Dr Julie Ellis BA, MA, PCHE, PhD - Profiles - Staff - Public Health - Sections - ScHARR

Dr Julie Ellis BA,MA, PCHE, PhD

jellis

Section of Public Health
ScHARR
University of Sheffield
Regent Court
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA

Office: Room 2037, 2nd Floor, Regent Court

Tel: +44 (0) 114 222 0809
Fax: +44 (0) 114 273 0547

Biography

My interest in sociology began with an inspirational teacher who introduced me to the subject whilst I was an A level student. Since then I have graduated with a BA in Sociology and a MA in Sociological Research Methods from the Department of Sociological Studies at The University of Sheffield. I recently completed my PhD (again in the Department of Sociological Studies) which used an ethnographic approach to explore experiences of everyday family life in families where a relative was living with a life-threatening illness. I became interested in how families 'be' families during this time whilst working on a hospice ward as a volunteer.

Before joining ScHARR in September 2011, I worked in the public sector as an action researcher on a European funded project about peer mentoring in everyday ICT use. I also undertook a research internship based at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute at The University of Nottingham. This work examined morality and the politics of representation in the context of an emerging digital economy using genocide experience as a case study.

Research Interests

With a background in sociology, my interests focus on social and cultural aspects of health and illness and in particular the use of qualitative methodologies to understand experiences. More specifically, my primary research interests are in the areas of identity, family and personal relationships in the context of ill-health and especially in relation to dying and bereavement experiences.

However, I also have a range of broader research interests which include media representational practices, sociology of the body, illness narratives and material culture. In particular I would like to understand more about how physical objects shape everyday experience as sites of meaning and expressions of relationality in circumstances of personal loss such as ill-health and bereavement.

Teaching Interests

Generally, my teaching interests lie in supporting students to explore the social and cultural aspects of health and illness experience. As a Graduate Teaching Associate, I am currently acting as Course Tutor for MPH and MPH HSR students. I am involved in teaching on HAR6030 Introduction to Research Methods and I help to co-ordinate the dissertation programme, providing particular support with the organisation of work-based research placements for students.

Professional Activities

Secretary of the Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS)
Member of the British Sociological Association
Member of the Sheffield Death Group which is an interdisciplinary research forum for university staff, postgraduates and practitioners who are interested in aspects of death, dying and disposal

Publications and Presentations

Ellis, J. and Hockey, J.
Death and the Working Class: An exhibition at the Manchester People’s History Museum.
(2011)ACP news, Summer 2011, p.15-18.

Ellis, J.
Family relationships on a hospice ward: Identities, food and eating practices near the end of life.
Paper prepared for the BSA Medical Sociology Conference, University of Manchester.
(2009) September

Ellis, J.
Challenging the psychological concept of denial: and other emotional assumptions related to death and dying.
Paper prepared for the Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD) Conference, University of Durham.
(2009) September

Ellis, J.
Well Spoken: Storytelling and Narrative in Health Care.
(2007) Medical Sociology Online 2 (2), p.83.