I am Professor of Sociology to Professor of Sociology and Sociological Practice. To be clear 'sociological practice' is not a form of methodological fetishism but, instead, is something much simpler. A recognition that the sociology which is important to me is deeply rooted in the Millsean /Jephcottian ideas of sociology as 'craft and skills' (see Goodwin 2016). That being a sociologist requires certain skills and the best way to develop these skills is to enact them continually. This approach is also informed by the sociology of Norbert Elias (the best sociological understanding is offered by examining long-term historical, social processes) and the sociology of those who work with auto\biography such as Liz Stanley (histories and biographies intersect, and sociological insight into long term social processes can be gained by examining auto\biographical material in all its forms). We as sociologists belong to a 'community of practice' and the role of those who teach sociology is to teach the craft, teach the 'doing' and to enable membership of that community practice we call sociology.

In 2022 I was shortlisted by the THES as the outstanding research supervisor of the year. I have worked at the University of Leicester since 1991.

Check out the new Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space (LCHS)

I am currently using autoethnographic writing and research to examine social class through storytelling and collaborative autoethnography to explore fieldwork experiences.

Beyond this, I have a broad range of research interests including (i) Youth. This includes transitions employment and precarity and past studies of 'troubled' youth. (ii) The sociology of Pearl Jephcott, Norbert Elias and C Wright Mills. The social psychology of Milgram and Zimbardo; (iii) Auto/biographical methods and analysis (correspondence film photographs biography social media art); (iv) The 'reuse' of data and of the value of 'non-standard' forms of data; and (v) sociological understandings of space linking the individual to the cosmos. 

You can find out more about my approach and research interests by watching the following films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bgSINGOpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyeRplkCr0E&t=3130s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mULG6hIB1c&t=1043s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bgSINGOp
 

Forthcoming 

• Hughes, Goodwin, Dunning and O’Connor et al (2025) Continuity and Change in Community Relations, Palgrave (forthcoming).

• Goodwin, J. (2025) Reintroducing Pearl Jephcott: A Sociological Pioneer of Gender, Youth, Community and Method, Routledge.

• Parsons, L. and Goodwin, J. (2025) Doing Sociology Through Film and Literature, Anthem Press (forthcoming - contracted).

Recent

• Parsons, L. and Goodwin, J. (2025) Between the Field and Elsewhere: Using Dialogic Collaborative Autoethnography in Ethnographic Restudies, Qualitative Inquiry, DOI: 10.1177/10778004251355903

• Goodwin, J. (2025) Coalville: Imaging ‘Coal Was Our Life', International Sociological Association RC57 VISUAL SOCIOLOGY, Newsletter 25.1, ISA: Madrid.

• Goodwin, J. (2025) Revisiting Ethnographies from Sociology’s Past: A Research Note on ‘Other Voices’ in Pearl Jephcott’s Work, Global Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology

• Goodwin, J. (ed) (2023) Selected Works of Pearl Jephcott: Social Issues and Social Research - 5 volumes (editor and forewords) Routledge. 

• Ana Caetano, John Goodwin, Magda Nico & Anabela Pereira (2022) Back to basics? Portraits of the first Covid-19 lockdown in Portugal, Visual Studies, DOI: 10.1080/1472586X.2022.2134815

• Goodwin, J. (2022) Slower Sociologies for the Sociology of the Future, Sociology, Vol.57. 2 https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385221127106

• Goodwin, J. O’Connor, H. and Parsons, L. (2022) From Nottinghamshire to Notting Hill: Contemporary Lessons from Pearl Jephcott’s Ethnographies of ‘Troubled Areas’, Serendipities. Journal for the Sociology and History of the Social Sciences Vol. 6 No. 1 , 39-54. 

• Goodwin J, Parsons L. (2021) A Life in Motion: Exploring Auto/Biographical Exchanges by ‘Walking With’ Nelson Sullivan. Sociological Research Online. July 2021. doi:10.1177/13607804211025541

I am a very experienced supervisor having supervised well over well 230 MA/MSc dissertations and 46 Doctoral theses to completion (two of which won the Outstanding DSocSci prize). I also have a significant amount of Doctoral examining experience both at Leicester and beyond. I am interested in supervising students in the following areas:

Creative Methods - Auto/Biography, Ethnography, Autoethnography, Visual Methods, Reuse of Qualitative Data, Storytelling.
The work of C Wright Mills, Pearl Jephcott, Norbert Elias, and Stanley Milgram.
Social Class, Work and Community.
The History of Sociology.
Youth - Education to Work Transitions

SY1008: Interpreting Key Texts (contributor)
SY2091: Live Sociology (contributor)
SY3100: Social Psychology
MA in Space and Society: Micro, Macro and the Universe: Intersections of Biography and History in Space

John's work has featured in local, national and international print and broadcast media, including The Guardian, Publico, CNN, the BBC as well as advising on the content of documentaries. John is happy to discuss potential contributions in his research areas.

• QAA Sociology Subject Benchmark Advisory Group 25/26
• UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Round 9 Interview Panel Member 2025.
• Fellow: Centre of Figurational Research, University of Warsaw
• LIAS Archives and Special Collections Fellowship 24/25
• Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge, Rudd Centre
• Recommissioning the UK Data Service, ESRC. Chair of Commissioning Panel.
• Doctoral Training Partnerships Commissioning an 2024, ESRC: Vice-chair for Panel B
• Research Excellence Framework, 2021, Sub-panel 21: Sociology, Panel Member and IDR.
• Data, Infrastructure, Skills, and Methods Expert Advisory Group, ESRC: Panel Member, founding Chair.
• Early Life Cohort Advisory Group, ESRC: Chair.
• Scoping the skills needs in the social sciences to support data-driven research, Steering Group, ESRC.
• Panel member for the UK National Coordinator for the European Social Survey (ESS), Rounds 11 and 12 , ESRC
• The Football Association - Disciplinary Commissions/National Serious Case Panel.

• Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS)
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS)
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
• Academic Fellow, CIPD (AFCIPD)

• University of Leicester, Citizen's Awards 2023. Research Supervisor of the Year. Finalist.
• Times Higher Education Awards 2022. Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year, Shortlisted.
• University of Leicester, Discovering Excellence Awards 2019. Teaching Excellence. Finalist.
• University of Leicester, Discovering Excellence Awards 2018. President’s Award. Nominated.
• Emerald Publishing, Outstanding Paper Award for Excellence 2004. Winner.
  
   

• Goodwin, J. (2025) Days that Changed the World: Launch of Sputnik 4/10/1957.  Leicester Institute of Advanced Study/Literary Leicester, Attenborough Arts Centre, 21/3/25.
• Goodwin, J. (2025) Sociological Walking Research and Practice. Through the Walking Lens Event. Institute of Advanced Study, Cosin’s Hall, Durham University, 18/3/2025.
• Goodwin, J. (2025) Finding Pearls: Biographical Traces, The Sociological Craft, and a Lost Study of Delinquency, CFR, University of Warsaw. 
• Goodwin, J. and Hughes, H. (2024) (Re) Imagining Czechoslovakia: Pearl Jephcott’s Czech Research Notebook,  Social Figurations: long-term processes, present concerns, and future directions conference,  Prague, Czech Republic, 5/12/24.
• Goodwin, J. (2024) ‘Other Voices in the Archive’: Pearl Jephcott’s Homes in High Flats (1971),  "Sources, Data, and Methods for the History of Sociology,  ISA RC08 Online Conference, 16/10/24.
• Goodwin, J. (2024) Revisiting Radby: Lessons from the Social Background to Delinquency, Journal of Youth Studies Conference, University of Ulster, Belfast. September 2024.  
• Berriman, L. G, Fenton. L., Goodwin, J. Thomson, R & McGeeney, E. (2024) Archive Methods: Reanimating Youth Studies: Panel. Journal of Youth Studies Conference, University of Ulster, Belfast. September 2024. 
• Goodwin, J. (2024) Holidays by the Sea: A Ten-Minute Film, International Working-Class StoryFest.  A conference organised by The Working-Class Collective, the Working-Class Theatre Makers, and The Working-Class Studies Association,  23rd March 2024. 
• Goodwin, J. (2023) Adventures in Restudies, Autobiographical Methods and Storytelling: Lessons for Possible Futures from the Past and Present, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education/Rudd Research and Professional Practice Centre. 8th March 2023.
• Goodwin, J. (2022) Disruptions, Disputes and Dilemmas: Elias and the ‘Empirical’ Sociology at Leicester 1950s-1970s, University of Warsaw, 9th December 2022.
• Goodwin, J. (2022) A year in the life: Living portraits of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. Centro de Ivestigação e Estudos de Sociolgia, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal. Lisboa. Portugal. Biographical Echoes Conference 16th September 2022. 
• Goodwin, J. (2022) Biographies and the Practice of Storytelling.  Centro de Ivestigação e Estudos de Sociolgia, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal. Lisboa. Portugal. Biografias e Trajectories,  14th September 2022. 
• Goodwin, J (2022) The Practice of Story Telling: Learning to Read, College Court, University of Leicester. 13th July 2022.
• Goodwin, J (2022) The Sociological Practice of Story Telling, Attenborough Arts Centre, University of Leicester. 
• Caetano, A., Goodwin, J., Nico, M. et al (2021) Back to Basics? Photographic Portraits of Domestic Confinement During the Covid-19 Pandemic, European Sociological Association Conference, 3rd September 2021. 
• Goodwin, J. (2021) A Juventude através dos tempos. Keynote. QUESTÕES SOCIAIS: Novo Encontro Juventudes, 27th and 28th February, 2021. Fundaçāo Fransico Manuel Dos Santos, Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, Lisboa. Portugal
• Goodwin, J. (2021) C. Wright Mills – ‘Reality Congruent Revolution’, Out of Time: Revolutionary Arguments - Past and Present, University of Leicester – Virtual International Symposium, Friday 10th September 2021. 

BSc (Loughborough) Sociology and Social Psychology (1991)

Ph.D. (Leicester) Sociology (1997)

PhD Thesis Title: Men's work and male lives : exploring men and employment in the national child development study. The thesis offers an empirical account of men's employment via a secondary analysis of the National Child Development Study (1991). The analysis suggested that men's lives were/are far more complex (and less homogeneous) than originally thought. External Examiner: Professor Mike Gane. Internal Examiner: Professor Annie Phizacklea. Supervisor: Professor David Ashton.