Dr Katy Wheeler

Biography

Katy (aka Kathryn) Wheeler is Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Environment and Society at the University of Essex. Her research explores how normative understandings of sustainable consumption are formed, contested, and lived out by individuals and communities, particularly among young people engaging with sustainability and climate change. Rooted in the sociology of consumption, her work critically examines how moral frameworks, educational practices, and political-economic conditions interact to shape sustainable action. Katy's recent research focuses on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), investigating how young people understand, negotiate, and respond to the demands placed upon them to act sustainably. She analyses the ways in which sustainability education both reflects and reproduces broader moral economies of consumption, drawing attention to tensions between systemic responsibility and individualised behavioural expectations. Across her career, Katy has developed a distinctive sociological approach to sustainable consumption, informed by empirical studies of fair trade, recycling, circular economy initiatives, and sustainability education. Her books include 'Fair Trade and the Citizen-Consumer: Shopping for Justice?' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and 'Household Recycling and Consumption Work: Social and Moral Economies' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). Recent journal articles appear in 'Sustainability', 'Journal of Moral Education', and 'Consumption and Society'. Methodologically, Katy is an experienced qualitative researcher, specialising in qualitative interviewing, qualitative survey analysis, and the use of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). She is also a Professional Trainer for the qualitative software MAXQDA and teaches qualitative methods internationally. Since 2013, she has been an instructor at the Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, delivering courses on qualitative interviewing and analysis. Her current work explores the implications of Generative AI for qualitative research practices, advocating for greater technological reflexivity in social research. Katy regularly contributes to the development of research methods pedagogy, authoring teaching resources on qualitative and social research methods for SAGE Publications. Alongside her academic work, she has undertaken consultancy projects for organisations promoting sustainability education, including the analysis of youth survey data for SEEd (Sustainability and Environmental Education). She serves on the editorial board of the 'Journal of Cultural Economy', was a convenor for the British Sociological Association (BSA) Climate Change Study Group from 2018 to 2023, and was a Trustee of the charity Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) from 2019-2024. Her research continues to interrogate how young people’s capacities for critical agency can be supported within - and beyond - formal education systems. LinkedIn: @KatyMWheeler

Qualifications

• Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (2016)

• PhD, Sociology (2010)

• MA Sociological Research Methods (2006)

• BA Sociology and Criminology (2004) University of Essex,

Appointments

University of Essex

• Departmental lead for the 'Sustainable Transitions in Governance, Ecological Management and Society – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme' (£2.2 million grant)., University of Essex (1/1/2024 - present)

• Deputy Director, Centre for Environment and Society, University of Essex (1/9/2023 - present)

• Sustainability Officer, Sociology, University of Essex (1/9/2022 - present)

• Director of Education, Sociology & Criminology, University of Essex (15/1/2024 - 12/4/2024)

• Undergraduate Director, Sociology, University of Essex (11/1/2021 - 31/8/2022)

• Senior Personal Tutor, University of Essex (4/1/2021 - 31/8/2022)

• Sociology Blended Learning Co-ordinator, Sociology, University of Essex (17/8/2020 - 30/7/2021)

• Deputy Director of CRESI, University of Essex (2/10/2017 - 2/9/2019)

Other academic

• Lecturer in Sociology, The Open University (1/10/2013 - 31/8/2016)

• Senior Researcher, , ‘Consumption Work and Societal Divisions of Labour’ project, Department of Sociology, University of Essex (3/1/2011 - 30/9/2013)

• Research Fellow, National Evaluation of the Healthy Towns Programme, School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London (1/2/2010 - 1/1/2011)