Dr Gareth M. Thomas
Research Associate
Ysgol y Gwyddorau Cymdeithasol
- thomasg23@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44(0) 29 2087 0945
- 2.05, Adeilad Morgannwg, Rhodfa’r Brenin Edward VII, Caerdydd, CF10 3WA
- Sylwebydd y cyfryngau
- Ar gael fel goruchwyliwr ôl-raddedig
I was appointed as Lecturer in Sociology in 2015. I am a sociologist interested in (among other things) medicine, disability, stigma, reproduction, place, and technology. My PhD was an ethnography of screening for Down's syndrome in two UK prenatal clinics. This study forms the basis of my research monograph, Down's Syndrome Screening and Reproductive Politics: Care, Choice, and Disability in the Prenatal Clinic, which will be published by Routledge in March 2017 (see here). I am also Co-Convenor of the Medicine, Science and Culture Research Group (MeSC) at Cardiff University and Co-Book Reviews Editor for the Sociology of Health and Illness journal. I am happy to supervise, or collaborate with, people whose interests are similar to those listed above.
Current PhD Students
- Lydia Harper (ESRC Studentship, 2013-): An Ethnographic Study of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy: Exploring the Experiences and Perceptions of Children, Young Adults and Their Families
- Eve Exley (ESRC Studentship, 2015-): The Imprisonment of Women: Impact, Identity, and Change
2019
- Thomas, G. M.et al. 2019. Testing times: the social life of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). Science Technology and Society
- Renold, E.et al. 2019. The 4Ms project: young people, research and arts-activism in a post-industrial place. In: McDermont, M. et al. eds. Imagining Regulation Differently: Co-Creating Regulation for Engagement. Bristol: Policy Press
2018
- Thomas, G. 2018. The zero trimester: pre-pregnancy care and the politics of reproductive risk, by Miranda R. Waggoner [Book Review]. American Journal of Sociology 124(3), pp. 932-934.
- Thomas, G.et al. 2018. Light, connectivity, and place: young people living in a post-industrial town. Cultural Geographies 25(4), pp. 537-551. (10.1177/1474474018762811)
- Thomas, G. and Sakellariou, D. 2018. Introduction: Disability, normalcy and the everyday. In: , . ed. Disability, Normalcy, and the Everyday. Routledge
- Thomas, G. and Sakellariou, D. Thomas, G. and Sakellariou, D. eds. 2018. Disability, normalcy, and the everyday. Routledge.
- Thomas, G., Lupton, D. and Pedersen, S. 2018. ‘The appy for a happy pappy’: Expectant fatherhood and pregnancy apps. Journal of Gender Studies 27(7), pp. 759-770. (10.1080/09589236.2017.1301813)
2017
- Latimer, J. and Thomas, G. 2017. Editorial: The politics of reproduction and parenting cultures: procreation, pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing. Sociology of Health and Illness 39(6), pp. 811-815. (10.1111/1467-9566.12603)
- Thomas, G., Roberts, J. and Griffiths, F. 2017. Ultrasound as a technology of reassurance?: How pregnant women and health care professionals articulate ultrasound reassurance and its limitations. Sociology of Health and Illness 39(6), pp. 893-907. (10.1111/1467-9566.12554)
- Thomas, G. M. 2017. Picture perfect: ‘4D’ ultrasound and the commoditisation of the private prenatal clinic. Journal of Consumer Culture 17(2), pp. 359-377. (10.1177/1469540515602300)
- Thomas, G. 2017. Doing gender in a hospital setting: reflections of a male researcher. Sociological Research Online 22(2), pp. 1-14. (10.5153/sro.4307)
- Thomas, G. 2017. Down's Syndrome screening and reproductive politics: care, choice, and disability in the prenatal clinic. Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Health and Illness. London: Routledge.
- Thomas, G. 2017. Decision-making by expectant parents: NIPT, NIPD, and current methods of prenatal screening for Down’s Syndrome (Evidence Review). Project Report. [Online]. Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Available at: http://nuffieldbioethics.org/wp-content/uploads/Gareth-Thomas-evidence-review-decision-making-NIPT.pdf
2016
- Gale, N.et al. 2016. Towards a sociology of risk work: a narrative review and synthesis. Sociology Compass 10(11), pp. 1046-1071. (10.1111/soc4.12416)
- Lupton, D., Pedersen, S. and Thomas, G. 2016. Parenting and digital media: from the early web to contemporary digital society. Sociology Compass 10(8), pp. 730-743., article number: 10.1111/soc4.12398.
- Thomas, G. M. 2016. An elephant in the consultation room? Configuring Down Syndrome in British antenatal care. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 30(2), pp. 238-258. (10.1111/maq.12222)
- Thomas, G. M. and Rothman, B. K. 2016. Keeping the backdoor to eugenics ajar?: Disability and the future of prenatal screening. AMA Journal of Ethics 18(4), pp. 406-415. (10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.04.stas1-1604)
- Thomas, G. M. 2016. ‘It’s not that bad’: stigma, health, and place in a post-industrial community. Health & Place 38, pp. 1-7. (10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.12.001)
- Sakellariou, D. and Thomas, G. 2016. Disability and everyday worlds. Presented at: 76th annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 29 March- 2 April 2016.
- Thomas, G. M. and Lupton, D. 2016. Threats and thrills: pregnancy apps, risk, and consumption. Health, Risk & Society 17(7-8), pp. 495-509. (10.1080/13698575.2015.1127333)
2015
- Latimer, J. E. and Thomas, G. M. 2015. In/exclusion in the clinic: Down's Syndrome, dysmorphology, and the ethics of everyday medical work. Sociology 49(5), pp. 937-954. (10.1177/0038038515588470)
- Thomas, G. M. and Lupton, D. 2015. Playing pregnancy: the ludification and gamification of expectant motherhood in Smartphone apps. M/C Journal 18(5)
- Thomas, G. M. 2015. Un/inhabitable worlds: the curious case of Down’s syndrome. Somatosphere 2015(29 Jul)
2014
- Thomas, G. M. 2014. Prenatal screening for down’s syndrome: parent and healthcare practitioner experiences. Sociology Compass 8(6), pp. 837-850. (10.1111/soc4.12185)
- Thomas, G. M. 2014. Cooling the mother out: revisiting and revising Goffman's account. Symbolic Interaction 37(2), pp. 283-299. (10.1002/SYMB.91)
- Thomas, G. M. 2014. The everyday work of healthcare professionals: an ethnography of screening for down's syndrome in UK antenatal care. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2013
- Thomas, G. M. 2013. The continuing value of Erving Goffman: you follow?. [Online]. Cardiff Ethnography. Available at: http://cardiffethnography.blogspot.co.uk/
- Thomas, G. M. and Banks, T. 2013. 'We aren't racing a fair race': Rawls, Sen, and the Paralympic Games. Sociological Research Online 18(3), article number: 14. (10.5153/sro.3123)
- Thomas, G. M. 2013. Fat chances? The obesity problem in Tamworth. [Online]. Cost of Living Blog. Available at: http://www.cost-ofliving.net/fat-chances-the-obesity-problem-in-tamworth/
2012
- Thomas, G. M. 2012. Rethinking Disability: Bodies, Senses, and Things, by Michael Schillmeier [Book Review]. The Sociological Review 60(3), pp. 575-577. (10.1111/j.1467-954X.2012.02108.x)
- Thomas, G. M. 2012. Beyond tagging, poking, and throwing sheep: Using Facebook in social research. Qualitative Researcher(14), pp. 8-10.
- Davies, S., Thomas, G. M. and Rucinska, K. 2012. Review: The House of Beasts' Symposium: Enquiries into the human and the animal. Darwin Festival, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Shrewsbury, 18th February 2012. Humanimalia: A Journal of Human/Animal Interface Studies 4(1), pp. 136-143.
I currently teach in the Cardiff School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) on the undergraduate module 'Power, Culture, and Identity' (SI0164). I also teach in the Cardiff School of Medicine with Jamie Lewis on the social study of medicine.
Before my lectureship, I was employed as a Research Associate on the ESRC-funded 'Productive Margins: Regulating for Engagement' project (Feb 2014-May 2015). This involved working collaboratively with academics, artists, and community organisers/members to map young peoples' experiences of health and wellbeing, regulation, and place. In June 2015, I was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Canberra where I carried out a study with Professor Deborah Lupton on pregnancy and parenting 'apps'. I am in the process of working on a grant application to carry out a qualitative study on patients' and professionals' experiences of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).