university of manchester phd sociology

Research clusters

Our research fits into six key clusters.

Find out more

Social inequality and stratification

Researching inequalities in social class, gender, sexuality and age, and the interactions between them. 

Networks, relationality and everyday lives

Studying social ties and social networks to understand how our everyday lives and relationships work.

Race, ethnicity and migration

Examining the racial and ethnic dynamics of inequality, representation, identity and power.

Culture and consumption

Focusing on cultural practices, consumption and sustainable lifestyles.

Social movements and protest

Looking at the ways in which people who aren't politicians get involved in politics.

Methodological innovation

Exploring new and developing existing ways of doing social research to understand societies.

Sophie Woodward

• Professor of Sociology , Sociology
• Phone +44 (0) 161 275 2494

Personal profile

I research material culture, everyday life and consumption using a range of creative research methods. I have a particular interest in the materiality of everyday life (having researched clothing, fashion and unused objects in the home), and also feminist theory (in recent research on birth and death). 

I have an interdisciplinary background - having studied Archaeology and Anthropology for a BA at the University of Cambridge, Research Methods for an MA at the University of York, and Social Anthropology (Material Culture) for a PhD at University College London. I have worked in various Art and Design schools, before moving to Sociology at the University of Manchester in 2009. This background leads me to creatively draw upon methods, theories and approaches from a range of disciplines to think critically and sociologically about everyday life and material relationships. 

I am Co-Director of the Morgan Centre into everyday lives where I use theories of personal life and everyday relationships to think through how people relate to things/objects and how relations to each other are mediated through things.  My ongoing research is into Dormant Things (things people keep but are no longer using) which I am currently writing up. I have recently published 2 books:

Woodward, S. 2019 Material Methods: researching and thinking with things (London: Sage). 

Woodward, K and Woodward, S. 2019 Birth and Death: experience, ethics, politics (London: Routledge). 

In addition to my research activities and teaching, I am also Co-Investigator for NCRM (the ESRC funded National Centre for Reserach Methods) leading on creative methods. Activities include creating a series of In Conversation events on material methods . 

Other research

Current research projects.

My research falls within 3 interconnected areas; material culture and everyday life, creative methods(particularly related to how we understand the material) and feminist theories.

My interest in material culture and everyday life has been developed through an ethnography into women's wardrobes and subsequent research into denim with Daniel Miller (see the Global Denim Project for details). This includes an ethnographic project into jeans wearing in London into how wearing jeans is part of a desire and struggle for ordinariness. I am currently carrying out research into ‘dormant things’ in domestic spaces (such as things in cupboards, attics). The project aims to explore the vitalities and relationalities of things that are not currently being used. It does this by developing methods which foreground the things themselves in a kind of ‘socio-archaeological’ approach (see the project website  http://projects.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/dormant-things ).

This develops my interest in ‘material methods’, which I have recently written a book on ( Material methods: researching and thinking with things for Sage). I have previously carried out an exploratory interdisciplinary collaboration, with the school of materials, which developed methodologies for understanding materiality through the example of old, denim jeans. I am developing a series of In Conversation videos on material methods with the NCRM - see the first video which sets the series up .  

My work in feminist theory engages with the connections and disruptions between theory, methods and everyday life; this has been explored through an intergenerational dialogue (with Kath Woodward) as a means to challenge generational bound wave models of feminist thinking as evident in a recent book  on Birth and Death: experience, ethics, politics with Routledge. 

Recent publications

Research interests.

• Materiality and material culture 
• Feminism and feminist theory
• Clothing and fashion
• Consumption
• The everyday and ordinary
• Creative qualitative research methods (especially ethnographic)

Opportunities

I welcome PhD applicants in the following areas:

• Materiality, material culture; clothing and fashion; consumption

• Feminist theory and methodologies; gender performances. 

•creative qualitative and interdisciplinary methods and approaches

Current PhD students:

Alexus Davis - Birth expectations amongst Australian Aboriginal Women

Mariana Dias - Homemaking, material culture and belonging for Portuguese women in the UK

• Neta Yodovich - Does that make me a bad feminist? Feminism and female fandom. 
• Jessica Mancuso - Sapphic Space Scarcity: lesbian women's spaces in Manchester
• Maisie Tomlinson: Critical anthropo-morphisms and Multi-species ehtnography.
• Matko Krce-Ivancic - Gendering Individuals: women and the trnasition to neo-liberalism in Croatia
• Deborah Giustini -Towards a Sociology of Interpreting
• Irmak Hazir - ‘Culture Consumption and Lifestyle: The Case of Turkish Middle Class’ Awarded 2013.
• Naomi Braithwaite - ‘A Study of Material Agency, Independent Shoe Designers’. Awarded 2012
• Sabine Hielscher (EPSRC funded), ‘Routine Hair Care Practices and Design Responsibility’. Awarded 2010.

Other teaching information

Socy20061 sociology of fashion.

SOCY30192 Material Culture; social lives of things

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Areas of expertise

• HM Sociology
• Materiality
• Material culture
• consumption
• creative methods

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

• Creative Manchester

Fingerprint

• 1 Similar Profiles
• Materials Social Sciences 100%
• Research Social Sciences 47%
• Materiality Arts and Humanities 40%
• Object Arts and Humanities 34%
• Consumption Social Sciences 33%
• Material Culture Social Sciences 31%
• Understanding Social Sciences 24%
• Experience Social Sciences 23%

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Dive into details.

Select a country/territory to view shared publications and projects

Research output

• 1 Commissioned report
• 1 Scholarly edition
• 1 Foreword/postscript
• 1 Editorial

Research output per year

Masking in the Pandemic: Materiality, Interaction, and Moral Practice

Research output : Book/Report › Book › peer-review

• Masking 100%
• Development 10%
• Activities of Daily Living 10%

Secret objects in the home: Potency, (in)visibility and everyday relationships

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Secrecy 100%
• Intimacy 75%
• Research 50%
• Materials 50%
• Practice 50%

Clutter in domestic spaces: Material vibrancy, and competing moralities

• Materiality 100%
• Domestic space 100%
• Materials 100%
• Material Space 100%

Birth and Death: Experience, Ethics, Politics

Research output : Book/Report › Book

• Experience 100%
• Politics 100%

Material Cultures

Research output : Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• 2 Not started

Projects per year

Air Space: Creating a Community-Integrated Network of Interdisciplinary Research on Socio-Atmospherics (AWARD)

Hicks, S. , Woodward, S. , Balmer, A. , Ashton, J. , Evans, J. , Lewis, C. , Topping, D. & Jankovic, V.

1/08/23 → 31/07/24

Project : Research

National Centre for Research Methods 2020-2024

Elliot, M. & Woodward, S.

1/01/20 → 31/12/24

• Research 100%
• Research Method 100%
• Procedures 100%

Global Denim

Woodward, S.

Project : Other

• Global 100%
• Socialist 7%

Dormant Things

• Consumption 65%
• Research 54%

Activities per year

Esteem indicators

Sophie Woodward (Other)

Activity : Internal positions, career professional development and other › Other › Research

Sophie Woodward (Participant)

Impact : Cultural impacts

Press/Media

Sketching dormant things.

1 Media contribution

Press/Media : Blogs and social media

Hair, teeth and ashes: keeping hold of body parts and body prostheses

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

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Download our course brochure

Discover more about the BA Social Sciences (BASS)

BASS Politics and Sociology / Course details

Year of entry: 2025

• View full page

Course description

Manchester has been so welcoming with its international students. I've met different people from around the world through my course and societies. I had the opportunity to learn about different cultural experiences through my friends, and this widened my horizons as a global citizen. Ashley Ip / BA Social Sciences student

The BA in Politics and Sociology course is one of the pathways within the BA Social Sciences degree.

It is ideal if you want to keep your options open or study specific topics such as race, class, crime or religion from different perspectives.

This flexible degree lets you study at least three subjects in Year 1, and then in Years 2 and 3 you deepen your understanding of the subjects you feel passionate about.

The six subject areas are:

• Criminology - The study of the causes and consequences of crime.
• Philosophy - The study of the nature of knowledge, truth and values. It also encourages greater consideration of our reasoning, judgement and ethics.
• Politics - The study of human organisation, government and power. It examines and evaluates political systems and institutions.
• Data Analytics - The study of data and analysis to understand the social world.
• Social Anthropology - The study of societies and cultures across the globe in comparative perspective.
• Sociology - The study of society. It examines such issues as social inequalities and forms of everyday life.

You are not tied to the course code you apply to through UCAS and have the option to change after Year 1.

Special features

You apply in year 1 to boost your employability through a paid Professional Experience Year.

If you meet the criteria, the Professional Experience Team and Careers Service will work with you to find a suitable placement in your 2nd year.

You will then complete your Professional Experience Year in 3rd year extending your degree to four years, before returning to University to finish your final year.

Your degree title will be extended to include 'with Professional Experience', giving you the added advantage of relevant work experience when entering the competitive graduate jobs market.

Paid placement opportunity

You can apply for a paid Q-Step internship between Years 2 and 3.

Study abroad

If you would like to broaden your horizons and your degree, you can apply to study overseas for a year at one of our partner universities. You apply in Year 2 to spend a year abroad in Year 3. If successful, you will put together a programme of study at the host university in consultation with your Academic Exchange Advisor, to complement your studies at Manchester. You will then come back to Manchester to study for a fourth year and graduate with a degree title including ‘with International Study'. See The University of Manchester Study Abroad pages for more information, including eligibility criteria, destinations, costs and funding.

Teaching and learning

Course units feature formal lectures supported by smaller tutorials or seminars, where you explore the contents of lectures and recommended reading in greater depth. 

Tutorials and seminars are key in improving your written and oral communication skills through group discussions, essay-writing, and presentations. 

You are assigned an Academic Advisor who takes a friendly interest in your progress, and can advise you on selecting course units and career opportunities.

Coursework and assessment

The way that you study and are assessed will depend on which course units you choose. Our methods are designed to promote in-depth learning and understanding, including: 

• essays, coursework, and other mid-term evaluations; 
• dissertations; 
• presentations; 
• group projects; 

Course content for year 1

Course units for year 1.

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Course content for year 2

In Year 2 you begin to specialise. If you specialise in one subject you take 60 to 80 credits in it. If you specialise in two subjects, you take 40 credits in each.

Course units for year 2

Course content for year 3.

In Year 3 you pick your final areas of specialisation. If you specialise in one subject you take 60 to 80 credits in it. If you specialise in two subjects you take 40 credits in each.

Course units for year 3

Course content for year 4.

If completing a year abroad, you will take the Year 3 course content in Year 4.

Disability support

PhD candidate Meghann Lucy accepts position at Truman State University

• By: Matthew Dineen
• March 20, 2024

PhD candidate Meghann Lucy has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice position at Truman State University . She will join their faculty in Fall 2024. Congratulations, Meghann!

She was also featured recently in  The Daily Free Press   article “CISS and Spark! partnership combines quantitative data and social science in research” focusing on her role as graduate affiliate of the Center for Innovation in Social Science.

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