Bio
I am currently working on a qualitative research project at the University of Birmingham (link to my UoB page) that focuses on the politics of disablement and precarious work in the UK. As part of the project, twenty-seven gig economy workers who identify as disabled, chronically ill, experiencing mental distress, and/or neurodivergent have contributed to this project through interviews and diary entries.
I undertook all of my degrees at the University of Birmingham, and in 2022 I became Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. My research interests have changed over time, but their one underlying commonality has been my interest in producing interdisciplinary, socially useful, and emancipatory knowledge that can be used for the advancement of collective struggle and social change.
Over the past decade, I have undertaken work in various areas of the university, holding roles such as Academic Skills Advisor (Academic Skills Centre), Graduate Teaching Assistant (POLSIS), Tutor of A-level students (Access to Birmingham Scheme), Student Enhancement Administrator (School of Social Policy), and others. During her previous degrees, I undertook funded placements and internships within the third and public sectors, thus exploring the way in which work is conducted within Birmingham-based social enterprises, charities, and the city council.
In 2015, I co-founded The Contemporary Philosophy of Technology Research Group, through which I co-organised numerous talks and symposia over the following four years. I have also been actively involved in the UNISON and UCU trade union branches on campus. During my PhD, alongside teaching and my ongoing research, I undertook a three-month, ESRC-funded placement with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, gaining valuable insights from this sector. I also acted as a member of the advisory team for an inter-institutional academic project that investigated changes to the working environments of workers in the hospitality sector during the early stages of the Covid19 pandemic.
Active involvement in academic associations/networks:
- Steering Group member of the Marxism and Disability Network
- Co-convenor of the BSA Theory Study Group (first BSA Theory event as a host [link]).
Membership of academic associations/networks:
- European Sociological Association’s CPERN (Critical Political Economy Research Network)
- Conference of Socialist Economists
- British Sociological Association
- Political Science Association
- International Sociological Association
- Union for Radical Political Economics
- European Group for Organizational Studies.
Qualifications
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2022
- Horizon Certificate holder, Higher Education Institute, University of Birmingham, 2022
- MA Social Research, University of Birmingham, 2019
- MA Social and Political Theory, University of Birmingham, 2016
- BA Sociology and Political Science, University of Birmingham, 2014
My research interests:
- Politics of disablement
- Politics of (waged and unwaged) work and rest
- Heterodox Marxism
- Politics from below and collective struggle
- Philosophy of technology
- Sociology, politics, and philosophy of education, knowledge production, and pedagogy
- Trade unionism
- Emancipatory research
- Critical and continental social theory.