Dr Benjamin Adams
Research Fellow
School of Society and Culture
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences
My skills and experience span across the academic social sciences, critical humanities and creative fields. My work in recent years has emphasised research into the conceptual frameworks and practical implementation of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) strategies for youth and, especially, young men, along with broader but related issues regarding radicalisation, ideology, masculinities and social inequality.I am currently part of a project team exploring the intelligence imperatives and implications of digital pathways to violent extremism in young Australians. This includes conducting qualitative interviews with youth regarding the extent and types of their exposure to online communities that promulgate violently extremist, misogynist, far-right and/or ambiguous ideologies.
Previously, I have worked as a research assistant in the Schools of Education at University of South Australia, The University of Adelaide, and The University of Queensland, having contributed to several projects and journal articles focused on the sociology of schooling in a neoliberal context, gendered learner identities and subjectivities, masculinity studies, educational inequalities, countering violent extremism and restorative practices in schools, higher degree research cultures and decolonising educational supervision.
I also have academic experience in the disciplines of English and History, completing a first-class joint honors degree and, later, a literary and cultural studies PhD on the work, persona and cultural reception of American writer Charles Bukowski. In the creative realm, I am a published poet and book, music and arts reviewer, demonstrating high degrees of skill in clarity of expression, composition and communication across a range of contexts.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Postdoctoral Research Fellow (B) | Adelaide University |
| 2025 - 2025 | Research Assistant | University of Adelaide |
| 2024 - 2024 | Academic Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| 2024 - 2024 | Research Assistant | University of Adelaide |
| 2024 - 2024 | Academic Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| 2023 - 2023 | Research Assistant | University of Adelaide |
| 2021 - 2025 | Senior Research Assistant | University of Queensland |
| 2020 - 2020 | Academic Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| 2019 - 2019 | Academic Researcher | University of South Australia |
| 2019 - 2019 | Academic Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| 2018 - 2018 | Academic Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| 2013 - 2016 | P/T Teaching Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Stahl, G., Yemini, M., Maxwell, C., Hu, Y., Adams, B., & Bergen, S. (2026). Australian Activists as Storytellers in Digital Spaces: Acquiring Skills, Producing Content and Getting the Message Out. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 14 pages. Scopus1 WoS1 |
| 2026 | Young, J., Stahl, G., & Adams, B. (2026). Radicalisation as redemption: right-wing male extremists attempting to reclaim masculinity in Australia. International Review of Sociology, 21 pages. |
| 2024 | Stahl, G., Schulz, S., Baak, M., & Adams, B. (2024). "You fight your battles and you work out how you're going to change": the implementation, embedding and limits of restorative practices in an Australian rural community school. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 82-100. Scopus5 WoS2 |
| 2024 | Stahl, G., & Adams, B. (2024). My brother's keeper: masculinities, social mobility and the role of familial care for working-class men. Families, Relationships and Societies, 13(4), 567-585. Scopus2 WoS2 |
| 2024 | Stahl, G., Adams, B., & Oberg, G. (2024). “If you don’t have rapport, you haven’t got anything really”: affective intensities, relationality and rapport building in the work of CVE Intervention Practitioners. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, 17(3), 239-256. Scopus6 WoS4 |
| 2024 | Stahl, G., Adams, B., & Oberg, G. (2024). Understanding the Role of Masculinity through the Perspectives of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Intervention Practitioners Engaged in Men’s (de)Radicalization. Gender Issues, 41(4), 23 pages. Scopus5 WoS4 |
| 2024 | Stahl, G., Adams, B., & Wang, J. (2024). 'You don’t really want to hide it...': exploring young working-class men’s mental health literacy. Disability & Society, 39(11), 2878-2899. Scopus4 WoS2 |
| 2023 | Stahl, G., Keddie, A., & Adams, B. (2023). The manosphere goes to school: Problematizing incel surveillance through affective boyhood. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(3), 366-378. Scopus33 WoS24 |
| 2023 | Adams, B., Stahl, G., & Oberg, G. (2023). “The ideology becomes a way to make sense of that disconnection”: Beliefs, behaviour and belonging – does ideology matter in countering violent extremism?. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 16(4), 648-671. Scopus13 WoS9 |
| 2023 | Oberg, G., Adams, B., & Stahl, G. (2023). The Role of Trauma and Mental Health in Violent Extremism: The Perceptions of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Practitioners and Why We Can’t Get It Wrong. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 32(12), 1744-1762. Scopus14 WoS10 |
| 2021 | Stahl, G., Baak, M., Schulz, S., Adams, B., & Peterson, A. (2021). Preventing violent extremism: Resourcing, stakeholder strategies and fostering belonging and connection in Australian schools. British Educational Research Journal, 47(5), 1177-1193. Scopus10 WoS8 |
| 2021 | Baak, M., Stahl, G., Schulz, S., & Adams, B. (2021). ‘We have to be really careful’: policy intermediaries preventing violent extremism in an era of risk. Journal of Education Policy, 37(3), 461-481. Scopus17 WoS13 |
| 2021 | Schulz, S., Baak, M., Stahl, G., & Adams, B. (2021). Restorative practices for preventing/countering violent extremism: an affective-discursive examination of extreme emotional incidents. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 42(8), 1227-1245. Scopus9 WoS7 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Adams, B., Stahl, G., & Oberg, G. (2026). Be a Man, but Not Like That. In Men and Masculinities at the Margins (pp. 130-144). Routledge. DOI |
| Date | Role | Membership | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Member | Fay Gale Centre for Research on Gender | Australia |
| 2025 - ongoing | Member | Intelligence Network for Social Identity, Groups, Health, & Trust (INSIGHT) | Australia |