معرفی
Dr Emma Sheppard is a Lecturer in Sociology at Coventry University's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She teaches across the Sociology BA, Sociology and Criminology BA courses, and contributes to the MA History programme. Her teaching specialisms include disability, gender, and sexuality, with particular focus on modules Deviance and Desire and Disability in Society at level 6.
Dr Sheppard completed her PhD in 2017 at Edge Hill University. Prior to joining Coventry University at the end of 2019, she served as a Teaching Fellow in Sociology at City, University of London.
Her research centers on disability studies, with particular emphasis on embodied experiences of long-term chronic fatigue and pain (also known as "energy limiting impairments"). Dr Sheppard explores the intersection of crip time and disability futurity with queer theory to examine what constitutes "a good life with chronic illness." Her work bridges sociology, gender studies, and medical humanities, challenging conventional understandings of time, productivity, and embodiment in contemporary society.
Dr Sheppard's publications reveal a consistent focus on the lived experiences of disability, particularly chronic pain conditions. Her work spans multiple disciplines including sociology, gender studies, disability studies, and medical humanities. A recurring theme is the intersection of disability with sexuality and gender identity, often employing crip theory and queer theory frameworks to analyze how chronic illness reshapes social participation, intimacy, and temporal experience.
Dr Sheppard actively supervises PhD students in disability studies and gender/sexuality studies. She has engaged with public discourse through expert appearances on podcasts and interviews for publications like The Guardian and GQ. Currently, she is working on her first monograph for Routledge (scheduled for 2024 publication), which promises to make a significant contribution to disability studies literature.
