Ben Gidley

Ben Gidley is a Reader in Sociology and Psychosocial Studies at the School of Social Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, and a Research Associate at the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism. He is also affiliated with COMPAS (Centre on Migration, Policy and Society) at the University of Oxford as an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher. His academic work focuses on urban sociology, migration studies, and the lived experience of diversity in contemporary cities.

Dr. Gidley holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of London (focusing on citizenship and belonging among East London Jewish radicals in the early twentieth century), an MA in Contemporary Urban Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, and undergraduate studies in Anthropology. Before joining Birkbeck, he worked at interdisciplinary research centers on urban studies and migration at Goldsmiths University of London and the University of Oxford.

His research interests span contemporary forms of racialization (including antisemitism and Islamophobia), intercultural encounters, diaspora studies, urban sociology, port cities, transnationalism, and conspiracy theories. His methodological approach incorporates participatory action research, visual methods, archival research, and ethnography, with a long-term ethnographic engagement with Southeast London and historical work in East London. He has led significant research projects including 'Muslim-Jewish encounter, diversity & distance in urban Europe: religion, culture and social model (ENCOUNTERS)' and 'Liminal Waterway Countercultures (LIMINALWATER)'.

Dr. Gidley's publication record reveals consistent thematic development from historical studies of Jewish communities to contemporary analyses of multicultural urban life, with increasing comparative European focus. His work demonstrates methodological innovation in studying diversity, particularly through ethnographic approaches to urban spaces and attention to the spatial dimensions of cultural encounters. Recent publications emphasize Jewish-Muslim relations in urban Europe, antisemitism in political contexts, and postcolonial urban studies.

Key achievements include:

• Leading the ENCOUNTERS project, one of 13 transnational projects funded in the 2021-23 Open Research Area for the Social Sciences
• Co-editing 'Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe: A Shared Story' (2017), a breakthrough volume in comparative racism studies
• Co-authoring 'Turbulent Times,' the first sociological monograph on British Jews in several decades
• Serving as Director of Research and Sociology REF lead for Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck

Dr. Gidley actively supervises doctoral students, with nine current supervisees working on urban ethnography, racialized subjectivities, diaspora studies, and anti-racism. He teaches modules including 'Theories and Sites of the Psychosocial,' 'Hate: On the Power of the Negative,' 'Racism and Antisemitism,' and 'Crossing Borders.' He serves on the board of the European Sociological Association Research Network 31 on Racism and Antisemitism and the British and Irish Association of Jewish Studies.