD research in our areas of expertise. If you are interested in doing a PhD with us, please email a member of the Morgan Centre with an outline of your proposed research.
Engagement
We are committed to engaging with policymakers, practitioners, professionals and community groups our research findings and to develop practical responses to them, such as:
- Sharing our expertise in doing qualitative research with voluntary organisations.
- Working with local councils, housing associations, private sector organisations and charities, including Crisis and Shelter, to share knowledge about what makes shared housing successful.
- Working with family lawyers, charities and user groups to influence policy affecting families with children conceived using donor eggs or sperm.
- Sharing the experiences of families with donor-conceived children directly with people in a similar situation via leaflets and videos.
Our name
The Morgan Centre is named after Professor David Morgan in celebration of his major contribution and life-long commitment to the sociology of families and relationships.
Originally named the Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life, in 2014 we changed our name to the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives to reflect the broadening scope of our research interests. David remains an important and inspirational member of the Centre.
Membership
We have two types of member: core members and affiliate members. Membership is open to University of Manchester staff. Please contact the Centre Directors if you would like more information about becoming a member.