Ann Rosamund Oakley (née Titmuss; born 17 January 1944) is a British
sociologist,
feminist, and writer. She is professor and founder-director of the Social Science Research Unit at the
UCL Institute of Education
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...
of the
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, and in 2005 partially retired from full-time academic work to concentrate on her writing, especially on new novels.
Biography
Oakley is the only daughter of Professor
Richard Titmuss
Richard Morris Titmuss (1907–1973) was a pioneering British social researcher and teacher. He founded the academic discipline of social administration (now largely known in universities as social policy) and held the founding chair in the su ...
and wrote a biography of her parents as well as editing some of his works for recent re-publication. Her mother Kathleen, née Miller, was a social worker.
Ann Oakley was born in London in 1944. She was educated at
Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Haberdashers' Girls' School is an independent day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs" (or "Habs Girls" to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Boys' School). The school was founded in 1875 by the Wo ...
and
Somerville College, Oxford University taking her Bachelor of Arts in 1965, having married fellow future academic Robin Oakley the previous year. In the next few years Oakley wrote scripts for children's television, wrote numerous short stories and had two novels rejected by publishers. Returning to formal education at
Bedford College, University of London, she gained a PhD in 1969; the qualification was a study of women's attitudes to housework, from which several of her early books were ultimately derived. Much of her sociological research focused on
medical sociology
Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than cl ...
and
women's health
Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...
. She has also made important contributions to debates about sociological research methods.
In 1985, Oakley moved to work at the
Institute of Education
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...
in London where she set up the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU).
Ann Oakley has written numerous academic works, many focusing on the lives and roles of women in society as well as several best-selling novels, of which the best-known is probably ''
The Men's Room
''The Men's Room'' is a British television drama mini-series that was produced by the BBC and originally aired on BBC2 from 25 September to 23 October 1991. The series, which comprises five 50-minute episodes, was adapted by Laura Lamson fr ...
'', which was adapted by
Laura Lamson for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. She has also written an early partial autobiography. She divides her life between living in London and in a rural house where she does most of her fiction writing. She is a mother and grandmother. Her daughter, Dr Emily Caston, is course director of Film and Television at the
) and television commercials- and author of ''Celluloid Saviours- Angels and Reform Politics in Hollywood Film'' (2020).
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