A view of Singleton Campus including Singleton Park and the beach, with the sea stretching into the horizon

Dr Daniel Evans

Lecturer

Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy

daniel.j.evans@swansea.ac.uk

Office - 314
Third Floor
Keir Hardie Building
Singleton Campus

Available For Postgraduate Supervision

Research Links

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3778-4547

About

I am an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in politics, international relations, and sociology. My current research focuses broadly on political sociology and sociological theory, with a keen interest in British and Welsh politics (particularly national identity, devolution, and the rise of the far right); trade unions and the labour process; critical military studies; the sociology of education; and penology. The thread which unites these discrete topics is my long standing interest in social class and its influence on identity, political behaviour, and more.

My research has been published in journals including Work, Employment and Society, Critical Military Studies, Nations and Nationalism, Capital and Class, and British Politics. In 2021 I edited the book The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution. In January 2023 I published my book A Nation of Shopkeepers, exploring the role of the petty bourgeoisie in the modern class structure and its impact on populist politics. In 2026/7 I will publish a monograph based on my PhD- British Wales: Class, Place and Everyday Nationhood- with the University of Wales Press.

I am a public sociologist and have made numerous television and radio appearances discussing my research and providing political analysis for news media. I regularly write about social class and politics for popular publications such as The Guardian, The New Statesman, Unherd, Tribune, Jacobin and many more.

I am also the new programme director for the Sociology degree at Swansea, after previously serving as the department lead for employability.

Areas Of Expertise

Social Class
Wales and Devolution
British Politics
Right populism
Trade Unions
Sociology of Education
Critical Military Studies
Ethnographic Methods
Critical Criminology

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

I am currently teaching a range of modules across the criminology, sociology and social policy programmes at Swansea.

Research

Publications

Research Highlights

Evans, D. (2023). A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie Repeater Books.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66451
https://repeaterbooks.com/product/a-nation-of-shopkeepers/
Evans, D., Smith, K., & Williams, H. (Eds.). (2021). The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution. Parthian.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66452
https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/the-welsh-way-essays-on-neoliberalism-and-devolution
Evans, D. (2019). Welshness in ‘British Wales’: negotiating national identity at the margins. Nations and Nationalism, 25(1), 167-190.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12390, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66454
Evans, D. (2018). Welsh devolution as passive revolution. Capital and Class, 42(3), 489-508.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816817742343, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66455
Pearce, S. & Evans, D. (2018). The rise of impact in academia: repackaging a long-standing idea. British Politics, 13(3), 348-360.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-018-0079-7, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66456
Pye, J., Lindley, ., Taylor, C., Evans, D., & Huxley, K. (2017). Evaluation of the Pupil Deprivation Grant
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66457
https://www.gov.wales/evaluation-pupil-deprivation-grant-final-report
Evans, D., Taylor, C., & Rhys, M. (2016). An Evaluation of the Foundation Phase Flexibility Pilots Scheme
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66458
https://www.gov.wales/evaluation-foundation-phase-flexibility-pilot-scheme-0
Evans, D. & Jones, K. (2025). Change and Resistance in the Royal Mail: Dispatches from the 2022/2023 Postal Workers’ Strike. Work, Employment and Society, 39(5), 1269-1279.
https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170251336938, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69595
Evans, D. (2025). Whither class in critical military studies?. Critical Military Studies, 0, 1-6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23337486.2025.2548640, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70184

All Research

Journal Articles

Evans, D. & Jones, K. (2025). Change and Resistance in the Royal Mail: Dispatches from the 2022/2023 Postal Workers’ Strike. Work, Employment and Society, 39(5), 1269-1279.
https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170251336938, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69595
Evans, D. (2025). Whither class in critical military studies?. Critical Military Studies, 0, 1-6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23337486.2025.2548640, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70184
Evans, D. (2019). Welshness in ‘British Wales’: negotiating national identity at the margins. Nations and Nationalism, 25(1), 167-190.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12390, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66454
Evans, D. (2018). Welsh devolution as passive revolution. Capital and Class, 42(3), 489-508.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816817742343, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66455
Pearce, S. & Evans, D. (2018). The rise of impact in academia: repackaging a long-standing idea. British Politics, 13(3), 348-360.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-018-0079-7, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66456

Authored Books

Evans, D. (2023). A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie Repeater Books.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66451
https://repeaterbooks.com/product/a-nation-of-shopkeepers/

Edited Books

Evans, D., Smith, K., & Williams, H. (Eds.). (2021). The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution. Parthian.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66452
https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/the-welsh-way-essays-on-neoliberalism-and-devolution

Other Research Outputs

Pye, J., Lindley, ., Taylor, C., Evans, D., & Huxley, K. (2017). Evaluation of the Pupil Deprivation Grant
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66457
https://www.gov.wales/evaluation-pupil-deprivation-grant-final-report
Evans, D., Taylor, C., & Rhys, M. (2016). An Evaluation of the Foundation Phase Flexibility Pilots Scheme
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66458
https://www.gov.wales/evaluation-foundation-phase-flexibility-pilot-scheme-0

Taught Modules

ASC114 Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

The module focuses on the historical development of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England & Wales from the 18th century to the present day. It explains the agencies and services that make up the CJS and considers how criminal justice policy is formulated. It brings together the links between the study of criminology, law and social policy and presents definitions and patterns of crime, how it is recorded and reported. It introduces students to the use and shortcomings of official statistics and other sources and considers the response of the CJS to victims of crime.
ASP109 Economics, Politics and Society

This module provides an introduction to the interrelationship between economics, politics, policy and society. The module discusses- inter alia- the history of capitalist development and the emergence of different schools of economic thought; the development of the welfare state and the emergence of neoliberalism; the political-economy of Wales; the global economy; new directions in political-economy, including changes to the world of work and welfare. It considers big questions such as: who makes the decisions that impact on our lives? What ideologies motivate the decision makers and policy makers? Who is in charge of the economy? Are measures such as GDP the best way of understanding economic development? How do economic changes impact different classes? Who gets what in welfare expenditure?
ASP251 Housing Policy, Homes and Homelessness

This module provides an account of the principles and the development of housing policies in the UK from the nineteenth century to the present day. The module assesses government, voluntary and private sector responses to housing the population. There is an exploration of the meaning of home, the purposes of housing policy and the conceptualisation of housing need. The impacts of housing policy are examined, including its human consequences (eg crime and homelessness); the experiences of particular population groups (eg in terms of class, ¿race¿, ethnicity, gender, disability and age); and geo-economic outcomes (eg protection of the environment, land use and urban planning).
ASP256 Education, Policy and Society

This module aims to introduce students to the role of education in society and the impacts of recent educational policies on access to educational opportunities, the governance of educational institutions and on wider social well-being. Through the examination of contemporary educational issues from Britain, students will develop a greater appreciation for the role of education in society.