Postdoctoral Research Fellow
1 August 2016–31 July 2018
Office: Atalpa 223
Tel.: +358 (0)50 509 9041
Email: louise.settle@uta.fi
Research interests
My research interests lie in twentieth century British social history, particularly in the areas of crime, gender and sexuality.
I completed my PhD thesis on the history of prostitution in Scotland during the twentieth century at The University of Edinburgh in 2013. This has since formed the basis of my first monograph that is entitled Sex for Sale in Scotland: Prostitution in Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1900-1939 (Edinburgh University Press, 2013). The book examines the formal and informal ways in which prostitution was regulated in Edinburgh and Glasgow, focusing on both the policing of prostitution and the role of religious voluntary organisations. Particular emphasis is placed on the experiences of the women involved in prostitution, highlighting the poverty, exploitation and abuse they faced, but also the ways in which the women negotiated these dangers.
Since completing the PhD I have held two postdoctoral research positions; firstly as a Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow at The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh and secondly as researcher for an ESRC-funded collaborative project between the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Sheffield entitled, ‘Historicizing historical child sexual abuse cases: social, political and criminal justice contexts.’
My current project is entitled ‘An Emotional State: Gender, Probation and the Regulation of Interpersonal Relationships in Britain, 1907-1970’. The study uses probation case records as a lens to examine the everyday lives and gender relations of working class men and women in Britain during the first seventy years of the twentieth century. By focusing on probation cases involving offences such as wife assault and attempted suicide the study aims to explore the gendered ways in which probation was used to regulate peoples emotional and private lives. The study combines gender history with the history of emotions to move beyond top-down policy histories to explore the role of the state in policing, monitoring and promoting the emotional well-being of its citizens.
List of publications
Monographs
Louise Settle, Sex for Sale in Scotland: Prostitution in Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1900-1939 (Edinburgh University Press, 2016).
Peer-Reviewed articles
Adrian Bingham, Lucy Delap, Louise Jackson, and Louise Settle, ‘Historical Child abuse cases in the England and Wales: The Role of Social Historians’, History of Education, 45, 4 (2016), pp. 411-429.
Louise Settle, ‘The Kosmo Case: Clandestine Prostitution in Britain during the Interwar Period’, Twentieth Century British History 25, 4 (2014), pp. 562-584.
Louise Settle, ‘The Social Geography of Prostitution in Edinburgh, 1900 – 1939’, Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, 33, 2 (2013), pp. 234-259.
Publications intended for professional communities
Adrian Bingham and Louise Settle, ‘Scandals and silences: the British press and child sexual abuse’, History and Policy, August 2015
Adrian Bingham, Lucy Delap, Louise Jackson, and Louise Settle, “These outrages are going on more than people know”: Understanding historical child sexual abuse in twentieth century Britain, History & Policy, www.historyandpolicy.org
Adrian Bingham, Lucy Delap, Louise Jackson, and Louise Settle, “Before Jimmy Savile, there was ‘Mr G’ – the 1920s philanthropist who abused children in hospitals” The Conversation www.theconversation.com
Louise Settle, ‘Scottish Welfare policies in an International Context: Childcare and unpaid carers’. Policy Report for Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), June 2013.
Publications intended for the general public
Adrian Bingham, Lucy Delap, Louise Jackson, and Louise Settle, ‘Sexual Abuse: A Hidden History’, History Today, October 2015.
Louise Settle ‘Denmark shows Scotland the way to improve family lifestyle through more affordable childcare’, The Scotsman, 11 July 2013.
Book Reviews
Louise Settle, Review of Selling Sex in the Reich: Prostitution in German Society by Victoria Harris, Spurensicherung: Feminismus in Aktion und Dokument (2013), pp. 84-86.