Current Research

My research focuses on practice theory, process philosophy, and the sociology of time, with particular interests in social organisation, change, and the transformation of everyday life. I have developed this work in substantive areas including consumption, energy demand, and public health.

Recent work has explored questions of institutional rhythms, flexibility, and biosocial life, and has been published in journals including Time and Society, Critical Public Health, Sociology of Health and Illness, Social Theory and Health, and the Journal of Organizational Sociology. These publications bring sociological theory into dialogue with contemporary issues in sustainability, health, and social change.

Two recent books extend these lines of research: Practice Theory and Process Philosophy: Towards a Sociology of Becoming and, with Elizabeth Shove and Mike Kelly, Practice Theory and the Biosocial: Microbes, Matter, and Milieu. Together, these develop a practical and processual approach to social life, with growing implications for research on public health and so-called non-communicable disease.

I am also Co-Director of the Centre for Practice Theory at Lancaster and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Practice Theory. Both roles reflect a commitment to developing international and interdisciplinary research networks focused on practice theory and related fields.

For more information on current projects, publications, talks, and engagement work, please follow this link.

Research Grants

Externally Funded Research

1. Energy Flexibility - Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) – (CI)£19 million, EPSRC, 2018–2023. Co-lead of the ‘Flexibility’ theme (£1.75 million). The share of the award at Lancaster was £809,864.
2. Institutional Rhythms: Opportunities for Energy and Mobility Demand Management – (PI), EPSRC and the DEMAND Centre, 2015-2017 £20,000.
3. Tackling Disabling Social Practices: Co-Production and Change– (CI) £1.3 million ESRC, 2014-2017. The share of the award at Lancaster was £15,000.

PhD Studentships Awarded

1. ‘Agricultural Policy in Practice: Designing and Enacting Standards in Dairy Farming’ (2021-2024). Competitive PhD +3 Studentship awarded by NWSSDTP, Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI. Awarded to co-supervisors Elizabeth Shove and Stanley Blue.
2. ‘Constructing Seasonality: A Study of Annual Cycles and Patterns of Energy Demand within Social Life’ (2019-2023). Competitive PhD 1+3 Studentship awarded by NWSSDTP, Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI. Awarded to co-supervisors Elizabeth Shove and Stanley Blue.
3. ‘Office Work: Transformations in Technology, Practice and Sustainability’ (2022-2025). Competitive PhD +3 Studentship awarded by CREDS International Energy Demand Studentship fund. Awarded to co-supervisors Elizabeth Shove and Stanley Blue.
4. ‘Situating Everyday First Aid: Social Practices and Settings of Incidents and Help’ (2018-2021). Competitive PhD +3 Case Studentship with British Red Cross awarded by NWSSDTP, Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI. Awarded to co-supervisors Elizabeth Shove, Stanley Blue, and Emily Oliver (BRC).

Additional Information

Academic collaborations include:

Editor, Journal of Practice Theory (2024 - present);

Co-Director, Centre for Practice Theory at Lancaster (2021-present);

Co-I, Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (2018-2023);

Research Fellow, DEMAND Centre, Lancaster University (2015-2017);

Affiliated with the Norah Fry Institute at the University of Bristol (2015-2017);

Visiting Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT, Melbourne (Oct-Dec 2016);

Member of the Sustainable Consumption Institute at the University of Manchester (2013-2015).

Professional Role

I have held a number of senior academic leadership roles within the Sociology Department at Lancaster University. I served as Director of Studies (2018–2021), with responsibility for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and as Deputy Head of Department (2024–2025), contributing to the strategic and operational leadership of the department during a period of significant change.

Since August 2025, I have been Discipline Lead (Area Head) for Sociology within the School of Social Sciences. This role includes responsibility for the development and delivery of research and teaching strategy for the Sociology discipline, as well as line management and the support and development of academic staff. The position involves working across the School and University to strengthen Sociology’s contribution to interdisciplinary collaborations, student experience, and research outcomes.

Current Teaching

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have extensive experience of research-led teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. My teaching focuses on sociological theory, the philosophy of social science, and the sociology of consumption, and is closely informed by my research on practice theory, time, and social organisation.

My approach to teaching emphasises developing the sociological imagination and equipping students with the conceptual and analytical tools to think critically about everyday life. This is reflected in my undergraduate teaching, including convening the large first-year module The Sociological Imagination over several years, as well as in developing specialist teaching in my areas of expertise, for example, an externally open course on Practice Theory, which ran annually between 2021 and 2024.

I also have extensive experience of programme design, where my focus has been on student experience, assessment strategy, feedback, and the integration of research and teaching across the curriculum. As Director of Studies (2018–2021), I led a major redesign of the undergraduate curriculum and student experience, contributing to significant improvements in student satisfaction and league table performance. More recently, I have led curriculum redesign work as part of the University’s Curriculum Transformation Project (2025–2026), including the development of the BA (Hons) Sociology and Sociology and Criminology programmes, as well as the MSc in Social Research.

My teaching has been recognised through two awards: a Student Union Teaching Award at the University of Manchester and a Lancaster University Pilkington Teaching Award (2021), awarded for contributions to curriculum development and the student experience. My current teaching includes:

Undergraduate Teaching (2025/26)

• SOCL101 The Sociological Imagination (Module Convenor)

Undergraduate Teaching (2026/27)

• SOCL4004 Thinking Sociologically
• SOCL4002 Framing Social Issues
• SOCL6005 Health, Bodies and Social Reproduction

Full list of courses taught here.

External Roles

External Examiner for Durham University - BA (Hons) Sociology, 2021-2026.

Programme Consultant for Blackburn College - BA (Hons) Social Science; BA (Hons) Joint Honours Programmes, 2018-201.

PhD Supervisions Completed

Dr Michael Greenhough (completed 2024), Policy Analyst at British Energy.

Dr Hannah Stoddart (completed 2023), Research Fellow at York University.

Dr Carolynne Lord (completed 2019), Research Associate at Lancaster University.

Dr Torik Holmes(completed 2019), Research Fellow at University of Manchester.

PhD Supervision Interests

I would be happy to work with students whose projects relate to my research interests, including work on process philosophy, theories of practice, the biosocial, time, space, rhythm, materiality, embodiment, habit, consumption, demand, mobility, energy, travel, and public health, smoking, obesity, and exercise.