Lecturer, Department of Social Anthropology
Biography
Bridget Bradley is a social anthropologist whose research covers topics of mental health, kinship and community activism. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Britain; the United States; with online communities; health professionals and within support group settings. She gained her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh in 2019 for research on body-focused repetitive behaviours (compulsive hair pulling and skin picking). This research investigated the experiences of an under-represented group and followed the emergence of the community through acts of advocacy and everyday activism.
Dr Bradley was the Principal Investigator of the project ‘Eco Worrier, Eco Warrior’ that explored everyday experiences of climate anxiety and climate activism in Britain. This work ran from January – July 2021 and was funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Alongside her research, Bridget also teaches on the social aspects of health and illness, and the anthropology of planetary health.
Selected publications
Bradley, B. (2021) “From Biosociality to Biosolidarity: The looping effects of finding and forming social networks for body-focused repetitive behaviours”. Anthropology & Medicine.
Bradley, B. (2020) “Skin Sisters”. In Goldschmidt, P., Haddow, G., and Mazanderani, F., [Eds] Uncanny Bodies. Edinburgh: Luna Press.
Bradley, B. (2020) “Don’t touch your face! The triggers, isolation and social connections of body-focused repetitive behaviours during COVID-19”. COVID-Perspectives. University of Edinburgh Online Blog
Bradley, B. & S. Ecks (2018) “Disentangling family life and hair pulling: Trichotillomania and Relatedness”. Medical Anthropology. 37(7): 568-581.
