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Professor Heather Montgomery

Profile summary

Professional biography

I started out my academic life as a social anthropologist. After a first degree in English Literature I studied for a PhD at Cambridge which wrote on child sexual abuse and exploitation in Thailand. I have held teaching and research positions in Sussex, Norway, Texas and Oxford. My research interests lie within Childhood Studies, especially the history and anthropology of childhood, children’s rights, and interdisciplinary studies of child abuse.  I am also currently the Qualifications Director of the Undergraduate Open programme within the university..

Research interests

Interdisciplinary studies of child abuse, the anthropology of children and childhood; respresentations of childhood; the history of childhood; children and violence; children's rights.

Teaching interests

Open Undergraduate Qualification (Director)  

E225:   Child development: birth to adolescence

E104: Introduction to Childhood & Youth Studies & Psychology

E232: Exploring Childhood & Youth Studies

EK313: Issues in Research with Children & Young People

E809:   Frameworks for Critical Practice with Children and Young People (60 credits)

E808: Children and Young People’s Worlds (60 credits)

 

I have also contributed to modules on Children’s Literature, Law and Child Psychology

 

Impact and engagement

Editor in Chief, Childhood Studies, Oxford Bibliographies, Oxford University Press

The Conversation. “Infanticide: vulnerable mothers who kill their babies can be granted leniency – so why is this historic law being rejected in favour of harsher punishment?” 

https://theconversation.com/infanticide-vulnerable-mothers-who-kill-their-babies-can-be-granted-leniency-so-why-is-this-historic-law-being-rejected-in-favour-of-harsher-punishment-210735

External collaborations

Evaluation and Monitoring for the Oak Foundation, UNICEF and ECPAT

Research groups

NameTypeParent Unit
CREET: Child and Youth Studies Research ClusterGroupFaculty of Education and Language Studies

Publications

[Book review] Belittled citizens: The cultural politics of childhood on Bangkok’s margins, by Giuseppe Bolotta (2022-07)
Montgomery, Heather
Children & Society, 36(4) (pp. 713-714)


[Book review] Golden, Deborah; Erdreich, Lauren and Roberman, Sveta. Mothering, education and culture: Russian, Palestinian and Jewish middle‐class mothers in Israeli Society (2021-11)
Montgomery, Heather
Children & Society, 35(6) (pp. 975-976)


[Book review] Steinberg, Jonah. A garland of bones: child runaways in India (2021-06)
Montgomery, Heather
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 27(2) (pp. 435-436)


Childhood Studies and child psychology: Disciplines in dialogue? (2021-01)
Tatlow-Golden, Mimi and Montgomery, Heather
Children & Society, 35(1) (pp. 3-17)


[Book Review] Oscar Wilde and the Cultures of Childhood (2018-07-31)
Montgomery, Heather
Childhood in the Past, 11(2) (pp. 130-132)


Rural children’s work and school education in the context of rapid economic growth in South Korea (2018)
Kim, Chae-Young and Montgomery, Heather
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 38(1-2) (pp. 165-178)


Understanding Child Prostitution in Thailand in the 1990s (2015-09)
Montgomery, Heather
Child Development Perspectives, 9(3) (pp. 154-157)


Child prostitution as filial duty? The morality of child-rearing in a slum community in Thailand (2014)
Montgomery, Heather
Journal of Moral Education, 43(2) (pp. 169-182)


Children's bodies: the battleground for their rights? (2013-04)
Montgomery, Heather and Cornock, Marc
Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education, 9(1) (pp. 19-34)


Defining child trafficking & child prostitution: the case of Thailand (2011-07)
Montgomery, Heather
Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 9(2) (pp. 775-811)


Rumours of child trafficking after natural disasters: Fact, fiction or fantasy? (2011)
Montgomery, Heather
Journal of Children and Media, 5(4) (pp. 395-410)


Children’s rights in and out of the womb (2011)
Cornock, Marc and Montgomery, Heather
The International Journal of Children's Rights, 9(1) (pp. 3-19)


Focusing on the child, not the prostitute: shifting the emphasis in accounts of child prostitution (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies, 8 (pp. 166-188)


Re-socialising the child from potential enemy to protected innocent: the early fundraising of the Save the Children Fund (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
AmS-Skrifter, 23, (pp. 137-144)


Children within anthropology: lessons from the past (2009)
Montgomery, Heather
Childhood in the Past: An International Journal, 2(1) (pp. 3-14)


Are child prostitutes child workers? A case study (2008)
Montgomery, Heather
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 29(3/4) (pp. 130-140)


Buying Innocence: Child-sex tourists in Thailand (2008)
Montgomery, Heather
Third World Quarterly, 29(5) (pp. 903-917)


Working with child prostitutes in Thailand: problems of practice and interpretation (2007-10)
Montgomery, Heather
Childhood, 14(4) (pp. 415-430)


Gendered childhoods: a cross disciplinary overview (2005-12)
Montgomery, Heather
Gender and Education, 17(5) (pp. 471-482)


Discussion paper in response to 'Dangerous trade-offs: The behavioral ecology of child labor and prostitution in rural northern Thailand' by Lisa Rende Taylor (2005-06)
Montgomery, Heather
Current Anthropology, 46(3) (pp. 426-427)


Familiar Violence: A History of Child Abuse (2024-02)
Montgomery, Heather
ISBN : 9781509552917 | Publisher : Polity Press | Published : Cambridge


Parenting the First Twelve Years: What the Evidence Tells Us (2018-08-30)
Cooper, Victoria L.; Montgomery, Heather and Sheehy, Kieron
ISBN : 978-0241270509 | Publisher : Pelican


An introduction to childhood: Anthropological perspectives on children's lives (2008-09)
Montgomery, Heather
ISBN : 978-1-4051-2590-1 | Publisher : Wiley-Blackwell | Published : Oxford, UK


Understanding childhood: an interdisciplinary approach (2002-11)
Woodhead, Martin and Montgomery, Heather
ISBN : 470846925 | Publisher : Wiley


Modern Babylon?: Prostituting children in Thailand (2001-11)
Montgomery, Heather
Fertility, Reproduction and Sexuality
ISBN : 1571818294 | Publisher : Berghahn Books | Published : Oxford, UK


Owning our mistakes: Confessions of an unethical researcher (2023-02-09)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Richards, Sarah and Coombs, Sarah eds. Critical Perspectives on Research with Children Reflexivity, Methodology, and Researcher Identity. Sociology of Children and Families (pp. 157-171)
ISBN : 978-1529216776 | Publisher : Bristol University Press | Published : Bristol


Adolescents, teenagers, and youth: A time of change (2023)
Cooper, Victoria; Montgomery, Heather and Tatlow-Golden, Mimi
In: Cooper, Victoria and Tatlow-Golden, Mimi eds. An Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology. (pp. 200-217)
ISBN : 9781003358855 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon, Oxon


What is Childhood and Youth Studies? (2023)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Cooper, Victoria and Tatlow-Golden, Mimi eds. An Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology (pp. 10-23)
ISBN : 9781032415956 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon, Oxon


Global childhoods (2023)
Twum-Danso Imoh, Afua and Montgomery, Heather
In: Cooper, Victoria and Tatlow-Golden, Mimi eds. An Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology (pp. 154-169)
ISBN : 9781032415956 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon, Oxon


Anthropological Perspectives on Social Development (2022-03-18)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Smith, Peter K. and Hart, Craig H. eds. The Wiley‐Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development. Third Edition (pp. 135-149)
ISBN : 9781119678984 | Publisher : Wiley-Blackwell


Children’s Rights and Child Prostitution: Critical Reflections on Thailand in the 1990s and Beyond (2022)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Howard, Neil and Okyere, Samuel eds. International Child Protection Towards Politics and Participation. Palgrave Studies on Children and Development (pp. 147-165)
ISBN : 978-3-030-78762-2 | Publisher : Springer | Published : Cham, Switzerland


'I blame the parents': families, experts and the state (2019-06-21)
Montgomery, Heather and Cooper, Victoria
In: Robb, Martin; Montgomery, Heather and Thompson, Rachel eds. Critical Practice with Children and Young People, 2nd Edn (pp. 75-90)
ISBN : 978-1447352822 / 978-1447337195 / 978-1447352846 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Reconciling Childhood and Youth Studies and developmental psychology (2018-07-11)
Montgomery, Heather and Tatlow-Golden, Mimi
In: Montgomery, Heather and Robb, Martin eds. Children and young people's worlds (pp. 7-24)
ISBN : 978-1447348450 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Children’s rights and cultural relativism (2018-07-11)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather and Robb, Martin eds. Children and young people’s worlds (pp. 57-72)
ISBN : 978-1447348450 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Inequality and the social and cultural capital of childhood and youth (2018-07-11)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather and Robb, Martin eds. Children and young people’s worlds (pp. 73-88)
ISBN : 978-1447348450 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Children’s and young people’s cultures (2018-07-11)
Kehily, Mary Jane and Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather and Robb, Martin eds. Children and young people’s worlds (pp. 25-40)
ISBN : 978-1447348450 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Children and Sex Tourism: The Case of Thailand (2018)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Gmelch, Sharon and Kaul, Adam eds. Tourists and Tourism: A Reader (pp. 281-293)
ISBN : 978-1-4786-3622-9 | Publisher : Waveland Press


Anthropological Perspectives on Children’s Rights (2016-09-08)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Ruck, Martin D.; Peterson-Badali, Michele and Freeman, Michael eds. Handbook of Children’s Rights: Global and Multidisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 97-113)
ISBN : 978-1848724785 | Publisher : Taylor & Francis


Understanding the indefensible: reflections on fieldwork with child prostitutes in Thailand (2016-05-19)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Allerton, Catherine ed. Children: Ethnographic Encounters (pp. 141-154)
ISBN : 9781474258180 | Publisher : Bloomsbury | Published : London


The Rise of Childhood Studies (2016)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather ed. Childhood Studies (pp. 1-17)
ISBN : 9781138014992 | Publisher : Routledge


Anthropological approaches to childhood (2015-08-01)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Kehily, Mary Jane ed. Introduction to Childhood Studies (Third Edition) (p 83)
ISBN : 978-0335264285 | Publisher : Open University Press | Published : Maidenhead


Prostitution (child) (2015-05)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Whelehan, Patricia and Bolin, Anne eds. The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality
ISBN : 978-1-4051-9006-0 | Publisher : Wiley-Blackwell


The Dynamics of Culture (2015)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Waterhouse, Lorraine and McGhee, Janice eds. Challenging Child Protection: New Directions in Safeguarding Children. Research Highlights in Social Work (pp. 34-41)
ISBN : 9781849053952 | Publisher : Jessica Kingsley | Published : London


Participant observation (2014-01)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Clark, Alison; Flewitt, Rosie; Hammersley, Martyn and Robb, Martin eds. Understanding Research with Children and Young People. Published in association with The Open University (pp. 122-135)
ISBN : 9781446274934 | Publisher : Sage


Children’s rights since Margaret Thatcher (2014)
Cornock, Marc and Montgomery, Heather
In: Wagg, Stephen and Pilcher, Jane eds. Thatcher’s Grandchildren (pp. 160-178)
ISBN : 978-1-137-28154-8 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : Basingstoke


Prevailing voices in debates over child prostitution (2012)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Dewey, Susan and Kelly, Patty eds. Prevailing voices in debates over child prostitution (pp. 146-159)
ISBN : 814785093 | Publisher : New York University Press | Published : New York


¿Qué es un niño? La visón desde la antropología (2012)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Walzer, Alejandra ed. Qué es un niño hoy: Reflexiones sobre el cambio (pp. 43-70)
ISBN : 978-84-15544-16-6 | Publisher : Comunicación Social | Published : Salamanca


What is a child? What is childhood? (2011)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Liebel, Manfred and Lutz, Ronald eds. Sozialarbeit des Südens: Kindheiten und Kinderrechte
ISBN : 978-3-86585-905-1 | Publisher : Paulo Freire Verlag | Published : Oldenberg


Child Sex Tourism: Is extra-territorial legislation the answer? (2010-09)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Botterill, David and Jones, Trevor eds. Tourism and Crime: Key Themes
ISBN : 978-1-906884-14-7 | Publisher : Goodfellow Publishing | Published : Oxford, U.K.


The rights of the child: Rightfully mine! (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Kassem, Derek; Murphy, Lisa and Taylor, Elizabeth eds. Key Issues in Childhood and Youth Studies (pp. 149-158)
ISBN : 978-0-415-46889-3 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London


Learning gender roles (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Lancy, David F.; Bock, John and Gaskins, Suzanne eds. The Anthropology of Learning in Childhood (pp. 287-308)
ISBN : 075911322X | Publisher : Alta-Mira Press | Published : Lanham


Introduction: Childhood and violence in the Western tradition (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Brockliss, Laurence and Montgomery, Heather eds. Children, violence and the western tradition. Childhood in Archaeology Monograph (1)
ISBN : 9781842179789 | Publisher : Oxbow Books | Published : Oxford, U.K.


Unwanted children and adoption in England (2010)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Brockliss, Laurence and Montgomery, Heather eds. Childhood and Violence in the Western Tradition. Childhood in Archaeology Monograph (1)
ISBN : 9781842179789 | Publisher : Oxbow Books | Published : Oxford, U.K.


Childhood (2009-11-16)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Barnard, Alan and Spencer, Jonathan eds. Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology(2nd editio)
ISBN : 978-0-415-40978-0 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London, UK


The purposes of children's literature (2009-08-26)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Maybin, Janet and Watson, Nicola J. eds. Children's Literature: Approaches and Territories
ISBN : 230227139 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : London


Children and families in an international context (2009-07)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather and Kellett, Mary eds. Children and Young People's Worlds: Developing Frameworks for Integrated Practice (pp. 77-89)
ISBN : 9781847423887 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


Children, young people and poverty (2009-07)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather and Kellett, Mary eds. Children and Young People's Worlds: Developing Frameworks for Integrated Practice (pp. 165-180)
ISBN : 9781847423887 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol


What constitutes transgressive sex? The case of child prostitution in Thailand (2009)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Donnan, Hastings and Magowan, Fiona eds. Transgressive Sex: Subversion and Control in Erotic Encounters. Volume 13, Fertility, Reproduction and Sexuality (pp. 191-210)
ISBN : 978-1-84545-539-2 | Publisher : Berghahn | Published : Oxford, UK


Innocence and experience revisited (2008)
Kehily, M and Montgomery, H
In: Kehily, M ed. An Introduction to Childhood Studies, 2nd Edition
ISBN : 335228704 | Publisher : The Open University Press | Published : Maidenhead


Child sexual abuse: an Anthropological perspective (2007-12-28)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Rousseau, George ed. Children and Sexuality: The Greeks to the Great War (pp. 319-347)
ISBN : 9780230525269 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan


Participation (2007)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Robb, Martin ed. Youth in Context: Frameworks, Settings and Encounters (pp. 89-120)
ISBN : 9781412930666 | Publisher : Sage | Published : UK


A comparative perspective (2007)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Kehily, Mary Jane ed. Understanding Youth: Perspectives, Identities and Practices (pp. 45-72)
ISBN : 9781412930642 | Publisher : Sage/Open University | Published : London


Moving (2007)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Kehily, Mary Jane ed. Understanding Youth: Perspectives, Identities and Practices
ISBN : 9781412930642 | Publisher : Sage | Published : London


Child sexual abuse: The view from anthropology (2007)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Rousseau, George ed. Children and Sexuality: The Greeks to the Great War
ISBN : 0-230-52526-1 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : Basingstoke


Child prostitution (2006-08-30)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Hope Ditmore, Melissa ed. Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work
ISBN : 978-0-313-32968-5 | Publisher : Greenwood Press


Innocence and experience: a historical approach to childhood and sexuality (2004-06)
Kehily, Mary and Montgomery, Heather
In: Kehily, Mary Jane ed. An Introduction to childhood studies (pp. 57-74)
ISBN : 335212689 | Publisher : Open University Press/McGraw-Hill | Published : UK


Innocence and experience: a historical approach to childhood and sexuality (2004)
Kehily, Mary Jane and Montgomery, Heather
In: Kehily, M.J. ed. An Introduction to Childhood Studies
ISBN : 9780335228706 | Publisher : Open University Press/McGraw Hill | Published : Maidenhead


Children and violence (2003-07)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: Local and Global
ISBN : 9780470846957 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Intervening in children's lives (2003-07)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: Local and Global
ISBN : 9780470846957 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Children, poverty and social inequality (2003-07)
Montgomery, Heather and Burr, Rachel
In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: Local and Global
ISBN : 9780470846957 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Family, kinship and beyond (2003-02)
Burr, Rachel and Montgomery, Heather
In: Maybin, Janet and Woodhead, Martin eds. Childhoods in Context
ISBN : 978-0-470-84693-3 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Childhood in time and place (2003)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Woodhead, Martin and Montgomery, Heather eds. Understanding Childhood: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Childhood (1) (pp. 45-74)
ISBN : 9780470846926 | Publisher : John Wiley | Published : Chichester


Adversities and resilience (2003)
Woodhead, Martin; Montgomery, Heather and Burr, Rachel
In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: local and global. Childhood (4) (pp. 1-34)
ISBN : 9780470846957 | Publisher : John Wiley | Published : Chichester


Children and rights (2002-11)
Burr, Rachel and Montgomery, Heather
In: Woodhead, Martin and Montgomery, Heather eds. Understanding Childhood: an Interdisciplinary Approach
ISBN : 9780470846926 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Innocence and experience (2002)
Kehily, Mary and Montgomery, Heather
In: Woodhead, Martin and Montgomery, Heather eds. Understanding Childhood: an Interdisciplinary Approach
ISBN : 978-0-470-84692-6 | Publisher : Wiley | Published : Chichester


Imposing rights?: A case study of child prostitution in Thailand (2001-11-29)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Cowan, Jane K.; Dembour, Marie-Benedicte and Wilson, Richard A. eds. Culture and rights: anthropological perspectives (pp. 80-101)
ISBN : 521797357 | Publisher : Cambridge University Press | Published : Cambridge, UK


Child sex tourism in Thailand (2001-10)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Harrison, D. ed. Tourism and the less developed countries: issues and case studies
ISBN : 851994334 | Publisher : CABI Publishing | Published : Wallingford, UK


Motherhood, fertility and ambivalence among young prostitutes in Thailand (2001)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Tremayne, Soraya ed. Managing Reproductive Life: Cross Cultural Themes in Sexuality and Fertility (pp. 71-84)
ISBN : 1-57181-500-7 | Publisher : Berghahn | Published : Oxford, UK


Child Sex Tourists: Myths and Realities’ (2001)
Montgomery, Heather
In: Harrison, David ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World. 2nd edition. (pp. 191-202)
ISBN : 851994334 | Publisher : Oxford University Press | Published : UK


Children and young people’s worlds (2nd edition) (2018)
Montgomery, Heather and Robb, Martin eds.
ISBN : 978-1447348450 | Publisher : Policy Press


Childhood, Youth and Violence in Global Contexts: Researchers and Practitioners in Dialogue (2014)
Wells, Karen; Burman, Erica; Montgomery, Heather and Watson, Alison eds.
Studies in Childhood and Youth
ISBN : 978-1-137-32259-3 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : Basingstoke


Childhood and Violence in the Western Tradition (2010)
Brockliss, Laurence and Montgomery, Heather eds.
Society for the Study of Childhood in the Past Monograph series
ISBN : 9781842179789 | Publisher : Oxbow Books | Published : Oxford, UK


Children's literature: Classic texts and contemporary trends (2009-08-26)
Montgomery, Heather and Watson, Nicola eds.
ISBN : 978-0-230-22714-9 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : Houndmills, Basingstoke


Children and young people’s worlds: Developing frameworks for integrated practice (2009-07)
Montgomery, Heather and Kellett, Mary eds.
ISBN : 9781847423887 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol, UK


Changing childhoods: global and local (2003-07)
Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds.
ISBN : 0 470 84695 X | Publisher : John Wiley


Trafficking Women and Children: Overcoming the Illegal Sex Trade (2005)
Montgomery, Heather; Evans, Roz and De Sas Kropiwnicki, Zosa
Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford, UK.