Dr Katy Wheeler

Biography

Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Consumption Katy's work deals with the ways ordinary consumers respond to the normative pressures placed upon them to act in sustainable or responsible ways. Katy has researched the Fairtrade movement and recycling in comparative contexts, exploring how these different consumer practices generate distinctive moral economies. There has been a growing interest in the concept of moral economy along with the growing interest in sustainable consumption and markets. Her recent work develops a holistic moral economy framework that explores the interactions and interdependencies between individuals, communities and political-economic structures. She is also exploring the ways young people are educated about sustainability through a British Academy Small Grant, entitled 'Educating young people as sustainable citizen-consumers'. Katy has been an instructor at the Essex Summer School since 2013, offering a course in qualitative interviewing and analysis. She is a Professional Trainer for the qualitative software, MAXQDA. Katy is on the editorial board for the Journal of Cultural Economy, and served as a convenor for the BSA Climate Change Study Group from 2018-2023. She is a Trustee of the charity, Sustainability and Environmental Education (SE-Ed). Twitter: @KatyMWheeler.

Qualifications

• Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (2016)

• PhD, Sociology (2010)

• MA Sociological Research Methods (2006)

• BA Sociology and Criminology (2004) University of Essex,

Appointments

University of Essex

• Departmental lead for the 'Sustainable Transitions in Governance, Ecological Management and Society – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme' (£2.2 million grant)., University of Essex (1/1/2024 - present)

• Deputy Director, Centre for Environment and Society, University of Essex (1/9/2023 - present)

• Sustainability Officer, Sociology, University of Essex (1/9/2022 - present)

• Director of Education, Sociology & Criminology, University of Essex (15/1/2024 - 12/4/2024)

• Undergraduate Director, Sociology, University of Essex (11/1/2021 - 31/8/2022)

• Senior Personal Tutor, University of Essex (4/1/2021 - 31/8/2022)

• Sociology Blended Learning Co-ordinator, Sociology, University of Essex (17/8/2020 - 30/7/2021)

• Deputy Director of CRESI, University of Essex (2/10/2017 - 2/9/2019)

Other academic

• Lecturer in Sociology, The Open University (1/10/2013 - 31/8/2016)

• Senior Researcher, , ‘Consumption Work and Societal Divisions of Labour’ project, Department of Sociology, University of Essex (3/1/2011 - 30/9/2013)

• Research Fellow, National Evaluation of the Healthy Towns Programme, School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London (1/2/2010 - 1/1/2011)