Dr Jessica Martin

Profile

I joined the School of Sociology and Social Policy in September 2019. Previous to this, I taught at the University of Warwick and the University of Leicester at undergraduate and postgraduate level. I am a feminist researcher and academic. My work critically engages with the intersections of gender, class, and race; the representation of feminism in the context of escalating social inequalities; postfeminist discourse; contemporary celebrity and digital cultures; and the broader dynamics of structural inequalities.

I am assistant editor for The European Journal of Cultural Studies.

Responsibilities

• Programme Manager for MA Gender Studies
• Director of Recruitment & Admissions

Research interests

I am interested in feminist cultural studies, and specifically the intersections of gender, class and race. My work is indebted to cultural studies and characterised by a commitment to taking popular culture seriously as a crucial site for sociological analysis.
My research provides a feminist analysis of popular culture at a time of escalating social inequality, and sits at the intersection of sociology, feminist theory, media and cultural studies. My research has involved interrogating instances of feminism in mediated domestic spaces, and other projects have provided an analysis of the emergence key public figures who have forged their public personas through articulations with crisis culture. I have expertise in digital cultures and the political, social and cultural implications of new media.

I have published in a range of international, peer-reviewed journals exploring contemporary celebrity culture, nostalgia, nationhood, welfare, reality TV, the politicisation of domestic cultures and the governance of digital spaces with a focus on the class, race and gender politics that arise here.

My new book, “Feminisms and Domesticity in Times of Crisis: The Rise of the Austerity Celebrity” is available through Bloomsbury. You can listen to an interview I gave for the New Book Network Podcast or read a recent review of the book in The European Journal of Cultural Studies.

Professional memberships

• Cultural Studies Association
• FHEA
• British Sociological Association

Student education

I teach on a range of modules at UG and PG level as well as managing the MA Gender Studies. I make substantial contributions to the school’s teaching on feminist theory and research, popular culture and media. I am passionate about widening participation in higher education, and addressing gaps in attainment and retention, and I am currently involved in multiple projects to this end. I supervise a number of students at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level on projects relating to my expertise.
From 2023-26 I was Deputy Director for Student Education in the school. I am now Director of Recruitment and Admissions.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies

Current postgraduate researchers

• Zhuoyu Chen
• Ruiyang Han