Staff profile

Adam Dickson is an interdisciplinary doctoral researcher in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences and the School of Government and International Affairs, with a professional background spanning the NHS, policing, and secondary education. His diverse frontline, public sector experience has shaped a strong interdisciplinary perspective on public health, trauma, and social equity.

His academic and professional interests lie in the development of trauma informed approaches to policy, curriculum design, and institutional practice - particularly within systems of education.  He is committed to advancing socially responsive frameworks that support marginalised or underrepresented groups, drawing on both research and real-world application.

Adam holds an MA in Trauma Informed Practice, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (St Mary's College, Durham), and Qualified Teacher Status.

Affiliations

Member, Chartered College of Teaching

Postgraduate Fellow, London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism

Early Career Research Member, Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing

Research Committee Member, Centre for the Study of Jewish Society, Culture and Politics

Research

Adam’s doctoral research considers trauma informed approaches to combatting antisemitism within English football, with a particular focus on how lived experience and generational memory shape responses to hate speech.  His project employs a mixed-methods design, combining walking interviews and digital discourse analysis, to examine the intersection of how moral injury, generational trauma, and collective identity influence the behaviours and coping mechanisms of Anglo-Jewish supporters.  By understanding these dynamics - both within stadia and in online environments - his work aims to inform practical, community focused interventions that support resilience and improve the design and delivery of countermeasures to resurging antisemitism.  

Across his research portfolio, Adam maintains a clear commitment to practical impact: using scholarship to inform policy, support vulnerable groups, and embed equity and psychological safety within education, sport, and public health systems.  Adam has previously curated research into the role of trauma within educational and social systems.  This has included research into how the national history curriculum relates, and is accessible to, the lived experiences of ethnic minority students; as well as an examination of the developmental and behavioural impacts of military connected children with British schools.

Research Interests

•         Antisemitism in contemporary society
•         Generational trauma and moral injury
•         Jewish identity and collective memory
•         Digital hate speech and online discourse regarding minority groups
•         Sociological implications of the Holocaust
•         Embedding trauma informed and decolonial approaches in educational policy and curricula

Teaching Responsibilities

Adam currently teaches on both the BA (Hons) Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity and the BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences.  He contributes to a number of modules across the curriculum, including two level one modules:

• Introduction to sociology of sport (SPRT1271)
• Academic skills for sport and exercise science (SPRT 1321)

In addition to this, Adam also teaches on the following level two module, focusing on qualitative methods:

• Contemporary research in sport and exercise sciences (SPRT2432)

Appearances

Television 

Barbarians vs DURFC

Join Adam Dickson and Alannah O'Hare as they present live coverage of the 150th anniversary of Durham University Rugby Football Club

Podcasts

Speaking Out... in conversation with Adam Dickson

Erica Marks, CEO of the Jewish Sexual Abuse Support Service, in conversation with Adam Dickson for an in-depth discussion on how generational trauma impacts individuals and the ways in which it can be countered for victims of abuse

Ustinov Insights welcomes Trish McGarrahan

In this episode, Adam Dickson interviews Trish McGarrahan, author of the Saint of Lost Souls

Conference Presentations

After Genocide and Mass Violence: What Next?

Paper presented - Beyond the facts: balancing truth and trauma in history education.  Holocaust Centre North, University of Huddersfield, October 2025

Journal Article

• Beyond the facts: A trauma-informed approach to balancing truth and trauma in history education
  
  Dickson, A. (2025). Beyond the facts: A trauma-informed approach to balancing truth and trauma in history education. Impact: The Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 25.