Bethany Aylward
مدرس · Intersection of Alternative Archival Praxis and Networked Social Movements
University of Sheffieldمعرفی
Bethany Aylward serves as a University Teacher at the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, University of Sheffield, joining the academic staff in 2023 after completing her PhD in 2024 titled 'Capturing social movements: Web archiving needs of activist collections in the north (UK)'.
Her educational qualifications include:
- BA in Russian and History from University College London (UCL, 2014) with year abroad in St Petersburg
- MA in Librarianship from University of Sheffield
- PhD from University of Sheffield (2024)
Her research centers on the convergence of alternative archival methodologies and digital social movements, expanding into critical archive studies, community web archiving practices, digital inclusion frameworks, systemic bias in library classification systems, and decolonial approaches within public library services. This interdisciplinary work bridges archival science with social justice imperatives in digital information ecosystems.
Recognition includes a 2018 scholarship supporting her activist archivist research. She actively supervises students in her specialized domains while contributing to institutional knowledge through curriculum development across multiple degree programs.
Bethany co-founded the Sheffield Feminist Archive—an intersectional community project preserving womanhood-centered histories—and serves as trustee for the Society for Cooperation in Russian and Soviet Studies (SCRSS). She actively participates in the Digital Societies Research Group and professional associations including AoIR and ASIS&T, driving initiatives that challenge traditional archival paradigms through community engagement.
