Dr Laura Towers
BA, PGCE, MA, PhD, FHEA
School of Education
Research Associate
+44 114 222 0170
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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Understanding sibling bereavement - Meet Dr Laura Towers Laura joined the Sheffield Methods Institute in 2022 as a Research Associate, working with Professor Kate Reed on her bereavement related research. Prior to this Laura was an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. During the fellowship, Laura was able to publish from her PhD (thesis titled ‘Life After Death: Experiences of Sibling Bereavement Over the Life Course’) and collaborate with bereavement charity, The Compassionate Friends, to host a series of knowledge exchange and impact events. While studying for her doctorate, Laura taught across several modules in the Department for Sociological Studies and Sheffield Methods Institute as both module convenor, guest lecturer and seminar leader.
- Research interests
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Laura’s research explores the complexities of relationships and identities within the context of sibling bereavement. She is particularly interested in people’s everyday lived experience of this as it changes over time. Laura’s general research interests are:
- Siblings
- Relationships
- Families
- Identity
- Grief
- Bereavement
- Methods for sensitive research
- Ethics of sensitive research
- Publications
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Journal articles
- ‘There’s a huge hole left in the middle of the family’: locating family practices within the context of (sibling) bereavement. Families, Relationships and Societies, 1-17.
- Family life, trauma and loss in the twentieth century – The legacy of war. Mortality, 24(1), 111-112.
- What death means now: thinking critically about dying and grieving. Mortality, 23(3), 295-295.
- Siblings and the Bereaved Self: Identity (Re)Construction Following the Death of a Brother or Sister. Sociology.
- ‘It would be quite good if there was somewhere that just did everything’: Perspectives on Death Administration Following a Bereavement. Bereavement: journal of grief and responses to death.
- Knowing What You’ve Got Once It’s Gone: Identifying Familial Norms and Values through the Lens of (Sibling) Bereavement. Sociology, 003803852211332-003803852211332.
- Almost Confessional: Managing Emotions When Research Breaks Your Heart. Sociological Research Online, 136078042110367-136078042110367.
- ‘There’s a huge hole left in the middle of the family’: locating family practices within the context of (sibling) bereavement. Families, Relationships and Societies, 1-17.