Dr Naomi Thompson

Staff details

Position

Reader in Youth and Community Work and Head of Department

Department

Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies

Email

Naomi.Thompson (@gold.ac.uk)

Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups

Naomi is a sociologist of youth and inclusion with a particular interest in faith and other intersecting identities

My research focuses on issues of inclusion and exclusion for young people and communities. I am interested in people's intersectional identities and experiences - and their relationships with religious and other institutions. I teach primarily in the areas of social science, community development and youth work.

Academic qualifications

PhD Religious Studies 2013
MA Education 2008
BA Youth and Community Work 2004

Research interests

I approach research primarily from a sociological perspective, interested particularly in the everyday narratives of young people and communities. My PhD was funded under the AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society programme and explored the peak and decline of the Sunday School Movement in the twentieth century, as well as young people’s engagement with churches in the present day. It was the first substantial study of Sunday school history to explore internal reasons for young people's declining engagement with churches and their experiences of rejection and exclusion.

My current research includes a study of people's religious and spiritual choices in everyday funerals - as well as how these choices vary by age. I am also conducting a study of the experiences of young black and racially minoritised people on social media. I recently led a large Erasmus+ project with international partners from Turkey, Poland, France and Cyprus that developed training and resources for youth workers relating to child sexual exploitation. I also recently completed a three-year study of refugee and migrant women's experiences of integration.

As a researcher, I am most interested in co-produced and applied research that ensures the voices of young people and communities are heard, particularly where these voices have been marginalised and/or excluded. I undertake research that provides clear implications for communities and services and regularly engage in public fora to disseminate my research findings. I edit for the open access journal, Youth & Policy.

Publications and research outputs

Thompson, Naomi. 2023. Using a narrative method to research young people’s religious engagement, past and present. In: L Woodhead; L Cadman and N Graham, eds. Messy Methods: Researching Religion in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rova, Marina and Thompson, Naomi. 2022. Trauma-Informed Practice with Migrant and Refugee Women. In: Naomi Thompson; Rabia Nasimi; Marina Rova and Andy Turner, eds. Community Work with Migrant and Refugee Women: 'Insiders' and 'Outsiders' in Research and Practice. Bingley: Emerald. ISBN 9781801174794