Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Professor Thomas Fletcher
Professor
Dr Thomas Fletcher is Reader within the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management. He is an interdisciplinary applied sociologist with particular interest in sport, equity, diversity and inclusion, social justice, families and fatherhood.
Tom is an internationally recognised researcher. His work can be broadly categorised under three intersecting areas. Firstly, migration and ethnically 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, and inclusive events. The third and most recent area concerns families and family events. He is the author of the 2020 monograph Negotiating fatherhood: sport and family practices (Palgrave Macmillan) which won the 2021 Leisure Studies Association Outstanding Book Prize.
Beyond Leeds Beckett, Tom has a range of roles with international peer review journals and organisations. He is currently a Managing Editor of Leisure Studies, Associate Editor of Events Management and Sport in Society. He was previously Reviews Editor for Soccer & Society. Tom is a Board member of The Academy of Leisure Sciences and sits on the Heritage Advisory Group of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. Between 2017 and 2020 Tom was Chair of the Leisure Studies Association.
Current Teaching
- Level 5 - Sport, Media and Culture
- Level 6 - Politics of Sports Events
- Masters - Research Methods
- Masters - Sport Events: Impacts, Issues and Policy
- Masters Research Project coordinator
Research Interests
Tom has an excellent track record of attracting external funding from research, consultancy and commissioned research. He has conducted projects for research organisations, public sector bodies and private companies, including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Higher Education Academy, UK Sport, 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 have influenced policies and practices locally and nationally, for example the ECB’s South Asian Engagement Action Plan, which drew heavily on this work.
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 has supervised a number of PhD projects through to completion:
- 2022: Nancy Amoudi (first supervisor) - A critical analysis of the educational mobilities of Palestinian students in Leeds, UK
- 2022: Gulbahar Abdallah (Director of Studies) - Female migration, emotional labour and the Hospitality Industry in Qatar
- 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
Ask Me About
- Equality and inclusion
- Ethnicity
- Events
- Family
- Justice
- Leisure
- Northernness
- Race
- Sociology
- Sport
News & Blog Posts
New ‘Gameplan’ resource to maximise social impacts of big events
New research shows charity’s success in boosting underrepresented talent in cricket
Thomas Fletcher appointed as Managing Editor of Leisure Studies
Leeds Beckett researchers awarded funding for major project into online hate and sports events
