Laurie Taylor (sociologist)


Laurence John Taylor is an English sociologist and radio presenter, originally from Liverpool.

Background

After attending Roman Catholic schools including – at the same time as the Liverpool poet Roger McGough – St Mary's College in Crosby, a direct grant grammar school, Taylor first trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College, being associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford East. He also worked as a teacher at Forest Hill Comprehensive School for Boys.
After earning degrees in sociology and psychology, as a mature student, at Birkbeck College and the University of Leicester, he joined the department of sociology at the University of York, becoming a professor at that institution. He is retired from York.
Taylor is sometimes thought to be the model for Howard Kirk in Malcolm Bradbury's novel The History Man although Bradbury and Taylor had not met at the time the book was written. Taylor was then a member of the Trotskyist International Socialists.

Personal life

Taylor is divorced from his third wife, radio producer Cathie Mahoney who works on Loose Ends on BBC Radio 4. He was previously married to journalist Anna Coote, a former deputy editor of the New Statesman, who has also been associated with various public organisations. He is now married to Sally Feldman, journalist and former editor of Radio Four's Woman's Hour and currently a humanist celebrant.
Taylor's son, Matthew, is Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts.

Contributions

Taylor has a particular interest in criminology and was one of the founder members of the National Deviancy Conference. He published widely in criminology, and as a popular author writing on the media and fame. Perhaps his best-known early work was the book co-written with Stanley Cohen: Escape Attempts: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Everyday Life. The book arose from research into the wellbeing of long-term prisoners. He has also collaborated on research with bank robber turned author John McVicar.

Media

Taylor has had an extensive broadcasting career on BBC Radio 4. For many years he was a regular participant on Robert Robinson's fiercely competitive conversation programme Stop The Week, later presented The Radio Programme and took on The Afternoon Shift, a re-branding of the ill-fated Anderson Country. His media associates have included Tom Baker and Victor Lewis-Smith. In 1991 he appeared in the documentary Flesh and Blood: The Story of the Krays.
Since 1998, Taylor has regularly presented the discussion programme Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4, a series mainly devoted to the social sciences. In addition, he is known for his long-running column in the Times Higher Education Supplement as well as for New Humanist magazine and being a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK. He is also the presenter of In Confidence, a series which comprises hour-long in-depth interviews with notable public figures.

Honours

Books

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