I have active research interests in writing and literacy as a social practice, digital literacies, and contemporary digital epistemologies. Much of this recently has been concerned with digital literacy and writing, and these interests emerge through recent work which includes: My 2017 book Assignments as Controversies; a 2019 co-authored monograph titled Academics Writing: The Dynamics of Knowledge Creation (both published by Routledge/T&F); and a 2021 co-edited volume The Epistemology of Deceit in a Postdigital World (published by Springer). I recently featured as guest editor for two journal special issues: ‘Critical Perspectives on Teaching in the Multilingual University’ for Teaching in Higher Education (2022); and ‘Lies, Bullshit & Fake News’ for Postdigital Science & Education (2020).

I am the recipient of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2021-2022) for a project entitled ‘Literacy & Harmony: A study of Sino-Muslim heritage literacies in modern China’ which involves ethnographic fieldwork within the provinces of Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Yunnan. More on the project here.

I have not always worked in Universities. My career began in community learning and Further Education where I taught on and managed Adult ESOL and Literacy courses. It is from this context that my interest in literacy and language learning began to emerge: through observing how people who were otherwise marginalised and displaced could – through their digital literacies – become core participants of communities in digital environments, and thus radically transform their lives.

I am a trustee and Governing Council member for the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), and co-convened the Society’s Digital University Network between 2016-2022. I am also an Executive Editor for the T&F journal Teaching in Higher Education, and serve on the Editorial Board of Springer’s Post Digital Science & Education.

I have conducted Visiting Professor activities at Jilin University (China), and also Diponegoro University and Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (both in Indonesia).