Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
James has a background in medical sociology and gerontology. He is interested in digital ageing and creative methods, with a focus on cognitive impairment and inclusive data generation.
His research covers several areas of the political economy of ageing and dementia, with an emphasis on using social theory and creative methods to understand later life disability as a political entity. He has published on subjects including informal dementia care networks, mental capacity legislation and its influence on research governance, the anti-ageing technoscience market, anti-stigma and awareness raising campaigns regarding psychiatric disorder, the operationalisation of ethnicity and age in research, the biomarker discovery economy, the curation of dementia-friendly cultural events, dementia prevention public health strategies, environmental effects on cognition in urban settings and the role of fertility technologies in contexts of reproductive ageing. His book The Biopolitics of Dementia won 'Best Outstanding Output' at the Research Excellence Awards 2024.
As well as traditional publication, James also develops digital and multimedia content. He produced the research podcast series Health & Society with King's College London, as well as the short film The Care-Full Home for Sociological Research Online, a satirical exploration of the rollout of AI-assisted smart technologies in the homes of older people. His recent Wellcome Trust funded work to create an interactive cognitive map of Greater Manchester resulted in the short film IN-CITU and a 'moving exhibiton' of photographs and data poems created with passengers with dementia and displayed across the regional bus network.
Teaching interests
James has taught a wide range of social theory, research methods and ethics for undergraduates, postgraduates and postgraduate researchers. His teaching covers the medical, legal and digital implications of ageing societies and associated health conditions, with a focus on how governments, businesses, charities, researchers and families can respond to emerging challenges and opportunities. He has a particular interest in expanding the use of creative research methods in student projects and improving education regarding Mental Capacity Legislation and its consequences for people living with cognitive impairments.
Other responsibilities
Chair of the British Sociological Association's study group on Ageing, Body & Society
Editorial Board of the Journal of Aging Studies
Willing to supervise doctoral students
James is happy to speak to prospective doctoral candidates interested in digitalisation, ageing, health, cognition and creative methods
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 5 Finished
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Dementia-Friendly Cultural Events
Fletcher, J. (PI)
1/01/22 → 31/12/22
Project: Research-related funding
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IN-CITU: Interactions between Cognitive Impairment and Transport in Urban Ecologies
Fletcher, J. (PI)
1/09/21 → 1/09/24
Project: UK charity
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Health & Society podcast
Fletcher, J. (PI) & Cavaliere, G. (PI)
1/10/15 → 1/09/17
Project: Research-related funding
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An ontological turn in the sociology of personal life: tracing facet methodology’s connective ontology
Fletcher, J., 31 May 2024, In: Sociological Review. 72, 3, p. 475-492 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (SciVal) -
Beyond local domains: connective ontology in (post-)cognitive sociology
Fletcher, J., 10 Jun 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Sociological Research Online. 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Bridging the gap between clinical and critical sociological perspectives in dementia
Collins, N. & Fletcher, J. R., 2 Mar 2024, In: BJPsych Advances. 30, 2, p. 124-133 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Globalising dementia research: echoes of racialisation and colonialism
Fletcher, J., 31 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Global Ageing. 1, 1, p. 159-173 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Re-municipalising sociospatial infrastructure: A journeying ethnography of Greater Manchester's dementia (un)friendly buses
Fletcher, J. R., 1 Nov 2024, In: Social Science and Medicine. 360, 117300.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Prizes
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Sowerby Philosophy & Medicine
Fletcher, J. (Recipient), 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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ESRC/SAGE 50th Anniversary Prize
Fletcher, J. (Recipient), 2015
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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'Best Outstanding Output' in Research Excellence Awards
Fletcher, J. (Recipient), 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Rising Star teaching excellence award
Fletcher, J. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
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Ethnicity in Dementia Research: Are Social Scientists Complicit in Neuropsychiatric Imperialism?
Fletcher, J. (No value)
13 Feb 2020Activity: Media article or participation, blog › Media article or participation
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Looking back and learning from the PhD years
Fletcher, J. (No value)
14 Dec 2020Activity: Media article or participation, blog › Media article or participation
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Capacity for change: improving the governance of dementia research
Fletcher, J. (No value)
11 Sept 2023Activity: Media article or participation, blog › Media article or participation
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British Society of Gerontology Annual Conference
Fletcher, J. (Speaker)
2016Activity: Academic conferences and events (excluding conference publications) › Conference presentation / attendance
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British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Group
Fletcher, J. (Speaker)
2019Activity: Academic conferences and events (excluding conference publications) › Conference presentation / attendance