Professor Kate Reed (she/her)

Sheffield Methods Institute

Director of Sheffield Methods Institute

Professor of Sociology and Director of the Sheffield Methods Institute

k.reed@sheffield.ac.uk

The Wave

Full contact details

Professor Kate Reed
Sheffield Methods Institute
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH

Profile: Supporting family bereavement - Meet Professor Kate Reed

Kate Reed is Professor of Sociology and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She became Director of Sheffield Methods Institute in February 2022. Kate joined the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield in January 2004, and worked with SMI from 2017 as Faculty of Social Sciences Director of Doctoral Programmes. Her teaching interests are focused in the areas of health, social theory and research methods. She has a strong interest in creative qualitative methods and is well known particularly for her work on sensitive research. She has written and researched extensively on reproductive health. She was the Principal Investigator of the research project: ‘End of or Start of Life’? Visual Technology and the Transformation of Traditional Post-Mortem funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. This project aimed to understand how bereaved parents, along with the professionals who care for them, both feel about, and experience, the minimally invasive post-mortem process. This project won the ESRC Outstanding Societal Impact Prize in 2019. Kate has published widely in the areas of pregnancy screening, reproductive loss, gender, visual health technology and social theory. She also mentors postdoctoral researchers who are conducting research on various aspects of health and illness and are funded by the ESRC, Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness and the Wellcome Trust.

Research interests: Kate’s research interests span several areas including reproductive health, gender, technology, social theory, and qualitative methods. Kate’s research has made significant conceptual and methodological contributions to the discipline of sociology. Her research also involves creative and interdisciplinary collaboration and has also led to demonstrable change in health service delivery and bereavement support. This is illustrated by the success of Remembering Baby, a touring collaborative art exhibition 2017-18 which was based on an ESRC-funded research project on baby loss and post-mortem. Kate also collaborates in her research with several non-academic partners, including the National Health Service (NHS), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the National Bereavement Service.

Publications

Books

Reed K, Ellis J & Whitby E (2023) Understanding baby loss The sociology of life, death and post-mortem. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Benzer M & Reed K (2019) Social Life: Contemporary Social Theory. London: Sage Publications.
Reed K (2012) Gender and Genetics: Sociology of the Prenatal. London: Routledge.
(2006) New Directions in Social Theory: Race, Gender and the Canon. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Reed K (2003) Worlds of Health Exploring the Health Choices of British Asian Mothers. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Journal articles

Reed K, Ferazzoli MT & Whitby E (2021) “Why didn’t we do it”? Reproductive loss and the problem of post-mortem consent. Social Science and Medicine. View this article in WRRO
Reed K (2020) Deadly biocultures, the ethics of life-making. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(13), 2489-2491. View this article in WRRO
Reed K, Ferazzoli MT & Whitby E (2020) Miscarriage, SUDI and neonatal death: paramedic experience and practice. Journal of Paramedic Practice, 12(12), 472-477. View this article in WRRO
Reed K & Ellis J (2020) Uncovering Hidden Emotional Work: Professional Practice in Paediatric Post-Mortem. Sociology, 54(2), 312-328. View this article in WRRO
Reed K & Ellis J (2019) Movement, Materiality, and the Mortuary: Adopting Go-Along Ethnography in Research on Fetal and Neonatal Postmortem. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 48(2), 209-235. View this article in WRRO
Reed K, Whitby E & Ellis J (2018) Remembering Baby. Bereavement Care: an international journal for those who help bereaved people, 37(3), 88-91. View this article in WRRO
Reed K, Kotchetkova N & Whitby E (2016) Visualising uncertainty: Examining women's views on the role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in late pregnancy. Social Science and Medicine, 164, 19-26. View this article in WRRO
Reed K, Kochetkova I & Molyneux-Hodgson S (2016) ‘You're looking for different parts in a jigsaw’: foetal MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) as an emerging technology in professional practice. Sociology of Health and Illness, 38(5), 736-752. View this article in WRRO
Reed K (2013) Beyond hegemonic masculinity: The role of family genetic history in men's accounts of health. Sociology, 47(5), 906-920.
Reed K (2011) 'He's the dad isn't he?' Gender, race and the politics of prenatal screening. Ethnicity and Health, 16(4-5), 327-341.
Reed K (2011) Making men matter: exploring gender roles in prenatal blood screening. Journal of Gender Studies, 20(1), 55-66.
Reed K (2010) The Spectre of Research Ethics and Governance and the ESRC's 2010 FRE: Nowhere Left to Hide?. Sociological Research Online: an electronic journal, 15(4).
Reed K (2009) 'It's them faulty genes again': women, men and the gendered nature of genetic responsibility in prenatal blood screening.. Sociol Health Illn, 31(3), 343-359.
Reed K (2009) Fathers' involvement in antenatal screening: Midwives' views. British Journal of Midwifery, 17(4), 218-222.
Reed K (2007) Antenatal screening and the gendering of genetic responsibility.. Reprod Health, 4, 8.
Reed K (2007) Bureaucracy and beyond: The impact of ethics and governance procedures on health research in the social sciences. Sociological Research Online, 12(5).
Ray L & Reed K (2005) Community, mobility and racism in a semi-rural area: Comparing minority experience in East Kent. ETHNIC RACIAL STUD, 28(2), 212-234.
Reed K (2004) The Eclipse of Marriage. European Journal of Women's Studies, 11(1), 61-76.
Reed K (2003) Gendering Asylum: The Importance of Diversity and Context. Feminist Review, 73(1), 114-118.
Reed K (2002) Dying in the city of the blues: Sickle cell anemia and the politics of race and health. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 25(4), 693-694.
Reed K (2002) Intercultural Europe: Diversity and social policy. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 25(1), 164-165.
Reed K (2001) Book Review: Telling Mother–Daughter Stories. European Journal of Women's Studies, 8(4), 517-518.
Reed K (2001) The cultural adjustment of Asian lone mothers living in London. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 24(3), 491-492.
Reed K (1999) Dealing with difference: Researching health beliefs and behaviours of British Asian mothers. Sociological Research Online, 4(4).
Reed K (1994) Computerization of health care information: more automation, less privacy.. Journal of health and hospital law : a publication of the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys of the American Hospital Association, 27(12), 353-384.
Reed K () ‘I was just left to get on with the job’: Understanding grief and work through a relational lens. Sociology.
Towers L, Reed K, Balazs A & Towers L () ‘It would be quite good if there was somewhere that just did everything’: Perspectives on Death Administration Following a Bereavement. Bereavement: journal of grief and responses to death.
Reed K & Towers L () Almost Confessional: Managing Emotions When Research Breaks Your Heart. Sociological Research Online, 136078042110367-136078042110367.

Chapters

Reed K (2015) Racing the feminist agenda: exploring the intersections between race, ethnicity and gender In Robinson SV & Richardson D (Ed.), Introducing Gender and Women's Studies (pp. 133-149). Palgrave Macmillan
Reed K (2012) The body In Williams C & Evans M (Ed.), Gender: The Key Concepts

Book reviews

Reed K (2018) Book Review: Gareth M Thomas, Down’s Syndrome Screening and Reproductive Politics. Sociology, 52(6), 1342-1343.
Reed K (2013) Identity politics and the new genetics: re/creating categories of difference and belonging. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(3), 517-518.
Reed K (2008) Race and the crisis of humanism. ETHNIC RACIAL STUD, 31(3), 630-631.
Reed K (2007) Writing diaspora: South Asian women, culture and ethnicity. SOCIOLOGY, 41(1), 161-164.
Reed K (2006) Ethnonational identities. ETHNIC RACIAL STUD, 29(3), 580-581.
Reed K (2004) Explaining ethnic differences: Changing patterns of disadvantage in Britain. ETHNIC RACIAL STUD, 27(6), 1026-1027.
Reed K (2004) Crossroads, directions and a new critical race theory. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 27(2), 321-322.
Reed K (2003) A companion to racial and ethnic studies. ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 26(2), 346-347.

Grants

UKRI Research England, COVID recovery KE funds 2022, PI: Professor Kate Reed, Death administration post COVID: changing attitudes, policy, and practice, £23, 000

ESRC Outstanding Societal Impact prize 2019-2021, PI: Professor Kate Reed, Changing practices and supporting parents for infant post-mortems (with Dr Elspeth Whitby and Dr Julie Ellis), £10,000

ESRC IAA Knowledge Exchange 2019-2020, PI: Professor Kate Reed, Co-I Dr Elspeth Whitby and Dr Maria Teresa Ferazzoli Post-mortem matters: challenging taboos and changing practice, £30,000

ESRC Responsive Mode Grant 2015-2018, PI: Professor Kate Reed, Co-I Dr Elspeth Whitby. ‘End of’ or ‘start of’ life? Visual technology and the transformation of traditional post-mortem, £314,000

White Rose Collaboration Fund 2015-16 PI: Dr Zoe Darwin, University of Huddersfield. Identifying and managing perinatal mental health in male partners using the Born and Bred in Yorkshire (BaBY) cohort, £10,190

Foundation of Sociology of Health and Illness, 2013, PI Professor Kate Reed, Co-I Professor Susie Molyneux-Hodgson, Co-I Dr Inna Kochetkova (Co-I) The rise of the big machine: the role of MRI in health and Healthcare £2000

British Academy 2012-2013 Constructing the foetal patient PI: Professor Kate Reed, Co- I Professor Susie Molyneux-Hodgson £7,347

Wellcome Trust (2006-2008) Antenatal Screening and the Gendering of Genetic Responsibility PI: Professor Kate Reed £16,175

Teaching interests

Kate has taught across several areas of sociology including social theory, health and illness, and genetics as well as on interdisciplinary faculty facing programmes including the MA in Social Research and Faculty of Social Sciences PGR research training programme. The aims of her teaching are threefold: firstly, to deliver high quality teaching, which is directly driven by her research, secondly to create teaching that will enhance the professional development and potential employability prospects of sociology and social science graduates, and thirdly to deliver teaching around health which has practical relevance for students beyond the social sciences.

Kate’s most recent teaching has been centred around social research methods training on sensitive research. She delivers this training in various forms to SMI MA Social Research students, Faculty of Social Sciences PGR students and to PGR students registered across the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WR DTP). Kate is currently the MA Social Research dissertation module convenor and plays a key role in supervising MA Dissertation students registered on this programme.

PhD Supervision

Kate has supervised numerous PhD students on various aspects of health and illness and welcome enquiries from potential students in this area. Her current PhD students include:

Macole Lannaman, Challenging racialised borders and boundaries in British Secondary Schools, Faculty of Social Sciences full Scholarship. Macole is co-supervised with Dr Jo Britton. He is in the second year of his PhD.

Kate Montague-Hellen, Watch and Worry? Understanding the experiences of people living with newly diagnosed, untreated, chronic haematological malignancies. Kate is co-supervised with Dr Abi Tazzyman. Kate is an ESRC +3 funded student and is in the first year of her PhD research.