Dr Kim Allen

Associate Professor

Location: University of Leeds, Sociology and Social Policy

My research is located at the intersections of youth studies, sociology, gender studies and the cultural studies of education. A feminist researcher, my work is informed by a commitment to social justice.

My research falls into four key areas:

Youth transitions, aspirations and inequalities of social class, gender, race and place.
Young people’s cultural practices and engagements with celebrity.
Representations of class and gender in popular culture.
Inequality and diversity in the creative and cultural industries.

I have worked on a range of research projects in these areas including the ESRC-funded ‘Celebrity culture and young people’s classed and gendered aspirations’. A book based on the project – Celebrity, aspiration and contemporary youth: education and inequality in an era of austerity – is published by Bloomsbury Press (2018).