Staff Profiles

Research Interests and Practice

- masculinities

- ethnography

- pollution

- media

- sport and leisure

- creative and participatory research methods

Education

BA Sociology, Philosophy (1st class Honours) Griffith University, Australia.

PhD Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney, Australia

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Biography

I joined the Media, Culture, Heritage unit at Newcastle University in September of 2015.  My PhD was completed in Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney. Continuing research interests include gender (particularly masculinities), leisure, mobile media, sport, pollution, and the sea/ocean. I primarily employ ethnography to conduct research, and experiment with creative outputs and methods e.g. ethnographic fiction, soundscapes, film, performing art.  

Collaboration has been with government departments, elite sporting organisations, media outlets, and private industry. I am currently a member of the The Shadow Places Network: a collaboration to re-imagine and co-produce connections for justice in an era of climate change; a research fellow for Mobile Studies International; and a research fellow of the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies. A key goal of mine is to make research accessible to, with, and useful for the wider public through civic engagement. For instance, I am working with members of North Tyneside Council on a project about creative placemaking. 

My research has been published in journals such as Leisure Sciences, Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Sport in Society, Social & Cultural Geography, Cultural Studies Review, , and The International Journal of Communication. I am on the editorial teams for International Journal of Cultural Studies and the Journal of Sport & Social Issues. My experience includes reviewing for such journals as Sport in Society, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Gender Place and Culture, Men and Masculinities,  Human Relations, Communication and Sport, and more. I have written for newspapers, magazines, online sources, as well as appeared in documentaries.  From 2008 to 2011 I was editor of Kurungabaa: A journal of literature, history and ideas from the sea and from 2010 to 2015 editor of Altitude: An e-journal of emerging humanities work.  

For five years (2010-2015) I was a lecturer in media and cultural studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, which included the role of Deputy Director of the Institute for Creative and Digital Cultures. I have also been a postdoctoral fellowship at the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Australia. 

Recent talks/performances

AnthropOcean, Imaginaires, Oceaniques, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (2018)

ASA18 Sociality, matter, and the imagination, Association of Social Anthropologists, Oxford University (2018)

Leisure Studies Association annual conference, Bath University (2018)

International Communications Association conference, Prague (2018)

Sydney Ideas Festival, University of Sydney, Australia (2017)

Sustaining the Sea conference, University of Sydney, Australia (2017)

Leisure Studies Association annual conference, Leeds University, UK (2017)

Oceanic Places, Newcastle University, UK (2017)

New Approaches to Masculinities symposium, Newcastle University, UK (2017)

Undergraduate Teaching

MCH1026 Introduction to Social & Cultural Studies

MCH2075 Representations: Identity, Culture & Society

MCH2076 Masculinities

MCH3074 Themes and Issues in Media, Communication & Cultural Studies

MCH3073 Research Dissertation

MCH3072 Research Dissertation

Postgraduate Taught

MCH8199 Research Dissertation

Postgraduate Research Supervision

I welcome postgraduate researchers who want to work in any of the areas relating to my research:

• Gender, particularly masculinities

• Sport and media

• Sport, particularly action (lifestyle) sports

• Culture and pollution 

• Leisure

• Cultural studies

• Mobile media

Research Interests

- masculinities

- ethnography

- pollution

- media

- sport and leisure

- creative and participatory research methods

Recent Talks and Performances

AnthropOcean, Imaginaires, Oceaniques, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (2018)

ASA18 Sociality, matter, and the imagination, Association of Social Anthropologists, Oxford University (2018)

geNerosity Festival, Newcastle, UK (2018)

Rivers of Life, Being Human festival, The Sill, National Landscape Discovery Centre (2018)

Far From Heaven, Canada Shorts Film Festival (Official selection, honorary mention) (2018)

Leisure Studies Association annual conference, Bath University (2018)

International Communications Association conference, Prague (2018)

Sydney Ideas Festival, University of Sydney, Australia (2017)

Sustaining the Sea conference, University of Sydney, Australia (2017)

Leisure Studies Association annual conference, Leeds University, UK (2017)

Oceanic Places, Newcastle University, UK (2017)

New Approaches to Masculinities symposium, Newcastle University, UK (2017)

Research Projects

Newcastle Institute of the Creative Arts Grant, Polluted Leisure

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. Social Cohesion through Football. 

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. Peer-Based Mentoring in Sport: Strategies for Best Practice. 

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. Safer Sex Beliefs and Practices in Multi-Partner Heterosexuals. 

Consultancy with New South Wales State Government Health, Australia. Using New Media Cultures to Provide Sexual Health Information for Young Australians.

Consultancy with National Rugby League and Australian Federal Government. Respectful Relationships. 

Consultancy with Australian Sports Commission. Towards a Level Playing Field: Research and Evaluation of the Portrayal of Female Athletes and Women in Sport by the Media. 

Consultancy with New South Wales State Government Department. Strategies for Building and Sustaining Respect in New South Wales Public High Schools. 

Consultancy with New South Wales State Government Institute of Sport, New South Wales Premiers Department for Women and University of Sydney Sport. Sportswomen: Get Out in Front.