Dr Tom Fletcher
About
Dr Thomas Fletcher is Reader within the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Tom is an interdisciplinary applied sociologist with particular interest in equality and diversity, social justice, families and fatherhood. He is committed to social justice and believes in the potential for academic work to be transformative, especially to the lives of those most vulnerable. Tom is especially concerned with how whiteness is manifest, performed, and its privileges sustained throughout all levels of society.
Tom is an internationally recognised researcher. His work can be broadly categorised under three intersecting areas. Firstly, migration and Black and minoritised ethnic communities where he is recognised globally for his work into the South Asian diaspora, race equality and social justice in sport, leisure and events. Secondly, social and cultural aspects of sports events where he has published on topics related ethical event hosting, community development, the Middle East and Islam. The third and most recent area concerns families and family events. Tom is the author of the 2020 monograph Negotiating fatherhood: sport and family practices (Palgrave Macmillan).
Tom is Chair of the University's Race Equality and Diversity Forum and a School Research Ethics Coordinator.
Beyond Leeds Beckett, Tom is Chair of the Leisure Studies Association, a learned society within the Academy of Social Sciences. Tom has a range of editorial roles with international peer review journals. He is currently Reviews Editor for Soccer & Society, Associate Editor of Palgrave Communications and a member of the Editorial Boards of Leisure Studies, Sociological Research Online and Sport in Society.
Current Teaching
Tom is a qualified teacher and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He teaches across the School's Undergraduate and Postgraduate provision in Sports Events Management:
- Level 4
- Sports Events in Society
- Level 5
- Sport, Media and Culture
- Politics of Sports EventsResearch Methods
- Dissertation supervision
- Level 7
- Sports Events, Impacts and Policy
- Research Methods
- Dissertation supervision
Tom is currently supervising PhD students researching a variety of issues in events, tourism and hospitality. He welcomes applications in relation to:
- Social justice in events, tourism and hospitality
- Families and events, tourism and hospitality
- Sport events, leisure and tourism
- Organisational cultures in events, tourism and hospitality
Tom is currently supervising the following projects:
- Nancy Amoudi: A critical analysis of the educational mobilities of Palestinian students in Leeds, UK
- Gulbahar Abdallah: Female migrant workers in Qatar hospitality industry
- James Mee: A comparative analysis of the social impacts of adventure sport events in Scotland and Mongolia
Research Interests
Tom has an excellent track record of attracting external funding from consultancy and commissioned research. He has conducted projects for research organisations, public sector bodies and private companies, including the Economic and Social Research Council, Higher Education Academy, Sport Wales, England and Wales Cricket Board, Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, Public Health England and Meetings Professional International. Tom's work has influenced and shaped policy formation. For example, findings from work into South Asian communities for the ECB and Yorkshire Cricket Foundation have influenced policies and practices locally and nationally, for example the ECB’s South Asian Action Plan, which drew heavily on this work.
Tom has supervised a number of PhD projects through to completion:
- 2019: Margaret Carmouche (first supervisor): The role of community events in negotiating social class identities;
- 2018: Alexandra Witte (Director of Studies): A mobile ethnography of walking tourism on China's Ancient Tea Horse Road;
- 2017: Ali Abdallah (first supervisor): The Lebanese diaspora and settlement in London: Hospitality, identities and mobilities.
Selected Publications
Journal articles (39)
- Fletcher T (In press) "Who do 'they' Cheer for?" Cricket, hybridity and divided loyalties amongst British Asians
- Fletcher T; Black J; Lake R (In press) An Unnerving Otherness: English Nationalism and Rusedski's Smile
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Black J; Lake R (2021) 'Success in Britain comes with an awful lot of small print': Greg Rusedski and the precarious performance of national identity
https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12614
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Greenwood S (2021) Open water swimming events, sociality and cultural capital
https://doi.org/10.3727/152599521X16106577964658
View Repository Record - Dashper K; Ormerod N; Fletcher T; Lomax D; Bradley A; Marvel A (2020) Informed consumers?: Students, choices and Events Management degrees
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2020.100260
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Piggott D; North J (2020) "The 'blazer boys' were getting all the chances": South Asian men's experiences of cricket coaching in England
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1799979
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2020) Book review : Marxism, colonialism and cricket : C.L.R. James' Beyond a boundary
https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975520922171
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Stoney E (2020) 'Are fans in the stands an afterthought?' Sports events, decision-aid technologies and the Television Match Official in rugby union
https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479520903405
View Repository Record - Richardson K; Fletcher TE (2020) Community sport development events, social capital and
social mobility: A case study of Premier League Kicks and
young Black and minoritised ethnic males in England
https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2018.1506334
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Meir D (2019) Physical Education and Sport Premium, social justice, autonomy and school sport policy in England
https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2019.1673790
View Repository Record - Dashper K; Fletcher T; Long JA (2019) Intelligent investment'? Welsh sport policy and the (in)visibility of 'race'
https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2019.1653355
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Abdallah A; Hannam K (2019) Lebanese food, 'Lebaneseness' and the Lebanese diaspora in London
https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp.9.2.145_1
View Repository Record - Dashper K; Fletcher T (2019) 'Don't call me an academic': Professional identity and struggles for legitimacy within the vocational field of Events Management higher education.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2019.100201
View Repository Record - Gellweiler S; Wise N; Fletcher T (2018) Understanding the "Lived experience" of sport event volunteers: Using the hermeneutic circle as a guiding conceptual framework
https://doi.org/10.3727/152599518X15300559276976 - Fletcher TE; Dowse S (2018) Sport mega-events, the non-West and the ethics of event hosting
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2018.1401359
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; hylton K (2017) Race, ethnicity and whiteness in the governance of the events industry
https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2017.1406676
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Meir D (2017) The transformative potential of using participatory community
sport initiatives to promote social cohesion in divided community contexts
https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690217715297
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Carnicelli S; Lawrence S; Snape R (2017) Reclaiming the 'L' word: Leisure studies and Higher Education in neo-liberal times
https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2016.1261182
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Platt L (2016) (Just) a walk with the dog? Animal geographies and negotiating walking spaces
https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2016.1274047
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Swain S (2016) Strangers of the north: South Asians, cricket and the culture of 'Yorkshireness'
https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2015.1134062
View Repository Record - Channon A; Dashper K; Fletcher T; Lake RJ (2015) The promises and pitfalls of sex integration in sport and physical culture
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1116167
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Carnicelli S; Snape R (2015) Leisure Studies Association: Past, Present and Futurehttps://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/rbel/article/view/490
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE (2014) Book review: Anthony Clavane, Does you rabbi know you're here? The story of English football's forgotten tribe.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2014.961291
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE (2014) Negotiating their right to play: Asian-specific cricket teams and leagues in the UK and Norway
https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2014.901913
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE (2014) Cricket, migration and diasporic communities
https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2014.901222
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Spracklen K (2014) Cricket, Drinking and the Exclusion of British Pakistani Muslims?
https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2013.790983
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Dashper K (2013) Introduction: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sport and Leisure
- Fletcher TE; Dashper K (2013) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sport and Leisure
- Fletcher TE; Wilson AD (2013) The Transformative Potential of Reflective Diaries for Elite English Cricketers
https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2013.865982
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE; Dashper K (2013) "Like a Hawk Among House Sparrows": Kauto Star, a steeplechasing legend
https://doi.org/10.1080/17460263.2013.850269
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Dashper K (2013) 'Bring on the dancing horses!': Ambivalence and class obsession within British media reports of the dressage at London 2012
https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3040
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE (2013) 'Does he look like a Paki?' an exploration of 'whiteness', positionality and reflexivity in inter-racial sports research
https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2013.796487
View Repository Record - Dashper K; Fletcher T (2013) Introduction: diversity, equity and inclusion in sport and leisure
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2013.821259
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2012) 'Who do ''they" cheer for?' Cricket, diaspora, hybridity and divided loyalties amongst British Asians
https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690211416556
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2012) Race, Sport and Politics: The Sporting Black Diaspora
https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690212443890
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2012) 'All Yorkshiremen are from Yorkshire, but some are more "Yorkshire" than others': British Asians and the myths of Yorkshire cricket
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2012.637735
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2011) Aye, but it were wasted on thee: Cricket, British Asians, ethnic identities and the 'magical recovery of community'
https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.2468
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2011) The Making of English Cricket Cultures: Empire, Globalisation and (post) Colonialism
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2011.530006
View Repository Record - Fletcher T; Koens K (2010) Issues of access: beyond the insider-outsider perspective
Books (6)
- Fletcher TE (2019) Negotiating fatherhood: Sport and family practices. Palgrave Macmillan.https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030197834
- Channon A; Dashper K; Fletcher T; Lake RJ ed. (2017) Sex Integration in Sport and Physical Culture Promises and Pitfalls. Routledge.
- Long JA; Fletcher T; Watson R ed. (2017) Sport, Leisure and Social Justice..
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Fletcher TE ed. (2015) Cricket, migration and diasporic communities.
- Fletcher T; Dashper K ed. (2014) Diversity, equity and inclusion in sport and leisure. Sport in a global society London: Routledge.
- Dashper K; Fletcher TE; McCullough N ed. (2014) Sports Events, Society and Culture. Routledge: Advances in Events Research Routledge.http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415826754/
Chapters (30)
- Fletcher T (In press) Tha not from rarn'd ere are ya? Cricket Identity and Community: British Asians and the magical recoever of 'Yorkshireness'?. In: . Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, pp. .
- Dowse S; Fletcher T (2018) Sport mega-events, the 'non-West' and the ethics of event hosting. In: Naha S; Hassan D Ethical concerns in sport governance. : Routlege, pp. .
- Long J; Hylton K (2017) 'Knowing me, Knowing you': biographies and subjectivities in the study of 'race'. In: Long J; Fletcher T; Watson R Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. London: Routledge, pp. .
View Repository Record - Long J; Fletcher T; Watson B (2017) Introducing sport, leisure and social justice. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. .
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Drury S; Stride A; Flintoff A; Williams S (2017) Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people's experiences of PE and the implications for youth sport participation and engagement. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. 84-97.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Watson B; Scraton S (2017) Gender justice and leisure and sport feminisms. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. 43-57.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Wetherly P; Watson R; Long JA (2017) Principles of Social Justice for Sport and Leisure. In: Long J; Fletcher T; Watson R Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : Routledge, pp. .
- Ratna A (2017) Black women, Black voices: The contribution of a Spivakian and Black feminist analysis to studies of sport and leisure. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. 153-167.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Spracklen K (2017) Researching the wrong in sport and leisure: Ethical reflections on mapping whiteness, racism and the far-right. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. 168-179.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Fletcher TE; Piggott D; North J (2017) Problems at the boundary'? South Asians, Coaching and Cricket. In: Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : , pp. .
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315660356 - Fletcher TE; Dashper K; Matzani R (2017) Gender justice? Muslim women's experiences of sport and physical activity in the UK. In: Long J; Fletcher T; Watson R Sport, Leisure and Social Justice. : Routledge, pp. .
- Fletcher TE; Malcolm DE (2017) The International Cricket Council World Cup: A "Second Class" MegaMediaSport Event?. In: Wenner L; Billings A Sport, Media and Mega-Events. : Routledge, pp. 115-130.https://www.routledge.com/Sport-Media-and-Mega-Events/Wenner-Billings/p/book/9781138930391
- Fletcher TE; Channon A; Dashper K; Lake RJ (2017) The promises and pitfalls of sex integration in sport and physical culture. In: Channon A; Dashper K; Fletcher T; Lake RJ Sex integration in sport and physical culture: Promises and pitfalls. : , pp. .https://www.routledge.com/Sex-Integration-in-Sport-and-Physical-Culture-Promises-and-Pitfalls/Channon-Dashper-Fletcher-Lake/p/book/9780415783811
- Fletcher TE; Lusted J (2017) Connecting 'Englishness', Black and minoritised ethnic communities and sport: a conceptual framework. In: Gibbons T; Malcolm D Sport and English National Identity in a 'Disunited Kingdom'. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 95-110.https://www.routledge.com/Sport-and-English-National-Identity-in-a-Disunited-Kingdom/Gibbons-Malcolm/p/book/9781138120594
- Fletcher T; Hylton K (2016) Whiteness and Race. In: Nauright J; Wiggins D Handbook of Sport, Race and Ethnicity, London: Routledge.. London: Routledge, pp. .https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Sport-Race-and-Ethnicity/Nauright-Wiggins/p/book/9781138816954
View Repository Record - (2016) Cricket, migration and diasporic communities. In: Fletcher TE . London: Routledge, pp. .
- Fletcher TE; carrington B; McDonald I (2016) The politics of 'race' and sports policy in the United Kingdom. In: Houlihan B; Malcolm D Sport and Society. London: Sage, pp. .
- Fletcher TE; Hylton K (2016) 'Race', 'whiteness' and sport. In: Nauright J; Wiggins D Routledge Handbook of Race, Ethnicity and Sport. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. .
- Fletcher TE; Dashper K; McCullough N (2014) Introduction: Sports events, society and culture. In: Fletcher T; Dashper K; McCullough N Sports events, society and culture. London: Routledge, pp. .http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415826754/
- Fletcher TE; Dashper K; McCullough N (2014) This is just the beginning.... In: Fletcher T; Dashper K; McCullough N Sports events, society and culture. London: Routledge, pp. .http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415826754/
- Fletcher TE; Dashper K; Russell KA; O'Connor N (2014) Sporting mega-events and Islam: An introduction. In: Fletcher T; Dashper K; Mccullough N Sports events, society and culture. London: Routledge, pp. .http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415826754/
- Fletcher TE; dashper; mccullough (2014) This is just the beginning.... In: fletcher T; dashper; mccullough Sports events, society and culture. London: Routledge, pp. .
- Fletcher TE (2014) Who do 'they' cheer for? Cricket, diaspora, hybridity and divided loyalties among British Asians. In: Nauright J; Cobley AG; Wiggins DK Beyond C.L.R. James: Shifting boundaries of race and ethnicity in sport. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press., pp. 293-312.http://www.uapress.com/dd-product/beyond-c-l-r-james/
View Repository Record - Fletcher T (2012) Sport and 'Race' in the British Isles. In: Nauright J; Parrish C Sports around the World: History, Culture and Practice. : ABC-CLIO, pp. .
- Fletcher T (2012) 'Imran Khan'. In: Nauright J; Parrish C Sports around the World: History, Culture and Practice. : ABC-CLIO, pp. .
- Fletcher TE (2012) Yorkshire, Cricket and Identity: An Ethnographic Analysis of Yorkshire Cricket's Imagined Community. In: Hughson J; Palmer C; Skillen F The Role of Sports in the Formation of Personal Identities. : The Edwin Mellen Press, pp. .http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=8629&pc=9
- Fletcher TE (2012) Cricket, Identity and Community: British Asians and the Magical Recovery of 'Yorkshireness'?. In: Adams A Sport and Leisure Ethics, Rights and Relationships. Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 113-138.
- Fletcher T (2011) Common Cricket Cultures? The British Empire, Homogenisation and Post-Colonial Reinventions. In: Long JA; Fitzgerald H; Millward P Delivering Equality in Sport and Leisure. Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 49-68.
- Fletcher TE (2010) "Being Inside and Outside the Field". An Exploration of Identity, Positionality and Reflexivity in Inter-racial Research. In: Mansfield L; Chatziefstathiou D Leisure Identities and Authenticity. Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 77-96.http://www.leisure-studies-association.info/LSAWEB/NewTitle/110.html
- Spracklen K; Fletcher T (2009) They'll Never Play Rugby League in Kazakhstan: Expansion, Community and Identity in a Globalised and Globalising Sport. In: Caudwell J Local Communities and Local Cultures in the UK. Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 121-141.
Conference contributions (17)
- Fletcher T (2020) Parks, Play And Ethnic Blindspots : Informal Sporting Spaces, Opportunities and Exclusions Academy of Leisure Sciences Africa 14/07/2020.
- Fletcher TE (2015) Cricket, whiteness and British Muslims Leuven, Belgium 07/12/2015.
- Piggott D; Fletcher T (2015) Exploring the barriers to South Asian cricket players' entry and progression in coaching Durham University 06/01/2015.
View Repository Record - Fletcher TE (2013) 'It's like having Crufts at the Olympics': Dressage, Class and London 2012. Salford University 09/07/2013.
- Fletcher TE (2013) 'Bring on the Dancing Horses': Social class and Dressage Events at the London 2012 Olympic Games Vancouver 13/06/2013.
- Fletcher TE (2012) Cricket, Ethnic Identities and Whiteness Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK .
- Fletcher T; Spracklen K (2012) Cricket, the Post-Match Drink and Exclusion of British Asian Communities Leeds, UK 11/04/2012.
- Fletcher T (2012) Playing it White Rose: Cricket, Ethnic Identities and British Asians' Racial Subjectivities . Northern Ireland:
- Fletcher T (2012) Cricket and Exclusion Manchester Metropolitan University, UK .
- Fletcher T (2011) Aye, but it were wasted on thee: Yorkshireness, cricket, ethnic identities, and the 'magical recovery of community' Southampton Solent University, UK . UK:
- Fletcher TE (2010) 'Who do they Cheer for?' Cricket, British Asians and Divided Loyalty The University of the West Indies: Barbados 15/07/2010.
- Fletcher TE (2010) 'Common Cricket Culture?' Cricket, Homogenisation and Globalisation . Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK:
- Fletcher TE (2010) 'Clearing the Boundary': British Asians, Yorkshire Cricket and Exclusion Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds 26/02/2010. Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds:
- Fletcher TE (2010) 'Doing Away with Indigenous Cricket Cultures? Playing Styles, Rationalisation and Homogenisation' . Huddersfield:
- Fletcher TE (2009) 'Three Lions on your [Imagined] Shirt?' Fandom and Diasporic Identities . Huddersfield:
- Spracklen K; Fletcher TE (2009) "They'll never play rugby league in Kazakhstan": expansion, community and identity in a globalised and globalising sport Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool 09/07/2009.
- Fletcher TE (2009) "Being Inside and Outside the Field". An Exploration of Identity, Positionality and Reflexivity in Inter-racial Research Canterbury Christchurch University, Canterbury, UK 07/07/2009.
Conference proceedings (1)
- Kor AL (2003) Psychological and pedagogical foundations for a computer-based learning environment with a language-deficient domain. In: Athens, Greece 09/07/2003 00:00:00. : , pp. .http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=01215151
View Repository Record
Internet publications (3)
- Fletcher TE (2019), Men's Cricket World Cup: diversity must be one of the rewards of a successful tournamenthttps://theconversation.com/mens-cricket-world-cup-diversity-must-be-one-of-the-rewards-of-a-successful-tournament-118801
- Fletcher TE; Malcolm D (2017), Cricket: more Twenty20 may sow seeds of demise for the quintessential English gamehttps://theconversation.com/cricket-more-twenty20-may-sow-seeds-of-demise-for-the-quintessential-english-game-75520
- Fletcher TE; Platt L (2017), What 'walkies' says about your relationship with your doghttp://what-walkies-says-about-your-relationship-with-your-dog-71245/
Other (1)
Reports (8)
- Fletcher TE; Dowse S (2017) Sports events and community development: Mutual understanding, peace and security. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/573b9090b654f9dc21f8a630/t/59a6bff503596ef5eb29ae8a/1504100346276/FinalpositiveImpactEvents_ReportAug17_KM.pdf
- Didymus FF; Norman L; Fletcher T (2017) A systematic review of the Sport Wales elements of engagement. Sport Wales.
- Fletcher TE; Snape B; Carnicelli S; Lawrence S (2015) Teaching and Learning Issues in the Disciplines: Leisure Studies. Higher Education Academy.https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resource/teaching-and-learning-disciplines
View Repository Record - Mulligan J; Kitchen E; Ormerod N; Dashper K; Fletcher T; Wood E (2015) Evaluation of the social and economic value of participation in meetings and conferences. Research Report, Meetings Professional International (MPI). Meetings Professional International (MPI).https://www.mpiweb.org/docs/default-source/research-and-reports/meetingvalueresearch.pdf
- Hylton K; Long J; Fletcher TE; Ormerod N (2015) South Asian Communities and Cricket (Bradford and Leeds). Yorkshire Cricket Foundation.
View Repository Record - Long JA; Dashper K; Fletcher T; Ormerod N (2015) Understanding participation and non-participation in sport amongst Black and minority ethnic groups in Wales. Cardiff: Report to Sport Wales from the Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure.http://sport.wales/media/1647168/bme_sport_in_wales_-_final.pdf
View Repository Record - Parsons D; Thomas R; Fletcher TE; Kachel U (2014) Evaluation of the Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability and Sustainable Society (BRASS). ESRC.http://www.esrc.ac.uk/files/research/evaluation-and-impact/centre-for-business-relationships-accountability-sustainability-and-society/
- Fletcher TE; Piggott D; North J; Hylton K; Gilbert S; Norman L (2014) Exploring the barriers to South Asian cricket players' entry and progression in coaching. England and Wales Cricket Board.
View Repository Record