Kay joined the Kingston University in 2016. Previously she held positions at the University of Warwick (as Research Fellow in Sociology), University of Portsmouth (most recently as a Reader in Sociology) and the University of Winchester. Kay is a sociologist who has longstanding research interests in critical sociology and social theory. Her current research addresses the persistence of complex inequalities associated with species. The subject of human relationships with non-human animals is often neglected in sociology and she has produced a series of publications and conference presentations on this theme, including her book Animals and Sociology (Palgrave 2012). At Portsmouth she led the research project ‘Veganism: Ethics and Lifestyle’, which won faculty funding. The second phase of this project is a research collaboration between the Universities of Portsmouth and Winchester.
Kay’s doctoral research (University of Surrey) focussed on women, ageing, and pension provision. Subsequently she was employed on an ESRC-funded research project at the University of Warwick where she applied her broader research interests to issues associated with couple relationships. She has published work in both of these areas.
Kay is also a social research methods specialist. She holds an MSc in Social Research Methods (University of Surrey) and has used a range of methodological approaches in her research. She is co-editor (with Professor Barry Smart and Dr Joseph Burridge) of Observation Methods (a SAGE major four volume reference work) and is co-editing with the same team a further SAGE major four-volume work on social research ethics.
Her current research addresses the persistence of complex inequalities associated with species. The subject of human relationships with non-human animals is often neglected in sociology and she has produced a series of publications and conference presentations on this theme, including her book Animals and Sociology (Palgrave 2012).
