Welcome to the website and research blog for Dr. Emma Rich.

I am currently a Senior lecturer in the Body and Physical Culture, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University. In 2006 I was a visiting scholar at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and University of Wollongong, Australia.

I am an RAE active researcher with a growing international reputation in the field of the body and physical culture. Within this area, I have co-written 2 books (The Medicalization of Cyberspace with Dr Andy Miah, and Education, Disordered Eating, and Obesity discourse: Fat Fabrications), lead editor of 1 book (Expanding the obesity debate), and published over 70 articles for conferences, book chapters, encyclopeadias and academic journals. I have been awarded significant research funding from a range of sources including the Economic and Social Research Council, the Society for Educational Studies, the International Olympic Academy, the International Olympic Academy and the Australain Research Council.

Located within the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, I am a member of the Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy teaching and research group. My research is underpinned by pedagogy; i.e. by questions about how people learn about their bodies and develop embodied identities through different physical cultures ranging from formal institutions, such as schools, to less formal entities such as the media and popular culture in its diverse forms. My research and teaching are closely linked. I have lectured on various subject areas focused around the sociology of the body and education and research methodology in both the UK and as a visiting scholar in Australia and New Zealand.

I am an active member of a number of learned associations and institutions. In recognition of my work on eating disorders, obesity and the medicalisation of cyberspace, I am an associate fellow of the Royal Society for Medicine. I also undertake public engagement work, interviewing regularly for the media (eg SKY, channel 4 news, radio 4), public speaking. Media interest in my work is often prompted by my exploration of body and physical culture issues within cutting edge contexts such as genetic modification, pro-anorexia, cyberspace, and the obesity ‘epidemic’. For example, my recent book co-written with Dr Andy Miah on The Medicalization of Cyberspace analyses learning through online health-related communities. This has informed recent public debates on related matters such as pro-anorexia networks. I have also been interested in the ways in which obesity-related policy and discourse has impacted negatively on schooling practices, body image, and young people’s identities. This work has received international recognition from media, health organizations and academics, and I have worked with a leading clinic for the treatment of eating disorders. This work is published in my co-authored book ‘Education, Disordered Eating and Obesity disocurse: Fat Fabrications’. I am currently the principle investigator on an ESRC-funded international collaborative project with Universities in New Zealand and Australia, exploring the impact on schools of attitudes and practices related to obesity. More recently, I have secured a contract for an Edited book ‘Expanding the Obesity Debate: Critical Readings’ which will address issues around obesity from an inter-disciplinary perspective.

However, my work on the body and physical cultures is not confined to eating disorders, obesity and health. I have also developed work exploring how physical cultures produce gendered bodies, and write on matters related to gender, identity and the body (my doctoal research explored this in the context of PE teacher training). In 2004 I was a co-researcher on a project commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, exploring the experiences of Women in leadership in the Olympic Movement. In addition, I am the founder and chair of the Gender, Sport and Society Forum; an International forum connecting over 140 scholars in this field.

Dr Emma Rich

Lecturer in the Body and Physical Culture
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences,
Loughborough University,
Loughborough,
Leicestershire,
LE11 3TU
UKEmail: E.J.Rich@lboro.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1509 222765