Gayle Letherby

Gayle Letherby is a Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Medical School (Faculty of Health), and holds visiting roles at the University of Greenwich and the University of Bath’s Centre for Death and Society (CDAS). She is an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences (since 2007) and recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Contribution to Autoethnography Award. Her research focuses on feminist methodology, health sociology, grief and bereavement, mobility studies, and criminology. She has supervised over 20 doctoral students across multiple universities, including topics like non-motherhood, occupational therapy, and gang culture in African Caribbean communities. Her teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate levels, covering crime theory, auto/biographical research, and feminist epistemology. Notable collaborations include participatory studies on homeless individuals’ food experiences and ethnographic explorations of medical decision-making.

Her interdisciplinary work bridges sociology, criminology, and health studies, with a strong emphasis on autoethnographic and creative methodologies. Recent research explores themes like grief narratives, gendered travel experiences, and the emotional dimensions of doctoral journeys. She has contributed to policy discussions on family-centred care and has been a guest lecturer globally, including at York University (Canada) and University College Cork (Ireland).

• Awards: Academy of Social Sciences Academician (2007), Lifetime Contribution to Autoethnography (2023)
• Teaching Expertise: Feminist research methods, criminology, sociology of health, gender studies
• Key Research Areas: Auto/biography, non-motherhood, medical sociology, mobility, grief studies