Emma Pullen is a senior lecturer in the areas of Sport Management and the Sociology of Sport in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. She completed her PhD at Loughborough University in 2016 and has since been appointed as a postdoctoral researcher on an Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded project at Bournemouth University. She started as a lecturer at Loughborough University in 2019, and became a senior lecturer in 2022.

Emma’s research is broadly focused on social inclusion and diversity in sport with a particular interest in sport media and communication, feminist research (debates, methodologies, approaches), and disability and Paralympic sport. Emma has published in journals across the social sciences and humanities, including the Sociology of Sport (SSJ), Communication & Sport, Cultural Studies, and the International Review for the Sociology of Sport (IRSS). Emma has led on research projects funded from the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Central Government (FCO), and UK Sport, and worked with several external international partners including public agencies, corporations, NGOs, and campaign groups. Emma is passionate about creative curation of research data as accessible artifacts for public consumption and has translated her work through art exhibitions, documentary film, radio, and public talks.

Current and recent research projects

  • Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (2021-2023): Pullen (PI): Gendered representations of disability: Equality, empowerment and marginalisation in Paralympic media. (AH/T006684/1) 
  • International Paralympic Committee (IPC) (2022): Pullen, E. (Co-I) #wethe15 campaign evaluation
  • UK Sport (2020): Pullen, E (PI) The Experiences of Pregnancy in Olympic and Paralympic Female Athletes.  
  • UK Government/Global Disability Innovation HUB (GDIH) (2020-2024): Pullen, E (Co-I) Life Changing Assistive Technology. Overcoming Stigma through Paralympic Sport.
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)(2017-2019): Pullen, E (Co-I) Disability & the cultural legacy of the Paralympics. (AH/P003842/1).
  • Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Peer Review College (PRC) Member
  • Editorial Board member for Communication & Sport
  • Member of UK Sport Athlete Pregnancy Working Group
  • Review Editor on the Editorial Board of The History, Culture and Sociology of Sports (Specialty Section of Frontiers in Sports and Active Living)
  • Special Issue Guest Editor: Communication & Sport Journal: Sport & Social Justice
  • Special Issue Guest Editor: International Review for the Sociology of Sport Journal: Diversity and Inclusion work in Sport
  • International Guest Lecturer: University of Tübingen, Germany.

Featured publications

  • Pullen, E., Miller, B., Wiltshire, G., Plateau C. 2022. A feminist materialist inspired analysis of the meaning and management of pregnancy and reproductive health in Olympic and Paralympic female athletes. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2022.2146162
  • Noske-Turner, J., Pullen, E., Magalasi, M., Haslett, D., Tacchi, J. 2022. Paralympic broadcasting in Sub-Saharan Africa: Sport, media and communication for social change. Communication & Sport. DOI: 10.1177/21674795221093722
  • Pullen, E., Jackson D., and Silk, M. 2020. Watching disability: UK audience perceptions of the Paralympics, equality, and social change. European Journal of Communication. DOI: 10.1177/0267323120909290
  • Pullen, E. and Silk, M. 2019. Gender, technology and the Ablenational Paralympic body politic. Cultural Studies. DOI: 10.1080/09502386.2019.1621917
  • Pullen, E., Jackson, D., Silk, M. and Scullion, R., 2018. Re-presenting the Paralympics: (contested) philosophies, production practices and the hypervisibility of disability. Media, Culture & Society. DOI: 10.1177/0163443718799399