My research sits in the broad field of geographical feminist political economy: understanding how socio-economic inequalities are shaped by relationships, lived experience and social difference. My research interests and contributions can be boiled down to three key areas: everyday life and economic change; social reproduction, care and ethics; and feminist methods and praxis. 

I came to the University of Manchester in October 2012 as a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy. In September 2015 I took up the position of Lecturer in Human Geography and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018, Reader in 2020 and Professor in 2022. I am a member of the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives and Manchester Urban Institute, where I previously co-chaired the Urban Justice, Gender and Social Difference Feminist Collective. From 2019-2020 I held an ISRF Political Economy Research Fellowship on the theme of reproduction and austerity. In February 2021 I began a £1.5m UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship on the theme of Austerity and Altered Lifecourses, a 4+ year project across the UK, Spain and Italy.

I live in Liverpool with my partner and my dog, Max. I came to the North West when I started university, and I am originally from Barnsley in South Yorkshire. I come from a working class background and am a proud advocate for others from marginalised backgrounds looking to study and research in universities.

My research interests span the following themes:

• gender and feminist theory
• families, friendship and intimacy
• austerity, crises and economic change
• everyday life
• ethics, care and social reproduction
• consumption 
• ethnography, oral histories, co-production, creative and feminist methodologies

Please note: I am not able to accept any further supervision requests for doctoral students commencing studies in the academic year 2025/2026. 

I am happy to supervise PhD students who are interested in any of the following topics:

- Feminist Geographies, Gender and Social Difference

- Familial, Personal, Intimate and Everyday Life/Lives 

- Austerity, Crises and Economic Change

- Life-courses, young people, generations and biographies

- Consumption practices

- Ethics, Care and Social Reproduction

- Ethnographic, Participatory, Oral History, Futures and Creative Research

 You are welcome to contact me at any time to discuss ideas you might have for a PhD.

Current PhD Students:

Maddy Routon 'Making Home in the Margins: Creative Precarity and Placemaking in London's Squats', SEED Doctoral Scholarship (supervised with Erik Swyngedouw and Santi Leyva del Rio)

Arielle Lawson 'Feminist Urban Activism in 1970s New York City and London', SEED Doctoral Scholarship (supervised with Tom Gillespie)

Xin Li 'Fair Shelter: Civic Infrastructures of Care for Bodies in Pain', SEED Doctoral Scholarship (supervised with Deljana Iossifova and Ali Browne)

Clare Courtney 'Food, migration and belonging: Everyday geographies of alternative education within informal food ventures in Northern England', SEED Doctoral Scholarship (supervised with Saskia Warren and Michelle Obeid)

Completed PhD Students: 

Dr Laura Pottinger 'Cultivating alternatives: crafting, sharing and propagating seed-saving practices, UK', SEED +3 Scholarship (supervised with Noel Castree and Mark Jayne) 

Dr Heather Piggott 'Exploring Women’s Labour Market Participation in Rural Bangladesh and India Using Mixed-Methods: Social Attitudes, Social Norms and Lived Experiences', ESRC-DFID +3 Studentship (supervised with Wendy Olsen and Kunal Sen)

Dr Julia Mills 'Personal Recovery Geographies: An Ethnographic Study of Sustained and Long-Term Recovery from "Alcoholism"’, Leverhulme Scholarship and ESRC +2 Open Award (supervised with Bethan Evans, Mark Jayne and Fiona Smyth)

Dr Lauren Greehy 'Making sense of perfume: a geographical study', ESRC 1+3 Open Award (supervised with Chris Perkins and Martin Hess)

Dr Liz Ackerley 'Young People's Activism in Times of Austerity: An Ethnographic and Participatory Study', ESRC 1+3 CASE Studentship (with RECLAIM, supervised with Kevin Ward, Laura Pottinger and Bethan Evans)

Dr Mohd Helmi Bin Abu Yahya 'Homelessness and Political Agenda in Southeast Asia', Malaysian Government PhD Scholarship Award (supervised with Diana Mitlin)

Dr Alex Kendrick 'What is "lad culture" and how are universities responding to it? A case study of two UK higher education institutions', ESRC +3 Open Award (University of Liverpool, supervised with Bethan Evans, Lucy Jackson and Mark Riley)

Dr Alison Briggs 'The Last Resort: Everyday Relational Geographies of Food Insecurity and Charitable Food Aid in Stoke-on-Trent in times of Austerity and Crisis ESRC +3 Open Award (supervised with Stefan Bouzarovski and Clare Holdsworth)

Dr Tasmin Fisher 'Crafting self-care practices: learning textile craft in time and space', ESRC 1+3 Open Award (Keele University, supervised with Clare Holdsworth and Lisa Dikomitis) 

Dr Olly Mcdowell '“Just food and joy”: An exploration of diverse community food practices in Liverpool, UK', ESRC +3 Open Award (University of Liverpool, supervised with Pete North and Andy Davies)

Dr Hannah Slocombe, 'Baby Bank use in the UK: Exploring the adverse impact of austerity on those expecting, or with, a baby or young infant', ESRC +3 Open Award (University of Liverpool, supervised with Kathy Burrell and Morag Rose)

Dr Graham Burvill 'Financial Insecurity in Great Britain: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Debt, Decision Making, and Financial Resilience Amongst Lone Parents', ESRC +3 CASE Studentship (with Citizens Advice, supervised with Jackie Carter)

Dr Poppy Budworth 'The everyday lives of young people living with an ostomy: space, time, relationships, and
identities', ESRC +3 CASE Studentship (with Get Your Belly Out, supervised with Caitlin Henry and Bethan Evans)

Service and Leadership

In addition to my academic position, I am a member of the Editorial Board for Geoforum, Gender and Justice, and the Radical Geography Book Series. From 2021-2025 I was Co-Editor of RGS-IBG journal Area.

I am a member of the Department for Work and Pensions Methods Advisory Group, a committee member of the Economic Geography Research Group and Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society, and from 2014-2022 was a member of the Management Committee of the Women's Budget Group. I regularly provide research expertise and training activist, third sector and policy organisations.

I have a keen interest in research ethics, and I teach, research and publish on this subject. I have also held a number of related service roles at discipline, school and University level, including University Research Ethics Committee 2 member (2014-2019), Chair of School Ethics Committee (2016-2018), Ethics Signatory, School of Environment, Education and Development (2015-2019) and Geography Dissertation Ethics Officer (2014-2018).

I am a proud advocate for PhD and early career colleagues, and I am fortunate to supervise and mentor across the North West. From Jan 2019-Sept 2020 I was also the PGR Human Geography Discipline Co-Ordinator, as well as the departmental representative for the Geography and Environment Pathway of the North West Social Science DTP.

Creative works

I have been involved in the making of multiple collaborative creative works, developed to share research findings, some of which include:

'Future Lives and Austerity', Digital Exhibition

‘How austerity alters lives and futures’, Animation

‘Oral Histories and Futures’, Animation

‘Everyone’s Got an Opinion on Brexit’, Podcast and Website

‘Involving Young People in Discussions about Devolution’, Toolkit

'Being seen, being heard: young people's politics in devolution deals', Film

'Creating, Making and Distributing 'zines for Research Impact', Film

‘Everyday Austerity' zine

'Everyday Austerity: Six Families, Two Years, One Researcher', Public Exhibition