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

A photo of Jo Britton
Profile picture of A photo of Jo Britton
n.j.britton@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 6431

Full contact details

Dr Jo Britton
Department of Sociological Studies
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

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

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

Books

  • Britton J (2024) Understanding Muslim Family Life Changing Relationships, Personal Life and Inequality. Policy Press. RIS download Bibtex download

Journal articles

Chapters

Book reviews

  • Britton J (2011) New Geographies of Race and Racism. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 35(3), 681-682. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Britton J (2011) Black Families in Britain as the Site of Struggle. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(3), 521-522. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Britton J (2010) Negotiating Boundaries in the City: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender in Britain.. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 34(3), 715-716. RIS download Bibtex download
Research group

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.

Find out more about our PhD programmes

Teaching interests

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

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.