Ben Laws

Dr Ben Laws

BA MSc MPhil PhD

Ben completed his doctoral research in Criminology here in Cambridge and has been a member of Wolfson College since 2013. He has a background in psychology and strong interests in imprisonment, emotions, meditation and spirituality.

Ben Laws

Ben studied English (BA) at Leicester, Psychology (MSc) at St. Andrews and Criminology (MPhil, PhD) here at Wolfson College, Cambridge. He has professional experience working in a range of mental health settings across the UK and US, mainly supporting those with autistic spectrum conditions (ASCs) and young adults with trauma histories.  Ben’s PhD examined the emotional dimensions of prison life and investigated the ways in which male and female prisoners regulated their emotions. This involved trying to understand the psychological experience of going through a prison sentence.

 

 

Research Interests

Ben has been awarded a three-year ESRC New Investigator grant to explore the emotional dimensions of solitary confinement in England and Wales. The project extends and develops his previous research on imprisonment, by focusing on prisoners emotions at the margins. It starts with the interesting observation that while solitary confinement is damaging for many this outcome is does not appear to be universal.   Ben hopes to understand how managing emotions in particular ways, or learning specific coping strategies, leads to differential developmental outcomes (e.g. more ‘healing’, or more ‘destructive’ pathways).

 

What's on

Footprints at Ain Dara

Reading Ancient Temples through the Lens of Disability Studies and Mobility Design

06/06/2023 at 17.30

How can the archaeology of temples account for people with disabilities?

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Inger Mewburn

Kicking the can down the road: How to create research impact in seven (not so easy) steps

06/06/2023 at 17.30

We hear terms like ‘research impact’ and ‘engagement’ all the time, but what does ‘impact’ and ‘engagement’ actually look like in practice?

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selection of books written by Professor Inger Mewburn

Productivity workshops for researchers with Prof. Inger Mewburn aka The Thesis Whisperer

10/06/2023 at 10.00

Join Professor Inger Mewburn, also known online as the Thesis Whisperer, for one or both workshops to help increase your productivity: Getting sh!t done and Building a second brain (for writing)

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'You' by Gavin Fry

Art Exhibition: 'Things Put Differently'

10/06/2023 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'Things Put Differently' featuring Gavin Fry and works by Anthony Green and Mary Cozens-Walker.

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Photo of artist Gurpran Rau holding a piece of her artwork

Art Exhibition: 'Patterns of Renewal'

10/06/2023 at 10.00

We're delighted to be the first to display Gurpran Rau's latest exhibition 'Patterns of Renewal', featuring a series of paintings created during lockdown inspired by her walks in the woods of Cambridgeshire.

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