Linnea Wallen is Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Psychology & Sociology degree and a Lecturer within the division.
- Overview
- Research Interests
- Teaching & Learning
I was appointed as a Lecturer in Sociology at QMU in early 2022 and I predominately teach students in BS (Hons) Public Sociology, BS (Hons) Psychology and Sociology and BA (Hons) Education Studies. Prior to this – since 2020 – I’ve held Visiting Lecturer and Graduate Teaching Assistant roles in the Division.
I am also a PhD Candidate in Public Sociology and Psychology, supervised by John Docherty-Hughes and Dr Stephen Darling. I started my PhD in September 2020, following the completion of an undergraduate degree in Public Sociology. My research is based at the Centre for Applied Social Sciences, and I explore how memory is used, understood and conceptualised in museum community engagement work in Scotland.
Between 2020-2022 I was the Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS) Coordinator for the Division. In this role, I supervised and managed the design, facilitation and evaluation of supplementary academic support sessions organised by trained student leaders to support their peers in years below them. Through PALS, I have been part of new student induction activities, with a particular focus on students from WP backgrounds and I have been part of peer-assisted learning community networks across the United Kingdom and Europe.
I have also been the senior student representative in the ASSaM School Academic Board, the co-chair for the Doctoral Candidate Association, as well as the student lead and research assistant for the QAA Enhancement Theme on ‘Resilient Learning Communities’, with a particular focus on students’ experiences of loneliness and social isolation during COVID-19.
My research is interdisciplinary and considers both individualistic, social and cultural theories of memory to understand the different forms that memory work can take in museum community engagement activities. Furthermore, I am interested in what memory ‘is’ in the museum context and particularly amongst people who ‘work with’ memory in that setting. This focus overlaps with my interest in the relationship between memory, identity, narrative and storytelling, as well as how museum art and artefacts can be used as vehicles for self-reflection.
I also have an interest in museological debates regarding the sustainability of community engagement practice, how such work is shaped by museum institutions and the museum sector and the implications interactions with museums can have on individual, community and societal health and wellbeing.
Other research interests includes museums as educational institutions, the sociology of arts, peer-assisted learning pedagogies, and student support in higher education.
Active research interests:
- Museum community engagement
- Memory
- Museum education
- Sociology of art
- Identity, narrative and storytelling
- Self-reflection through art and artefacts
- Peer-assisted learning / supplementary instruction
Research Methods:
- Ethnography
- Alternative and creative interview methods
- Focus groups
- Participatory and collaborative methods
- Case studies
I teach on a range of modules across BS (Hons) Public Sociology, BS (Hons) Psychology and Sociology and BA (Hons) Education Studies with a particular focus on research skills, material culture, community education and current debates in sociology.
Programme Leader:
BSc/BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology
