Dr Yvonne Ehrstein MA, PhD, PGCAP, FHEA

Dr Yvonne Ehrstein

Lecturer in Sociology

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences

Contact Details

Profile

I am a sociologist specialising in the sociologies of gender, work and the digital. I gained my PhD in Sociology from City, University of London where I also taught for five years as a Visiting Lecturer and was part of the Gender and Sexualities Research Centre’s Organising Committee. Prior to joining Aberystwyth University in 2023, I taught at the University of Essex on their Sociology programme. Preceding this and the PhD, I completed an MA (Dist) in Sociology and worked in several capacities at the interdisciplinary gender research centre at the University of Frankfurt. 

My doctoral research explored discourses of equality, work and care on and beyond Britain’s largest parenting website Mumsnet.com. As a feminist sociologist, all my work is animated by questions about inequalities and power relations. As such, my research is underpinned by an intersectional approach that recognises people’s experiences of work and parenting are shaped by intersecting cultural and structural inequalities. 

In my current research, I explore what the ‘digital turn’ means in particular for mothers and people with caring responsibilities. I also continue to be interested in exploring the social and emotional implications of communicative practices in techno-social environments, and their embedding in a shifting feminist landscape. 

I am passionate about teaching. Reflecting my commitment to inclusive teaching and learning as well as nurturing student support, I gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2020.  

Additional Information

Office hours: 

Fridays, 12:00-14:00

Research

My broader research interests centre around: 

  • Social, cultural and (post)feminist theory 
  • Inequality and discrimination 
  • The neoliberalisation of culture 
  • Feminisms 
  • (Gender) Politics of networked social media 
  • Conceptualisations of care and work-life balance
  • Digital and innovative social research methods incl. digital ethnography
  • Discursive, psychosocial methods that encompass affect

Responsibilities

DGES service: 

DGES Dissertations and Projects Co-ordinator (Sociology) 

DGES Recruitment Committee member 

University service: 

Women in Research Network (WIRN) Organising Committee member

Publications

Ehrstein, Y 2020, 'Shani Orgad, Heading Home: Motherhood, Work, and the Failed Promise of Equality', European Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 296-302. 10.1177/1367549420912755
Ehrstein, Y 2019, ''"Am I being unreasonable to feel undervalued?"' Navigating inequality in domestic settings on the UK parenting site Mumsnet', British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2019, Glasgow, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 24 Apr 2019 - 26 Apr 2019.
Ehrstein, Y, Gill, R & Littler, J 2019, The Affective Life of Neoliberalism: Constructing (Un)reasonableness on Mumsnet. in S Dawes & L Marc (eds), Neoliberalism in Context: Governance, Subjectivity and Knowledge. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 195-213. 10.1007/978-3-030-26017-0_11
Ehrstein, Y 2018, 'The reconciliation challenge: Discursive constructions of working and caring identities on Mumsnet.com', Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines Biannual Conference 2018, Aalborg, Denmark, 04 Jul 2018 - 06 Jul 2018.
More publications on the Research Portal