Dr Samuel Burgum
Sam is principal investigator on the ESRC-funded ‘Narrow Margins’ project, focusing on the criminalization of trespass and the squeeze upon marginalised communities in England and Wales.
Before working at BCU, Sam was previously been funded by the Leverhulme Trust to explore squatting in London (University of Sheffield) and by the ESRC to research Occupy London (University of Warwick). He has also held teaching posts at York, Warwick, and Newcastle, as well as a research position at the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Sam completed his ESRC-funded PhD (Sociology) at the University of Warwick in January 2016, later publishing this research as his first monograph: ‘Occupying London: Post-Crash Resistance and the Limits of Possibility’ (Routledge).
Areas of Expertise
- Urban studies / urban sociology
- Socio-spatial politics (human geography)
- Public and Private Space
- Housing/homelessness
- Property and trespass law
- Squatting
- Social justice
- Activism (social movements)
- Citizenship
- Direct democracy (organization)
- Power and Inequality
- The politics of history (archives)
- The politics of possibility (aspiration)
- Research ethics, reflexivity, and positionality
- Ethnographic methods
- Photo-elicitation interviews
- Mental sketch mapping interviews
Qualifications
- PhD Sociology (Warwick)
- MA Social Research (York)
- BA Sociology (York)
- PGCert Higher Education
- SEDA Teaching Qualification
Memberships
- Visiting Researcher, Urban Institute, University of Sheffield
- Editorial Collective, CITY
- Fellow Higher Education Academy
Teaching
- Sociology BA
- Sociology and Criminology BA
Research
- Property
- Trespass
- Homelessness
- Gypsy-Travellers
- Squatting
- Social Movements
- Archives
Postgraduate Supervision
- Liam Miles
- Esme Wragg
Currently accepting expressions of interest.
Publications
(Dec 2024) Squatting London: The Politics of Property. Pluto Press.
This research was shared with:
- RC21 Annual Conference, Delhi, India. (Sep 2019)
- XR East London Uprising, Guerilla Garden. (July 2019)
- A Right to Home? University of Brighton. (Jun 2019)
- CURB Seminar Series, University of York. (Jan 2019)
Outputs from Narrow Margins (narrowmargins.info) project so far:
- Urban Institute, University of Sheffield.
- University of Liverpool.. (May 2023)
- UBC and SFU, Vancouver, Canada (Oct 2022)
- RGS-IBG Conference, Newcastle (Sep 2022)
(2024) London Otherwise: A book review of From Sylhet to Spitalfields by Shabna Begum. Radical Housing Journal. [open access]
This research was also shared with:
- The Ella Baker School of Organising (May 2023).
(2023) Critical geographies of occupation, trespass and squatting. CITY. [open access]
This special issue came from a panel:
- RGS-IBG Annual Conference, London. (Aug 2019)
(2022) How the Other Half Lives: Interconnecting Socio-Spatial Inequalities. Manchester University Press.
This edited collection came from an event:
- Peaks and Troughs, University of Sheffield (June 2019)
(2021) Manufacturing Mandates: Property, race, and the criminalization of trespass in England and Wales. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space. [open access]
This research was also shared with:
- Social Scientists Against the Hostile Environment
- Sheffield Hallam Political Seminar Series (Feb 2021).
(2020) This City is an Archive: Squatting History and Urban Authority. Journal of Urban History. [open access]
This research was also shared with:
- Archiving the Inner City Symposium, Brixton (June 2023).
- Inequalities Research Cluster (BCU)
- CCSA, Goehte-Frankfurt University
- Manchester Statues Event
(2019) Squatting, Trespass, and Direct Housing Action - A Report of 'Making Space'. Radical Housing Journal. 1.1
This exhibition went on tour:
- Temporary Autonomous Art (Sep 2019),
- Glastonbury Festival (June 2019),
- University of Brighton (June 2019),
- Leeds Beckett University (March 2019),
- New Roots Co-operative Sheffield (Jan-Feb 2019),
- ESRC Festival of Social Sciences Union St Cafe (Nov 2018).
(2018) Occupying London, Post-Crash Resistance and the Limits of Possibility. Routledge.
This monograph was reviewed by:
(2018) From Grenfell Tower to the Home Front: Unsettling Property Norms Using a Genealogical Approach. Antipode. [open access]
Shortlisted Thinkhouse Early Career Researcher’s Prize 2019.
This research was also shared with:
- National Emergency Housing Summit (Feb 2021).
- Temporary Autonomous Art Exhibition (May 2018)
- SqEK annual conference, Sicily (June 2018)
- Peaks and Troughs workshop, Sheffield (June 2018)
- AESOP Annual Congress, Gothenburg (July 2018)
(2017) 'Progress Through Protest' in Building Better Societies: Promoting Social Justice in a World Falling Apart. Policy Press: Bristol.
(2017) An Interview with Wendy Brown: Redoing the Demos? Theory, Culture & Society. Also available in Spanish:¿Rehacer el Demos? Entrevista con Wendy Brown. Theorin, Revista de Ciencias Sociales.
(2017) Horizon Scanning Report - Managing the Public Perceptions of the Higher Education Sector. Higher Education Academy.
(2017) Peer review of teaching: A rapid appraisal. Higher Education Academy.
(2017) What Does Research Informed Teaching Look Like? Higher Education Academy.
(2016) Occupying London: Post-Politics or Politics Proper? Fast Capitalism. 13.1
This research was also shared with:
- BSA Theorists Symposium, Goldsmiths (May 2015)
- BSA Regional Event, University of Leicester (June 2014)
- Charles University, Prague, Czechia (May 2014)
- AFPP Conference, Manchester Met (April 2014)
- University of Lisbon, Portugal (March 2014)
- University of Keele (Feb 2014)
(2015) Campus Politics, Student Societies and Social Media. The Sociological Review. 63, 4, 820-839
(2015) The Branding of the Left: Between Spectacle and Passivity in an Era of Cynicism. Journal for Cultural Research.
This research was also shared with:
- University of Liverpool (May 2014).
Media Work
London Occupy - The Reunion, BBC Radio 4 (First Broadcast 21st August 2022).
'The policing bill will criminalise Gypsy and Traveller families - there is a better approach'. The Conversation. 25th Jan 2022.
'It’s been 10 years since the Occupy protests. What did they achieve?' The Big Issue. October 2021.
'Protests highlight the scandal of empty housing' - Socialist Worker.
'Housing campaigners demand action on empty homes' - Socialist Worker.
'Learning from housing histories: Why we need to requisition property to address the pandemic'. The Meteor
Public Book Discussion: Vasudevan's 'Autonomous City'. Urban Institute Blog.
'Making Space: Squatting and Trespass' Now Then Magazine, Issue #128.
'Making Space: An Exhibition of Squatting, Trespass, and Direct Housing Action' Art/Law Network.
'They Died Because They Were Poor' Periferies Urbanes.
Available in English / Spanish / Italian / Catalan.
Work With Industry
Currently working alongside partners Leeds GATE (Gypsy and Traveller Exchange) and Streets Kitchen (London) as part of the Narrow Margins project.