Dr Julie Ellis
BA (hons), MA, PhD, FHEA
School of Education
Research Associate
+44 114 228162
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
91Ö±²¥
S10 2AH
- Profile
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I am a sociologist interested in everyday experiences of health, illness and the end of life. I joined 91Ö±²¥ in 2024 as a Research Associate in the ethnographic stream of the Cripping Breath project. Previously I worked at the University of Huddersfield as a Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Health and Illness where I taught across a variety of sociology modules, supervised doctoral students and co-led the University's Palliative and End of Life Care Special Interest Group.
Before joining Huddersfield, I held different teaching and research positions at 91Ö±²¥ including RA roles with two large ESRC funded research projects, one about sharing information online in times of crisis, and another about early-life loss and post-mortem.
I have also worked as an action researcher in the public sector on an EU project about peer-mentoring in everyday ICT use, and after completing my PhD (an exploration of family practices during life-threatening illness) I completed a research internship with the University of Nottingham working on a project about narratives of genocide in the digital economy.
- Research interests
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My research interests are broadly related to health and issues of identity, relationality and everyday experience. Much of my work has focused on the end of life where I have a particular interest in how relationships and everyday practices shape (and are shaped by) experiences of death, dying and bereavement. My work draws on perspectives from medical sociology, the sociology of death, dying and bereavement, material culture studies and family and personal life. Methodologically, I am inspired by ethnographic and creative qualitative approaches and seek to use these to understand experiences of health, illness and loss in rich, embodied and accessible ways.
Having been involved in a number of highly sensitive and emotionally challenging projects, I have developed an ongoing interest in issues related to reflexivity, vulnerability and researcher wellbeing. As part of my research practice, I have drawn on my own experiences to explore and publish reflections on these topics.
- Publications
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Books
- . Manchester University Press.
- Understanding baby loss: The sociology of life, death and post-mortem.
Journal articles
- . Epilepsy and Behavior, 148.
- . International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24(5), 589-602.
- . Sociology, 54(2), 312-328.
- . Sociology, 53(6), 1127-1142.
- . Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 48(2), 209-235.
- . Bereavement Care, 37(3), 88-91.
- . JMIR, 20(6).
- . Sociology of Health and Illness, 40(2), 353-365.
- . Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(5).
- . Mortality, 22(2).
- . Mortality.
- . International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 8(2), 193-209.
- . Illness, Crisis & Loss, 18(3), 263-266.
Chapters
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 1-19). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 167-192). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 142-166). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 118-141). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 91-117). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 66-90). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 44-65). Manchester University Press
- , Understanding baby loss (pp. 20-43). Manchester University Press
- Trauma, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 20-43).
- Technology, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 66-90).
- Relationships, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 167-192).
- Memory, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 142-166).
- Life after death Conclusion, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 193-207).
- Emotions, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 91-117).
- Decisions, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 44-65).
- Care, UNDERSTANDING BABY LOSS (pp. 118-141).
- In Foster L & Woodthorpe K (Ed.), Death and Social Policy in Challenging Times (pp. 17-34). Palgrave Macmillan UK
Book reviews
Conference proceedings papers
Preprints
- Teaching interests
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Qualitative methods; sociology of health and illness; socio-cultural perspectives of death and bereavement.
- Professional activities and memberships
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I am an editorial board of the interdisciplinary journal Mortality and have been a long-standing council member of the Association for the Study of Death and Society (ASDS). Recently I became an Academic Fellow with the charity Compassionate Communities UK.