Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole is a Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at Coventry University's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Her work focuses on race, political activism, power dynamics, and resistance movements. She holds a PhD (2021) exploring leadership in social movements like Black Lives Matter, with comparative analysis of Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Feminist organizations.

Education: PhD in Sociology (2021), MRes Sociology (UK), MA International Relations (UK), and BS Political Science (USA). Her research bridges Black Studies with criminological perspectives, emphasizing organizational structures of contemporary social movements.

Research highlights include analyzing hashtag activism, decentralized leadership models, and challenges of online organizing in movements like BLM. Her publications examine themes such as organic intellectual development in movements and transnational solidarity networks. Current projects aim to develop her thesis into a book.

Teaching experience includes roles as Teaching Assistant with Kimberlé Crenshaw's African American Policy Forum. Her work critiques structural racism and explores pathways for transformative activism.