Personally, I'd like LGBT+ Laidlaw to be a celebration of the diversity of Laidlaw Scholars – not just in terms of sexual identity and orientation but across disciplines and research interests, nations and institutions. I'd like LGBT+ Laidlaw to bring together Laidlaw Scholars and alumni from all institutions to come together and share experiences, both similar and different.
I'd like LGBT+ Laidlaw to set an example for LGBT+ Scholars which represents a significant departure from the environment in which I grew up – an environment which wasn't unsupportive but which expected LGBT+ people to have limited and stereotypical aspirations, determined simply by their sexual orientation or gender identity.
In practical terms, I'd like LGBT+ Laidlaw to offer unique social opportunities for Scholars who identify as part of the LGBT+ community, both within the Laidlaw Scholars Network and in person, in local, inter-institution events and maybe perhaps eventually at the annual conference.
I also hope that LGBT+ Laidlaw can act as a pathfinder for other sub-networks which will allow all Laidlaw Scholars to feel proud of their heritage and identities, and through this reach their full potential.
– J.R.H.
Final-year Durham student studying Politics; President of Durham Laidlaw Scholars' Organisation; Incoming ESRC-funded MA-PhD student in NINE DTP. My research so far has covered ideological identity in left-wing student activism, examining the interplay of social movement theory and the philosophy of identity, and my general research interests include citizenship education, democratic theory and the occasional bit of political anthropology. Outside of my studies it's mainly twentieth-century literature, cocktails and cooking!
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