Warwick Law School News

Warwick Law School welcomes a new Associate Professor to our community.

Prior to joining Warwick, Alex Powell was an Associate Professor in Law at Oxford Brookes University, where he also acted as Director of the LLM Programmes. During the 24/25 academic year, he was also co-lead of the University-wide Migration and Refugees Research Network. The key focus of his research over the last 18 months has been the completion of his monograph, Queering UK Refugee Law: Sexual Diversity and Asylum Administration, which will be available in print in November this year.  

When asked about joining Warwick Law School as a faculty member, Alex told us:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Warwick. Warwick Law School has a strong tradition of studying law in context, and, as an interdisciplinary researcher and teacher, I am very much looking forward to being in an environment with such a clear emphasis on understanding law in all of its complexity. I am also delighted to be joining a university that prides itself on high-quality research, and I am looking forward to making new connections with colleagues and getting to know students.”

We chatted more…

What will you be doing at Warwick?

At Warwick, I will be seeking to further develop my research into the UK asylum system with a particular focus on both its interactions with contemporary politics and how it is experienced by LGBTIQA+ people seeking asylum. In my first year, I will be contributing to teaching on Law, State and the Individual and Tort Law on the LLB, as well as Theories and Histories of Human Rights on the LLM.

What are your research interests?

My research focuses on gender, sexuality, and migration. My first monograph explores how LGBTIQA+ people seeking asylum experience administrative law in the UK. More broadly, as a scholar focused on the areas of migration and asylum and LGBTIQA+ and queer people in the context of law, my research also increasingly explores the intersections of law and politics and law and culture, particularly in terms of how contemporary populist narratives affect the functioning of legal institutions such as the UK refugee status determination system. My work is interdisciplinary in nature, utilising both socio-legal and critical methods to expand our understanding of the law itself and how that affects society more broadly.

Why did you want to study law?

My interest in law flowed from an interest in politics. I have always been interested in how humans collectively form systems and how these systems then construct and govern our societies. Laws, in particular, are often viewed as a foundational framework within which other politics takes place. But they are also (re)shaped by that same politics. In that sense, I wanted to study law to broaden my understanding of the role of law in shaping societies and subjectivities or, more simply, human lives.

University can be very stressful, what do you do to unwind?

I enjoy walking, particularly when it connects me to nature (I am really looking forward to exploring the Tocil Woodland just off campus). I also enjoy reading, pub quizzes, and the cinema.

Professor Andrew Williams, Head of School has said "I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues to our academic team. They are outstanding scholars in their fields who each promise to become a major part of our community over the coming years".

Good luck in your first term Alex, we are thrilled to have you with us.

Find out more about Alex's research.