Centre for Love, Sex and Relationships

The Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships

A research group dedicated to deepening our understanding of the nature and significance of intimacy, how relationships may be supported by technology, social institutions, and the state.

Three hands clasped together

The Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships (CLSR) is a research group within the School of Philosophy, Religion, and the History of Science at Leeds. We are interested in deepening our understanding of the nature and significance of intimacy, and exploring the ways different relationships might be impacted by technology, social institutions, and the state. The centre exists to foster academic research at Leeds, establish connections with industry leaders, organise events and workshops, support graduate research, and to engage with the public.

Directors: Dr. Natasha McKeever and Dr. Luke Brunning.

Our research

CLSR is the only centre in the UK dedicated to researching love, sex and relationships. Our network consists of over 20 permanent staff and graduate students.

Example research topics

  • Sexual ethics
  • Relationship types
  • Marginalised intimacies
  • The nature of intimate emotions
  • Love and technology
  • Intimate ways of living
  • Relationships and change
  • Relationship ethics
  • Politics of intimacy
  • Intimacy and the state

Our funders

We have received generous funding contributions from The British Academy and The Society for Applied Philosophy, in addition to Leeds University’s Institutional Translational Funding and Building Impact Momentum Programme.

Centre blog: Instagram @Leeds_CLSR

Twitter: @LeedsCLSR

Research projects

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow Rosa Vince is going to be joining us from this September! They will be working with us for two years on an exciting research project called “[Radical] Feminism, [Radical] Sex: a new approach to sex and objectification”. They’ll be mentored by Dr. Robbie Morgan.

Dr. Luke Brunning’s Book “Romantic Agency” is out now! “Beautifully written, clear and direct, Brunning’s romantic agency challenges ideological preconceptions and opens new intellectual territory” (QUILL REBECCA KUKLA) “Romantic Agency is a thoughtful philosophical reflection on how we might expand the freedom that we - and others - experience in our romantic relationships” MEG-JOHN BAKER https://lukebrunning.com/romantic-agency

News and events

See more events like this

An ear poking through a piece of white paper

A series of events organised by the Oral History Collective: an AHRC-WRoCAH funded Student Led Forum organised and run by postgraduate researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York.

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Blue metal archive rolling shelves

A one-day workshop exploring histories that are clandestine, taboo or underground.

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Blue metal archive rolling shelves

Dr Mari Takayanagi explores secret histories in the archives.

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Join us for a special event taking place as part of the University's Black History Month series.

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