Dr Kate Themen

Who am I?

My research interests include Feminist Epistemologies; Narratives in Qualitative Research; Gender and sport (specifically football); Sociological Research Methods and Philosophies.

Publications

Themen, K. and van Hooff, J. (2016) ‘Kicking Against Tradition: Women’s Football, Friendships and Family Life’, Leisure Studies, May 2016

Themen, K. (2015) ‘Football and the Female ‘Other’: Narratives of Complicity and Contest’, Journal of Sporting Cultures and Identities, Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2015

Themen, K. (2014) ‘Female Football Players in England: Examining the Emergence of Third-spaceNarratives’, Soccer and Society, May 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2014.919273

Conference Papers

Themen, K. (2017) Reflexivity and Narrative for Exploring Women’s Football: Situating Marginal Voices presented at British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Recovering the Social: Personal Troubles and Public Issues, University of Manchester, April

Themen, K. (2016) Kicking Against Tradition: Women’s Football, Friendships and Family Life, presented at the Leisure Studies Association Conference: Locating Leisure, Blurring Boundaries, Liverpool John Moores University, July

Themen, K. (2016) Hybridity and Acquisition: Creative Spaces for Developing Women’s Football,presented at British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Global Societies: Fragmenting and Connecting, University of Birmingham, UK, April

Themen, K. (2015) Women’s Football: informal spaces and autobiographical recollections in the development of a narrative accepted for presentation at British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Societies in Transition: Progression or Regression? , Glasgow Caledonian University, UK, April

Themen, K. (2014) Female Football Players in England: Research Design in the Development of a Narrative for Women’s Football, presented at British Sociological Association Annual Conference: Changing Society, University of Leeds, UK, April

Themen, K. (2014) Discourses of ‘Englishness’: Examining Female Football Players’ Narratives of Complicity and Transformation, presented to Political Studies 8th Annual Conference: Sport and the Politics of Exclusion, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK, February

Hynes, D. and Themen, K. (2011) ‘Get out of our club, you lying b*stards, get out of our club’: a study of fans, football and ownership in England presented to Media and Sport Section, International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR): Cities, Creativity and Connectivity, Istanbul 13-17 July

Words of wisdom

Make sure that you develop competence with both qualitative and quantitative research methods.  Knowledge of Sociological research paradigms is crucial to success the discipline.

Academic and professional qualifications

PhD thesis conferred at the University of Liverpool (2012-2016) ‘A Narrative Study of Female Football Players in England: Complicity, Negotiation and Transformation in the Third Space’

HEA Fellowship

Other academic service (administration and management)

Admissions Tutor

Co-unit Leader Research Crime and Society

Why study Sociology?

Undergraduate courses

Unit Leader  - Issues and Debates in Contemporary Sociology (level 6)

Research expertise

Research Interests

Sport in social policy

Sociology of football

• gender and participation
• political economy
• governance
• aesthetics and gender performance

Auto-ethnography and grounded research methodologies

Publications

• Books (authored/edited/special issues)

• Journal articles

  K. Themen, C. Popan (2022). Auditory and visual sensory modalities in the velodrome and the practice of becoming a track cyclist. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 57(4), pp.618-633.

  K. Themen (2020). Female football players: encountering physical capital in mixed-sex football. Soccer & Society. 21(5), pp.510-521.

  C. Themen (2015). Football and the Female "Other": Female Football Players and Narratives of Complicity and Contest. Journal of Sporting Cultures and Identities. 6(2),

  K. Themen (2015). Football and the Female "Other": Female Football Players and Narratives of Complicity and Contest. Journal of Sporting Cultures and Identities. 6(2), pp.1-11.

• Chapters in books

  K. Themen (2024). Researching Women's Football. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.21-51.

  K. Themen (2024). Voice, English Football Culture, and Encouraging Inclusivity. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.129-149.

  K. Themen (2024). Women's Football in a Contested Culture. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.150-161.

  K. Themen (2024). Sociality, Community, and the Importance of Friendships in Women's Football. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.77-101.

  K. Themen (2024). Developing Football Players. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.105-128.

  K. Themen (2024). Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.3-20.

  K. Themen (2024). Formative Footballing Experiences. In: Women's Football, Culture, and Identity. Routledge, pp.55-76.

  C. Fogel (2018). Critical Perspectives on Gender and Sport. In: Fogel, Curtis (2018) Critical Perspectives on Gender and Sport. Scholar Open,

  D. Hynes, K. Themen (2013). ‘Get out of Our Club, you Lying B*stards, Get out of Our Club’: A Study of Fans, Football and Ownership in England. In: Football and Communities 2012. BRILL, pp.47-57.

• Conferences

  C. Themen, J. van Hooff Kicking Against Tradition: Women’s Football, Friendships and Family Life. Liverpool John Moores University, 5/7/2016.

  C. Themen Hybridity and Acquisition: Creative Spaces for Developing Women’s Football. Aston University, 6/4/2016.