Dr Bethany Robertson

Profile

I am a social scientist with an interest in policy interventions and enthusiasm for conducting qualitative research. My area of research focuses on rural communities, specifically farming cultures, identities and inequalities with an expertise in gender studies. I have a PhD in Sociology which examined experiences of gender in agriculture by speaking to women farming in England.

I am a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, contributing to a range of undergraduate and postgraduate taught modules across fields such as identities & inequalities and social research methods.

Research interests

• Gender, the body and identity
• Rural studies
• Sociology of agriculture; farming cultures, identities and inequalities
• Human-animal relations 
• Ethnographic and feminist methodologies

I joined the School of Sociology and Social Policy in February 2021 first as a postdoctoral research fellow working on the ESRC funded project ‘Feeding the Nation: Seasonal Migrant Workers and Food Security during the COVID-19 Pandemic.’ The research explores farm labour needs and the experiences of seasonal migrant workers and farmers following international travel restrictions and the post-Brexit immigration system. Most recently in 2022 I completed research alongside Dr Roxana Barbulescu for the Low Pay Commission about the impact of the Accommodation Offset policy on farm employers and workers.

Prior to joining Leeds, I worked on a British Academy funded project at the University of Liverpool which examined the ways farmers engage with social media and how narratives of farming are communicated online. 

I have a PhD in Sociology from the University of York which explores the experiences of women farmers in England to understand the embodiment of farming and the negotiation of gender identities. My thesis is an ethnographic study, comprising of on-farm interviews and observations at agricultural shows.

Throughout my MA in Social Research I developed expertise in human-animal relations by examining university students’ management of a long distance relationship with their pets. This research paved the way for an interest in multi-species methodologies and understanding how interactions with animals shape the work and identities of farmers in my doctoral thesis. 

Qualifications

• PhD Sociology
• MA Social Research
• BA Sociology

Professional memberships

• British Sociological Association

Student education

I have co-led skills sessions with the library for undergraduate students in SSP to help improve student success and tackle the hidden curriculum.

I teach across BA and MA modules in SSP, as well as this I supervise dissertations. 

Previously at other universities I have contributed to modules on social inequalities, youth & resistance, sociological theory, human-animal relations and qualitative methods.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies