Dr Jessica Bradley
BA (Hons), MA, PhD
School of Education
Senior Lecturer in Literacies and Language
EdD Deputy Director
co-Director of Internationalisation
+44 114 222 8154
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Research interests
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Jessica is an interdisciplinary linguist whose research mainly focuses on how people make the new from the everyday. She explores everyday creativity and engagements with the mundane, approaching from different disciplinary perspectives including creative practice, applied linguistics and ethnography. Underpinning all her research is attention to interactions, texts and materiality in terms of artworks and creative outputs.
She has led and participated in a range of research projects, including international research collaborations. This includes collaborative and co-produced research with arts organisations, including for creative health programming in West Yorkshire since 2022, which has focused particularly on creative journaling for mothers and birthing parents, including for an Arts Council England-funded podcast project. She recently led a Research England-funded project, Supporting adoptive parents through multi-arts creative practice, which was a participatory, arts-based research project with Seaglass Collective and The Art House Wakefield. As part of this research, the team co-created a zine. Her ongoing research is also exploring international practitioner perspectives of creative journaling.
Her research sits at the intersections of language and the arts - she was co-founder and co-convenor of the AILA Research Network in Creative Inquiry and Applied Linguistics from 2018-2021, with Lou Harvey (University of Leeds) and Emilee Moore (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). Her work in the network was pivotal for bringing creative arts-focused research into the field of Applied Linguistics - making space for creative collaborations and expanding beyond more traditional research contexts.Her work in this area has international reach and she is regularly invited to be keynote speaker at conferences, to give research seminars and as invited lecturer, including at the University of Jyväskylä where she now holds a docentship in Creative Inquiry and Applied Linguistics in the Centre for Applied Language Studies.
Recent research projects have also included ‘Multilingual Streets: Translating and Curating the Linguistic Landscape’ (2019-2021) which explores young people’s engagement with language diversity in public spaces and brings together creative practice with the study of linguistic landscapes (funded by AHRC OWRI Cross Language Dynamics Reshaping Community flexible funding). With colleagues Becky Parry, Yinka Olusoga, Fiona Scott, Catherine Bannister and Julia Bishop she researched children’s engagements with a digital storytelling app for the StoryBox project, funded by AHRC XR Stories and led by a Yorkshire based games developer (2020-2022).
Her book, co-edited with Emilee Moore (UAB) and James Simpson (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) and published by Multilingual Matters, considers collaborative relationships, processes and outcomes in research in linguistically diverse contexts.
Her AHRC-funded doctoral research was carried out in the School of Education at the University of Leeds, as part of the TLANG project: ‘Translation and Translanguaging: Investigating Linguistic and Cultural Transformations in Superdiverse Wards in Four UK Cities’. Her doctoral research (eg, Bradley & Moore, 2018; Bradley, 2017a; Bradley 2020) in the UK and Slovenia explored dynamic multilingualism in the context of community arts and, specifically, street arts. She investigated how street artists work together to create productions and perform, using the sociolinguistic concept of ‘translanguaging’ as a lens. Although applied linguistics-based, her thesis took her in different directions, including towards folklore and story-telling.
While a student at Leeds, she developed and co-led a series of arts-based projects, focused on language and migration. These include the AHRC-Connected Communities-funded ‘Migration and Home: Welcome in Utopia’ project which used multimodal and arts-informed approaches to understandings of ‘welcome’. This was part of the Connected Communities Utopias 2016 Festival (e.g. McKay & Bradley, 2016) and led to the ESRC-funded ‘Migration and Settlement: Extending the Welcome’ (2016-2017, Leeds Social Science Institute) which investigated arts-informed practice and adult migrant language education. These projects have developed into research around ‘Belonging’, at the intersection of applied linguistics and creative inquiry and she is external advisor for the Navigating Belonging research project led by James Simpson at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In 2019 she co-curated an exhibition with Louise Atkinson and Zhu Hua, ‘Visual Representations of Multilingualism’ which showcased artworks which engage with multilingualism and living multilingually.
Prior to undertaking doctoral study, Jessica worked for ten years at the University of Leeds in educational engagement, designing and leading widening participation and educational projects with schools and colleges for the Schools of Languages, Cultures and Societies and Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies.
You can find out more about Jessica’s academic research and teaching on her website.
- Publications
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Edited books
- Translanguaging as transformation : the collaborative construction of new linguistic realities. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. View this article in WRRO
Journal articles
- Walking and mapping methodologies: creative explorations of people’s relationships with space. Apples: Journal of Applied Language Studies, 18(3), 233-245. View this article in WRRO
- Walking with: understandings and negotiations of the mundane in research. Applied Linguistics Review. View this article in WRRO
- Belonging-in Interaction: Expressing and performing translocal belongings through language and arts practice. Applied Linguistics.
- Epilogue: Intercultural dialogue, the arts, and (im)possibilities. Language Teaching Research, 27(2), 359-367.
- Beyond and besides language : intercultural communication and creative practice. Language and Intercultural Communication, 22(2), 103-110. View this article in WRRO
- Embracing the unpredictable effect of one person: an interview with Professor Keri Facer. Literacy, 56(1), 86-92. View this article in WRRO
- Editorial. Literacy, 56(1), 1-2. View this article in WRRO
- Call for Papers for the Special Issue of Literacy: Storytelling in troubled times: multimodal, multilingual and multimedia. Literacy, 54(3), 158-159.
- Resemiotisation from page to stage: translanguaging and the trajectory of a musilingual youth’s poem. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(1), 49-64. View this article in WRRO
- Driving social mobility? Competitive collaboration in degree apprenticeship development. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(2), 164-174.
- Ethnography and Modern Languages. Modern Languages Open, 1, 1-16. View this article in WRRO
- Translanguaging space and creative activity : theorising collaborative arts-based learning. Language and Intercultural Communication, 18(1), 54-73.
- Translanguaging engagement: Dynamic multilingualism and university language engagement programmes. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature, 10(4), 9-31.
- Communication in the contact zone : the TLANG project and ESOL. Language Issues: The ESOL Journal, 27(2), 4-18. View this article in WRRO
- How does arts practice engage with narratives of migration from refugees? Lessons from ‘utopia’. Journal of Arts & Communities, 8(1-2), 31-46.
Chapters
- Trans-spatial, trans-media flows: Family ethnographies of children’s creative exploration of identities in and out of digital space(s) In McClure Sweeny M & Sakr M (Ed.), Postdevelopmental Approaches to Digital Arts in Childhood (pp. 45-70). Bloomsbury Academic View this article in WRRO
- Conversation through art In Ainsworth S, Griffiths D, McCrory G & Pahl K (Ed.), Multimodality and Multilingualism: Towards an Integrative Approach Bristol: Multilingual Matters (Channel View Publications). View this article in WRRO
- Visual representations of multilingualism : exploring aesthetic approaches to communication in a fine art context In Lytra V, Ros i Sole C, Anderson J & Macleroy V (Ed.), Decentring Language Education Bristol: Multilingual Matters (Channel View Publications). View this article in WRRO
- Translanguaging across space and place : concept and context In Mar-Molinero C (Ed.), Researching Language in Superdiverse Urban Contexts: Exploring Methodological and Theoretical Concepts Bristol: Multilingual Matters. View this article in WRRO
- Ethnography, arts production and performance : meaning-making in and for the street In Lähdesmäki T, Koskinen-Koivisto E, Ceginskas VLA & Koistinen A-K (Ed.), Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research : Ethnography with a Twist Routledge View this article in WRRO
- Introduction. Translanguaging as Transformation: The Collaborative Construction of New Linguistic Realities In Bradley J, Moore E & Simpson J (Ed.), Translanguaging as Transformation: The Collaborative Construction of New Linguistic Realities (pp. 1-14). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
- Translanguaging as bricolage : meaning making and collaborative ethnography in community arts In Moore E, Bradley J & Simpson J (Ed.), Translanguaging as transformation: The collaborative construction of new linguistic realities (pp. 135-154). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. View this article in WRRO
- Creative inquiry in applied linguistics : language, communication and the arts In Wright C, Harvey L & Simpson J (Ed.), Voice and Practices in Applied Linguistics : Diversifying a Discipline (pp. 91-107). York: White Rose University Press. View this article in WRRO
- Negative translanguaging space : mobility and immobility in inner-city Leeds In Horner K & Dailey-O'Cain J (Ed.), Multilingualism, (Im)Mobilities and Spaces of Belonging (pp. 145-164). Bristol: Channel View Publications / Multilingual Matters. View this article in WRRO
- Resemiotisation and creative production: Extending the translanguaging lens. In Sherris A & Adami E (Ed.), Making signs, translanguaging ethnographies: Exploring urban, rural, and educational spaces. (pp. 91-111). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
- Liquid methodologies : researching the ephemeral in multilingual street performance In Conteh J (Ed.), Researching Education for Social Justice in Multilingual Settings : Ethnographic Principles in Qualitative Research (pp. 153-171). London: Bloomsbury. View this article in WRRO
- Caught Up in the Moment: Seeking Magic in Literacy Research In Sailors M, Nuñez I, Watson VWM, Hoffman JV & Alvermann D (Ed.), Theories, Models, and Practices of Literacy
- ‘On being published’: a reflection on trajectories of texts and researcher imaginaries In Fay R & Kostoulas A (Ed.), Doctoral Study and Getting Published: Narratives of Early Career Research Emerald View this article in WRRO
Book reviews
- Extending applied linguistics for social impact: cross-disciplinary collaborations in diverse spaces of public inquiry. Warriner, D.S. & Miller, E.R. (Eds). London: Bloomsbury. 2021. pp. 228.. Journal of Language and Discrimination, 8(1). View this article in WRRO
Artefacts
- Playing with the light: co-creating artistic research with adoptive parents. View this article in WRRO
- Maternal Journal: Re-Emerge Maternal Journal Wakefield Zine July 2022. https://issuu.com/jessicamarybradley/docs/maternaljournalonline. View this article in WRRO
Exhibitions
- Re-Emerge at Wakefield ArtWalk. The Art House Wakefield.
- Visual representations of multilingualism exhibition. Annual Meeting of British Association for Applied Linguistics - Manchester Met University. View this article in WRRO
Website content
- Re-Emerge at ArtWalk, Wakefield, July 2022. Retrieved from https://medium.com/soeresearch/re-emerge-at-artwalk-wakefield-july-2022-20eeb15063ac View this article in WRRO
- Furthering collaborative research and student education relationships with international partners: insights from the docentship process in Finland. Retrieved from https://medium.com/soeresearch/furthering-collaborative-research-and-student-education-relationships-with-international-partners-f4527be88c86 View this article in WRRO
- Re-Emerge? Different perspectives on the experiences of parents during Covid19 and the opportunities of creativity. Retrieved from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/re-emerge View this article in WRRO
- Re-emerge : reflecting on the Maternal Journal training workshop. View this article in WRRO
- Multilingual streets: translating and curating the linguistic landscape. Retrieved from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/news/multilingual-streets-translating-and-curating-linguistic-landscape View this article in WRRO
- Reflections on transdisciplinary approaches to multilingualism, pre- and post- COVID19. Retrieved from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/news/reflections-transdisciplinary-approaches-multilingualism-pre-and-post-covid19 View this article in WRRO
- [un]public spaces and the ethnographic [un]imagination. Retrieved from https://panmemic.hypotheses.org/534 View this article in WRRO
Scholarly editions
- Special Issue: Beyond and besides language: Intercultural communication and creative practice. Language and Intercultural Communication.
Theses / Dissertations
- Translation and Translanguaging in Production and Performance in Community Arts.
Working papers
- Transformations through sport : the case of capoeira and basketball. View this article in WRRO
- Meaning making and collaborative ethnography in transdisciplinary arts. Working Papers in Translanguaging and Translation, 23.
- Heritage with no fixed abode: Transforming cultural heritage for migrant communities in inner-city Leeds. Working Papers in Translanguaging and Translation, 15.
- Liquid methodologies : using a linguistic ethnographic approach to study multilingual phenomena. View this article in WRRO
- Translanguaging business: Unpredictability and precarity in superdiverse inner city Leeds. Working Papers in Translanguaging and Translation, 4.
Presentations
- The art of the linguistic landscape: lived experiences of the everyday.
- Re-Emerge? New parents, COVID19 and Creativity. The Art House Wakefield. View this article in WRRO
- Invited research talk: 'Participatory arts and young people’s lived experience of multilingualism', FORTHEM Multilingualism in School and Higher Education Lab’s Citizen Science in Schools Workshop & Autumn Meeting, Jyväskylä University, Finland. Tuesday 11 October 2022.. Jyvaskyla University, Finland.
- Translanguaging as transformation : the collaborative construction of new linguistic realities. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. View this article in WRRO
- Grants
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Jessica’s research has been supported by a range of funders, as principal investigator and co-investigator, including but not limited to AHRC, ESRC IAA, Leeds Hospitals Trust and NHS Charities Together and Arts Council England. She also undertakes consultancy work for arts organisations and knowledge exchange with practitioners. This includes advising on the development of a practitioner network for creative arts and health in West Yorkshire.
- Teaching interests
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Jessica is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (awarded January 2022). At Sheffield she was Programme co-Director of the BA Education, Culture and Childhood from 2020-2024 and has been Deputy Director of the EdD since 2022. She teaches across undergraduate, taught postgraduate and doctoral programmes within the School, including distance learning. At undergraduate level she contributes to EDU105 Critical Curriculum Study, leads EDU305 Participatory Research with Children and co-leads EDU303 Dissertation. She developed and led EDU61005 Researching Digital Childhoods for the MA Digital Literacies, Culture and Education since 2020 and contributes to the MA Education. She co-leads EDU410 Educational Research – Theory and Practice at EdD level. She supervises dissertations at BA and MA level.
Prior to joining the University of Sheffield, she was Lecturer in Linguistics and Education at Leeds Trinity University where she convened and taught on modules in Research Methods in Education and Linguistics, Sociology of Education, Child Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics and Pragmatics and Action Research for teachers. She has also taught at the University of Leeds and from 2005-2012 she was actively involved in the Linguists into Schools module.
At doctoral level she supervises students undertaking full-time and part-time PhDs and EdDS. Current and recent doctoral projects include young people’s experiences of transitions and aspiration, primary school children’s digital game playing, autoethnographic approaches to Pokemon Go, photography education, architecture and urban planning pedagogies and young children’s engagements with digital apps. She has experience supervising students to completion, examining doctoral theses and successful applications for doctoral funding, for example the WRDTP Collaborative Award (2021) and WRDTP scholarship (2023).
- Professional activities and memberships
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Research network activities
- Co-convenor of the AILA international research network ‘Creative Inquiry and Applied Linguistics’ with Lou Harvey at the University of Leeds and Emilee Moore at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Co-organiser of ‘Visual Representations of Multilingualism’ visual arts competition as representative of AILA Network for Creative Inquiry and Applied Linguistics, working with the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL), Multilingual Matters and CuratorSpace (led by Zhu Hua, Birkbeck and BAAL Executive). See also: https://www.curatorspace.com/about/news/visual-representations-of-multilingualism-competition/40.
- Co-applicant for BAAL-CUP seminar ‘Creative Inquiry in Applied Linguistics: Purposes, Practices, Possibilities’ (10-11 July 2019). (Lead Applicant, Lou Harvey, University of Leeds).