Laurence Bachmann

Laurence Bachmann is an Associate Professor at the Geneva School of Social Work (HETS-GE), part of the Western Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (HES-SO). She works within the Social Work Department and the Social Research Center (CERES), with additional involvement in the VisionS - HES Health-Social Continuing Education Center. Her academic position focuses on gender studies, social work practices, and personal transformation processes.

Professor Bachmann's research interests center on gender and social work, particularly the transformation of gendered dispositions, becoming a feminist, the appropriation of social sciences, and sociology of self-knowledge tools. Her work examines how individuals transform their gendered dispositions through engagement with feminist ideas and social science knowledge. She has conducted significant research on nonviolent communication, debt management in social work, and masculinity studies.

Her publication trends reveal a consistent focus on gender transformation processes, social work practices, and personal development techniques. Recent work (2023-2025) increasingly examines embodied leadership, reflective practices in social work management, and the experiences of men transforming their relationship to dominant masculinity. Throughout her career, she has maintained a strong focus on how social science knowledge is appropriated to transform gendered dispositions and practices.

Professor Bachmann led a major SNSF-funded research project (2020-2024) titled 'Personal development: a cross-cutting sociological analysis of popular techniques of the self and their scope' with a budget of 406,407 CHF. This project examined nonviolent communication across different contexts including French-speaking Switzerland and California, analyzing how individuals appropriate these techniques and transform their dispositions. The research took an intersectional approach considering gender, class, and other social positions.

She has collaborated extensively with colleagues including Anne Perriard, Sophie Rodari, Anne Ronchi, and Francis Loser, often working in interdisciplinary teams that bridge sociology, social work practice, and organizational development. Her research frequently connects theoretical frameworks with practical applications in social work settings.