Dr Jo Britton (she/her)
BA, PhD
Department of Sociological Studies
Senior Lecturer in Applied Sociology
Director of Postgraduate Affairs and Research
Director of One University
+44 114 222 6431
Full contact details
Department of Sociological Studies
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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Jo first joined the Department of Sociological Studies in the mid-1990s as a postgraduate research student, having completed a Sociology degree at Liverpool University.
After completing her PhD, Jo worked in the Sociology Department at Manchester University as a Research Officer and then a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow, before returning to Sheffield as a lecturer.
- Research interests
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Jo's research interests incorporate a number of key areas of sociological enquiry:
- Theories of race and racism;
- Theories of identity;
- Muslim minorities;
- Multiculturalism and citizenship;
- Critical whiteness and ‘mixed race’ studies;
- Inter-generational relations;
- Qualitative research methods.
Jo has researched and written about the meaning and role of race, racism and identity in different contexts. She has a long-standing interest in Muslim minorities, focusing on changing gender and generational relationships in Muslim families, belonging and identity, and multiculturalism, cohesion and integration.
This has included researching the impact of child sexual exploitation abuse scandals on Muslim men. Jo's current research interests also include a focus on inter-generational relations and critical whiteness studies.
She has written about motherhood, whiteness and identity in mixed race families and was co-investigator on a research project exploring young and older people’s understanding of generational positions and relationships.
Jo is co-investigator on an ESRC project exploring ethnicity and unequal ageing in Rotherham and Sheffield. The project is a unique cross-sector collaboration which includes working in partnership with Black, Minority Ethnic and Refugee communities.
- Publications
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Books
- Understanding Muslim Family Life Changing Relationships, Personal Life and Inequality. Policy Press.
Journal articles
- Being an insider and outsider : whiteness as a key dimension of difference. Qualitative Research. View this article in WRRO
- Challenging the racialization of child sexual exploitation: Muslim men, racism and belonging in Rotherham. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(5), 688-706. View this article in WRRO
- Muslim Men, Racialised Masculinities and Personal Life. Sociology, 53(1), 36-51. View this article in WRRO
- Brown bodies, white babies: the politics of cross-racial surrogacy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(8), 1493-1495. View this article in WRRO
- Young People as Moral Beings: Childhood, Morality and Inter-Generational Relationships. Children and Society, 29(5), 495-507. View this article in WRRO
- Muslims, Racism and Violence after the Paris Attacks. Sociological Research Online, 20(3), 207-212. View this article in WRRO
- Researching white mothers of mixed-parentage children: the significance of investigating whiteness. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 36(8), 1311-1322.
- Researching White Mothers of Mixed Parentage Children: The Significance of Kinship and Social Networks. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(8), 1311-1322.
- Book reviews. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(3), 509-527.
- The future of regional cities in the information age: The impact of information technology on Manchester's financial and business services sector. SOCIOLOGY, 38(4), 795-814.
- Migration, Mobility and the Middle Class. International Journal of Urban and Rural Research, 27(3), 495-509.
- Mobility and the middle classes: A case study of Manchester and the North West. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, 27(3), 495-+.
- Ethnic diversity in economic wellbeing: the combined significance of income, wealth and assets levels. J ETHN MIGR STUD, 29(1), 103-119.
- Addressing Ethnic Economic Disadvantage: The Necessity of Incorporating Income and Asset Levels. Benefits, 10(2), 118-119.
- Professional Work and Professional Careers in Manchester's Business and Financial Sector. Work, Employment and Society, 14(3), 521-540.
- Economic Restructuring, Globalisation and the Professions: A Case Study of Manchester’s Business and Financial Sector. Work, Employment and Society, 14(2), 521-540.
- Examining police/black relations: What's in a story?. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23(4), 692-711.
- Race and policing - A study of police custody. BRIT J CRIMINOL, 40(4), 639-658.
- Jeffrey Cole, The New Racism in Europe: A Sicilian Ethnography Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, £35.00 v+154 pp. (ISBN 0-521-58493-0).. Sociology, 33(2), 451-469.
- Book Reviews. Sociology, 33(2), 454-456.
- Recruiting and Retaining Black Volunteers: A Study of a Black Voluntary Organisation. Voluntary Action, 1(3), 9-24.
- Book Reviews. Sociology, 31(2), 378-379.
- Anne Frank in the world, 1929–1945: Graves art gallery, Sheffield 28 June–29 July 1995. Immigrants & Minorities, 14(3), 308-318.
Chapters
- Theorizing Muslim Family Life, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 13-28). Bristol University Press
- Marriage Practices, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 60-76). Bristol University Press
- Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 117-136). Bristol University Press
- Introduction, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 1-12). Bristol University Press
- Identity and Belonging: Exploring Intersections, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 29-41). Bristol University Press
- Generation and Intergenerational Relations, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 97-116). Bristol University Press
- Gender Relations and Diverse Relationship Practices, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 77-96). Bristol University Press
- Changing Perspectives: Muslim Families as ‘a Problem’, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. 42-59). Bristol University Press
- About the Author, Understanding Muslim Family Life (pp. vi-vi). Bristol University Press
- Conserving the Past of a Quiet Suburb: Urban Politics, Association Networks and Speaking for ‘the Community’, Networked Urbanism: Social Capital in the City (pp. 197-215).
- Researching White Mothers of Mixed Parentage Children: The Significance of Investigating Whiteness In Barn V & Harman V (Ed.), Mothering, Mixed Families and Racialised Boundaries (pp. 47-58). London: Routledge.
- Conserving the past of a quiet suburb: Urban politics, association networks and speaking for ‘the community’, Networked Urbanism: Social Capital in the City (pp. 197-216).
- Conserving the past of a quiet suburb: urban politics, association networks and speaking for 'the community In Blokland-Potters T & Savage M (Ed.), Networked Urbanism: Social Capital and the City (pp. 197-216). Ashgate Publishing Company
- Categorising and Policy Making In Hodgson SM & Irving Z (Ed.), Policy Reconsidered (pp. 61-79). The Policy Press
- Minorities, Crime and Criminal Justice In Muncie J & Wilson D (Ed.), Student Handbook of Criminal Justice and Criminology (pp. 81-92). Routledge-Cavendish
- The ‘good’ suburb as an urban asset in enhancing a city’s competitiveness, City matters (pp. 255-268). Policy Press
- The ‘good’ suburb as an urban asset in enhancing a city’s competitiveness, City matters (pp. 255-268). Policy Press
- The 'good' suburb as an urban asset in enhancing a city's competitiveness In Boddy M & Parkinson MH (Ed.), City Matters (pp. 255-268).
- Family and Community Ties in Space and Time In Allan G & Jones G (Ed.), Social Relations and the Life Course (pp. 155-172). Palgrave MacMillan
- Family and Community Ties in Space and Time, Social Relations and the Life Course (pp. 172-186). Palgrave Macmillan UK
- Racialized Identity and the Term ‘Black’, Practising Identities (pp. 134-154). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Book reviews
- New Geographies of Race and Racism. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 35(3), 681-682.
- Black Families in Britain as the Site of Struggle. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(3), 521-522.
- Negotiating Boundaries in the City: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender in Britain.. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 34(3), 715-716.
- Understanding Muslim Family Life Changing Relationships, Personal Life and Inequality. Policy Press.
- Research group
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Jo welcomes applications to study for MPhil or PhD research degrees with her, either full or part-time, in any areas linked to the following broad themes:
- Race and racism (including critical whiteness and mixed race studies);
- Muslim minorities;
- Identity.
Topics of her current and recent postgraduates include:
- The Brexit vote’s implications for dimensions of belonging among British-born white working-class residents in England
- Exploring the lived experiences of South Asian Muslim lone mothers, intersectionality and the role played by South Asian organisations in their lives
- A study of everyday multi-culture in North Manchester
- Transracial adoption
- From farms to foundries: An Arab community in industrial Britain
- Risk and resilience in the lives of British Somali youths.
- Teaching interests
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Jo teaches and supervise students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. All of her teaching is linked by a focus on examining patterns of social inequality and the operation of power and privilege in different social and political contexts.
Most of Jo's teaching is research-led as she believes that the theoretical foundations of her discipline are best explained using real-life, empirical examples.
Jo's aim across all of her teaching is to encourage students to develop a critical understanding of themselves as social actors who belong to a social structure and social order. In doing so, Jo also aims to provide students with the necessary tools to apply a sociological imagination to both their studies and everyday life.
Jo encourages students to engage with and evaluate a wide range of theories and evidence in order to appreciate the distinctive and far-reaching contribution of sociology.
- Teaching activities
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Jo currently convenes the following undergraduate modules:
- SCS3021 Whiteness, Power and Privilege
Jo is also involved in the supervision of students taking extended essays and dissertations at undergraduate and postgraduate levels on the following modules:
- SCS3001 Dissertation in Sociology
- SCS3002 Dissertation in Social Policy
- SCS3003 Extended Essay in Sociology
- SCS3004 Extended Essay in Social Policy
- SCS6330 Dissertation in Social Research
See our Undergraduate degree and Postgraduate taught degree pages.