Ashley Collar

Ashley is a Doctoral Candidate and Teaching Assistant in Sociology at the University of Manchester, with a strong passion for improving the representation of marginalised groups in higher education. Ashley also has had experience as a Hourly Paid Sociology/ Criminology lecturer at MMU.

Born and raised in Manchester on a council estate in Moss Side, Ashley's upbringing has deeply shaped her sociological perspective and her intentions of being in academia: to do justice. Her research interests span across several areas, including the sociology of the body, neurodiversity, class, race, higher education, sex work and anti-racism. Drawing from her own experiences as a young, working-class woman with dyslexia and ADHD, Ashley approaches both her research and teaching with a personal understanding of the challenges faced by those often overlooked in academia. She believes that these experiences provide her with a distinct and valuable perspective in her work.

Ashley’s doctoral research sits at the intersection of sociology and criminology, where she explores the commemoration of the Manchester Arena Bombing of 2017.

As the first in her family to attend university, this achievement carries significant personal meaning. Ashley is committed to making a lasting impact in academia and continuing to advocate and make change for the voices of those who are often underrepresented.

Ashley aims to become a public sociologist, having already shared some of her doctoral experiences and journey on TikTok.

My PhD project is being conducted under the wonderful supervision of Prof. Nick Crossley and Prof. Wendy Bottero. 

Ashley's research studies the community aftermath of the Manchester Arena Attack of 2017, particularly honing in on how commemorative practices contribute to the notion of regional identity, culture and belonging in the city. Through this it becomes apparent that commemoration is tightly bounded in histories, politics of memory and race. 

This only becomes clearer when considering the forms of commemoration that took place both initially and in the present, shaping to include and excludes communities and voices. 

During her time as a Doctoral researcher, Ashley worked with Professor Alice Bloch on a project examining the descendants of Auschwitz survivors and their progenic tattoos. As a research assistant, Ashley contributed by reviewing sociological literature on tattooing and compiling a literature review and reading list to support the project. This role took place from October 2021 to April 2022.

At present, Ashley is consolidating her autoethnographic experiences of academia, with plans to prepare them for publication.

In addition to her research, Ashley is engaged in studying neurodiversity and education, an area she aims to explore further after completing her PhD.

Ashley is also involved in the University of Manchester's Sociology Offensive Language Initiative, where she is helping to develop resources for both staff and students on navigating sensitivity.

First year Courses: 

SOCY10471 Getting Personal: Intimacy and Connectedness in Everyday Life (2022-23, 2023-24)

SOCY10432 Contemporary Social Thought (2022-23)

CRIM424Z0026 Understanding Crime and Deviance (2024-25) at MMU

Second year Courses:

SOCY20051 Education and Society (2023-24, 2024-25)

SOCY20091 Qualitative Research Design and Methods (2024-25)

MMU Exploring Violence (2025)

Marking on Crime, Deviance and Control, Creative Research Methods at MMU, Trial by Media & Representation and Policy Review unit at MMU.

Third Year Courses

SOCY30930 Dissertation (2024-25)

MMU Criminology Dissertation (2024-25)

MMU Diversity, Difference and the Limits of Criminology (2025)

Guest Lectures:

SOCY10440 Researching Culture and Society (2024)
- A lecture on the emotional experiences of doing sensitive research.

MMU Year 2 Exploring Violence (2025)
- A guest lecture on how communities overcome violence.

MMU Dissertation (2025 & 2026)
-Guest lecturing on sensitive research.

MMU Diversity, Difference and the Limits of Criminology
-Guest lectured on week 4: Zemiology, focusing on digital sex work.

-Guest lectured on Critical Victimology- week 8.

UoM Arts and the City: People, Power, and Protest- February 2026.

My favourite part of doing a PhD has actually been interacting with the students, entering each and every tutorial knowing I'm going to learn just as much as what they learn from me. It is this pedagogy that has contributed to the positive and fulfilling relationships I have developed with past and present students.

"The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy" (bell hooks 1994).

Ashley predominantly uses qualitative methods, including interviews, focus groups and creative elicitation tools. Given the sensitivity of her PhD research, Ashley is particularly interested in the emotional experiences of research on both the participant and researcher. 

Although Ashley is primarily a qualitative researcher, she has experience working with Qualtrics survey design, UCINET and R.

Member of the British Sociological Association