Paul Horton

PhD in Child Studies, Linköping University 2011

Master's of Arts and Science in Child Studies, Linköping University 2004
Postgraduate Certificate in Development Context and Practice, Open University 2002
BSc (Hons) International Relations and Politics, Plymouth University 2001

www.bullyingresearch.com

Keywords

Bullying, Violence, Power, Gender, Vietnam, Education, School, Ethnography

Dissertation

Taking seriously the oft-made claim that power relations are central to school bullying, the dissertation focuses specifically on the interconnectedness of school bullying and power relations within the specific context of Vietnamese lower secondary schooling. The dissertation is based on extended ethnographic fieldwork in two lower secondary schools in the north-eastern Vietnamese port city of Haiphong. Drawing on participant observations, group and individual interviews with students and teachers, and questionnaire data, the dissertation questions the hitherto dominant understanding of bullying as proactively aggressive actions and instead shifts the focus away from individual behaviour and actions towards a more in-depth consideration of power relations and the role bullying plays within the institutional context of schooling. Rather than understanding power as something which is held by some individuals who abuse their power when bullying others, the dissertation adopts a Foucauldian approach to power, wherein power is not held but is rather exercised in strategic situations. In doing so, the dissertation illustrates how schools provide not only the setting for school bullying but also the disciplinary framework within which school bullying gains currency.

Publications

Horton, Paul (2011) School Bullying and Power Relations in Vietnam. PhD Diss. Linköping: Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 541.

Horton, Paul (2011) School Bullying and Social and Moral Orders. Children & Society, 25, 4: 268-277.

Horton, Paul and Rydstrøm, Helle (2011) Heterosexual Masculinity in Contemporary Vietnam: Privileges, Pleasures, and Protests. Men and Masculinities. doi: 10.1177/1097184X11409362

Horton, Paul (2007) Searching for Traces of Hegemonic Masculinity in a New Zealand School Setting. NORMA - Nordic Journal for Masculinity Research 2, 2: 163-182.

Horton, Paul (2007) Mobning og antimobningspolitik i skolen - inddragelsen af et børneperspektiv [Bullying and Anti-bullying Policies in Schools - Incorporating a Child's Perspective]. Dansk Pædagogisk Tidsskrift 1/07: 34-43.

Horton, Paul (2006) Failing Boys. NeMMs Nyhedbrev 1: 11-13.

Horton, Paul (2006) Skyld og mobning skaber ensomhed [Blame and Bullying Cause Loneliness]. Ungdomsforskning 1, 5: 31-36.

Horton, Paul (2004) The policing of masculinities: A New Zealand case study. Master's Thesis in Child Studies. Department of Child Studies Working Papers on Childhood and the Study of Children, Linköping University.

Conference and Workshop Presentations

Horton, Paul (2011) Aged Security, Power, and Violence. Presented at the Workshop on Security and the Protection of Women, Children, and Marginalized Groups against Violence in Vietnam and Cambodia at the Institute of Family and Gender Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam, 13-14 February 2011.

Horton, Paul (2010) The Bullied Body: School Bullying and Corporeality in Vietnam. Presented at the 4th Gendering Asia Network Conference at Copenhagen University, Denmark, 11-13 November 2010.

Horton, Paul (2010) Bullying, Childhood, and Social Security in Vietnam. Presented at the Workshop on Security and the Protection of Women, Children, and Marginalized Groups against Violence in Vietnam and Cambodia at Lund University, Sweden, 5-8 October 2010. 

Horton, Paul (2010) School Bullying and Corporeal Insecurity in Vietnam. Presented at the European Association for South-East Asian Studies (EUROSEAS) Conference at Gothenburg University, Sweden, 26-28 August 2010.

Horton, Paul and Rydström, Helle (2009) Heterosexual Masculinities in Vietnam: Pleasures, Possibilities, Protests, and Power. Presented at the International Convention of Asian Scholars’ 6th Conference in Daejon, South Korea, 6-9 August 2009.

Horton, Paul (2008) Stressing the Body: Taking the 'Least Adult' Role in a Vietnamese Secondary School Setting. Presented at the Transformations: Researching Asia conference, York University, Toronto, Canada, September 26-27 2008.

Horton, Paul (2006) Bullying and Anti-bullying Policies at School. Presented at the COST A19 Final Conference, Roskilde University Denmark, June 15-18 2006.

Horton, Paul (2006) Bullies and the Bullied - the construction of a discourse of blame. Presented at the NYRIS 9 Conference, Södertörns Högskola Stockholm, January 12-14 2006.

Horton, Paul (2005) A Contextualization of School Bullying. Presented at the Workshop on Educating Citizens, Center for East and Southeast Asian Studies, Lund University, November 1-2 2005.

Horton, Paul (2005) Bullying and Educational Practices. Presented at the international research symposium Individualization and Institutionalization of Childhood in Contemporary Welfare Societies, Roskilde University Denmark, June 1-3 2005.

Horton, Paul (2004) Bullying and Educational Practice. Presented at the International Summer School 2004: Lifelong Learning and Marginalization, Roskilde University Denmark, August 3-13 2004.