Dr Joseph Patrick McAulay

Overview

Joseph is a Lecturer in Criminology at Digital Crime at the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City St George's, University of London where he lectures on the sociology of conspiracy theories. 

Prior to this appointment he was a research fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford. In this role he was awarded a three year competitive Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship which examined the relationship between conspiracy theories, social media, and crime in the United Kingdom. 

Before this he completed a DPhil in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford. His project examined how Queer men navigate and make sense of Intimate Partner Violence from a male romantic and sexual partner using a narrative framework. His project was supervised by Professor Carolyn Hoyle and funded by a 1 + 3 Economic and Social Research Council studentship as part of the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership. 

He has previously worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Oxford's Law Faculty, and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton where he lectured in Global Disorder and Contemporary Issues in Criminology.  

In addition to his DPhil studies and teaching, Joseph has worked on a number of different research projects including for the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oxford's Pro Bono Publico free law research clinic as a research assistant. He was a member of the Cameroon Conflict Research Group which researches and reports on the ongoing civil conflict and humanitarian crisis occurring within Cameroon and has contributed to both of its recent publications. 

Prior to beginning his DPhil, Joseph completed an MSc in Criminology & Criminal Justice at the Centre for Criminology in Oxford, achieving a grade of Distinction.  Between 2013-2017 he studied Law at the University of Edinburgh where he achieved First Class Honours. He was also awarded the McClintock Prize in Criminology for achieving the highest mark in a criminological subject of the entire honours year group. 

Joseph's general research interests lie in digital criminology both through examining the ways digital technologies can facilitate harm and the ways digital research methodologies can help us to understand crime and justice in the contemporary age. He is also interested in the ways in which harm is subjectively experienced by individuals and communities, and seeks to link these experiences to the wider social changes caused by Late Modernity with a particular focus on the sociology of conspiracy theories. 

Joseph's work has been published in leading journals such as The International Review of Victimology, Deviant Behavior, Emotions and Society, and The Journal of Law and Society. 

Publications by category