Projects per year
Personal profile
Academic / Professional qualifications
I was awarded a BA (Hons) in History by the University of Cambridge in 1983 and obtained my PhD (also in History) from Birkbeck College, London, in 1989.
I held a Temporary Lectureship in the Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Bristol from 1987 to 1991, when I joined the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Southampton. I joined the School of Applied Social Sciences (now the School of Social Work and Social Policy) at the University of Strathclyde in September 2013.
Personal Statement
My research is concerned with various aspects of the social history of health and welfare since circa 1700. I have worked on a wide range of topics within this field, including work on the history of height, morbidity and mortality; unemployment and poverty; the relationship between statutory and voluntary welfare provision; and the origins and development of the British welfare state.
Research Interests
I am currently working on a number of different topics, including the following:
- Various issues associated with the use of anthropometric indicators to study the health and wellbeing of past populations
- The history of sickness and morbidity
- The impact of sanitary intervention on mortality decline (with Andrew Hinde, University of Southampton)
- The comparative history of social policy in the different parts of the UK and the English-speaking world
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Keywords
- Health, welfare, social policy, history, height
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Water, sanitation and health in the first industrial society: Britain, 1780-1930
Harris, B. (Principal Investigator)
ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)
1/08/23 → 31/07/26
Project: Research
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Border Crossings: Charity and voluntarism in Britain's mixed economy of health care since 1948
Harris, B. (Principal Investigator), Harris, B. (Principal Investigator), Stewart, E. (Principal Investigator) & Stewart, E. (Co-investigator)
1/10/20 → 1/02/26
Project: Research
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History of mutualism
Harris, B., 10 Sept 2024, (Accepted/In press) Research Handbook on Historical Sociology. Van Leeuwen, M. (ed.). Cheltenham, 39 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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The legacy of voluntarism: charitable funding in the early NHS
Harris, B. & Cresswell, R., 1 May 2024, In: Economic History Review. 77, 2, p. 554-583 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)44 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Fellow of the Acdemy of Social Sciences
Harris, B. (Recipient), 20 Oct 2016
Prize: Election to learned society
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International Conference on the History of Insurance in a Global Perspective Best Paper Award
Harris, B. (Recipient), Andersson, L.-F. (Recipient) & Eriksson, L. (Recipient), 22 Jul 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File
Activities
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RI&C Wk - Supporting Openness & Transparency in Qualitative Research
Harris, B. (Participant)
12 Mar 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Health and Care Futures: thematic areas workshop
Clark, R. (Organiser), Maguire, R. (Organiser), Sutter, J. (Organiser), Weir, N. M. (Invited speaker), Knifton, L. (Invited speaker), Shu, W. (Invited speaker), Quinn, N. (Invited speaker), Maier, A. (Participant), Kazakidi, A. (Participant), Harris, B. (Participant), Carswell, H. (Participant), Donnachie, C. (Participant), Corrigan, D. (Participant), Congreve, E. (Participant), Rai, H. (Participant), Megiddo, I. (Participant), Smith, K. (Participant), Nguyen, L. K. N. (Participant), McCann, L. (Participant), Gray, L. (Participant), Dennany, L. (Participant), Fossati, M. (Participant), Parra Rodriguez, M. (Participant), Smith, M. (Participant), Miller, M. (Participant), Rattray, N. (Participant), Connolly, P. (Participant), Rodgers, P. (Participant), Atkinson, R. (Participant), van der Meer, R. (Participant), Mueller, T. (Participant), Inns, T. (Participant), Cohen, W. (Participant), Luo, X. (Participant) & Egan, K. (Organiser)
30 May 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course