I am a social theorist with a background in philosophy and an interest in researching questions of moral experience as they relate to culture, technology, and the environment. I have a BA in Philosophical Studies (Newcastle University), an MA in Philosophy (Durham University) and a PhD in Sociology (University of York). I was a Lecturer in Communication and Culture at the University of Liverpool for 5 years before joining York St John. My identity as an autistic person is integral to my approach to sociology.
I run three modules: Sociology of Work; Sociology of the Very Worst; and Theory Now. Through each of these modules I help students to develop conceptual work exploring our experiences of the everyday and the extraordinary.
My research spans a range of topics: technology, work, media, religion, food, logistics, plants, animals and cities. What unites all this is a sustained attention to the question of moral experience, how it is formed and how it is constrained by the environments we inhabit, the tools we use, the things we consume, and the interactions we have along the way. This research is driven by a long engagement with the work of Emmanuel Levinas and supplemented by a changing cast of social theorists and thinkers, including Jean-Francois Lyotard, Judith Butler and Edouard Glissant.
