Professor Julia Gillen
Professor of Literacy StudiesProfile
I am Professor of Literacy Studies in the Department of Linguistics and English Language.
My current ESRC funded research project is 0-3-year-old children's language and literacy learning at home in a digital age aka (ES/W001020/1 ) June 2022-December 2024.
I am currently completing a from the ESRC funded project , (ES/W000571/1) January 2022 - March 2024.
From 2021-April 2024 I was Associate Dean for Engagement in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, I have formerly been a Director of the Lancaster Literacy Research Centre.
I am also a member of the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning.
Research Overview
I am exploring and expanding the boundaries of literacy studies.
I work with contemporary and historical topics. My main contemporary interests are related to the digital literacy practices of very young children in the home and research mobilities in primary literacy education.
I aim to expand understandings of the relationship of language with multimodality,including through combining study of contemproary media with early twentieth century literacy practices, especially writing on the Edwardian Postcard. I was recently Co-Investigator in two ESRC projects relating to deaf multiliteracies in India, Ghana and Uganda and am continuing to write up that work. I was formerly Co-Chair of Working Group 1 Children in Homes and Communities in the COST IS1640 Action The Digital Literacy and Multimodal Practices of Young Children (DigiLitEY), a member of the management committee and leader of the Day in the Digital Life of children aged 0-3 research strand.
I am the director of the , having held a FASS impact award and completed an AHRC Creative Exchange mini project. We are constructing a more interactive website and engaging in other activities to connect with family and local history audiences as well as museums and e-heritage users. I am currently completing a monograph.
See also the for my involvement with a continuing international programme of inter-generational research.
My (2014) book, , consolidates empirical and theoretical interests in recent work including on Twitter as a professional practice and online ethnography. Earlier, my research on children and teenagers learning in formal and informal settings including in virtual worlds featured in this and its associated .
External Roles
I review proposals for several different international funding councils and occasionally chair panels.
Member, AHRC Peer Review College, June 2014 - December 2021.
Co-editor, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2007-present.
I was co-chair Working Group 1 (Digital Literacy in Homes and Communities) of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Programme The Digital Literacy and Multimodal Practices of Young Children (DigiLitEY) June 2017 - April 2019 and led the "Day in the Digital Lives of Children 0-3" research strand of WG1.
Assessor for Learning Technologies Design for Impact SBRI competition with Technology Strategy Board (now Innovate UK). 2014
Honorary Research Associate, School of Graduate Studies, University of New Brunswick, Canada. (2011-2014)
Assessment and Qualifications Authority HE expert panel member advising on GCSE ‘A’ level: English Language and English Language & Literature. 2012-2014
Evaluator, Digital Futures in Teacher Education (DeFT) project - Sheffield Hallam & Sheffield Universities. (2011-2012)
External consultant, Mixed Reality Interactions Across Contexts of Learning (MIRACLE) project, InterMedia, University of Oslo. (2010-2014)
Selected Publications
Burnett, C., Adams, G., Gillen, J., Thompson, T.L., Lindroos Cermakova, A., Shannon, D.B., Shetty, P. 15/11/2024 London : Routledge. 208 p. ISBN: 9781032544106.
Book
Gillen, J. 13/07/2023 London : Routledge. 158 p. ISBN: 9781032198873. Electronic ISBN: 9781003261322.
Book
Burnett, C., Gillen, J., Guest, I., Maxwell, B., Thompson, T.L. 3/10/2022 In: Literacy. 56, 4, p. 386-399. 14 p.
Journal article
Sandberg, H., Gillen, J. 30/09/2021 In: AI Communications. 46, 3, p. 332-351. 20 p.
Journal article
Lindroos Cermakova, A., Adams, G., Burnett, C., Gillen, J., Thompson, T.L., Shannon, D.B., Shetty, P., Vackova, P. 11/03/2024 Sheffield : Sheffield Hallam University. 106 p.
Other report
All Publications
06/06/2022 → 05/12/2024
Research
01/04/2022 → 31/03/2026
Research
04/01/2022 → 31/03/2024
Research
01/09/2019 → 31/12/2022
Research
01/01/2019 → 03/03/2019
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01/07/2017 → 31/12/2020
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14/02/2016 → 14/05/2016
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01/06/2015 → 31/07/2016
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03/11/2014 → 30/12/2016
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16/01/2013 → 31/01/2014
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17/10/2011 → 19/10/2012
Consultancy
30/07/2011 → 31/10/2013
Research
01/01/2011 → 30/12/2014
Consultancy
01/09/2009 → …
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01/02/2007 → 31/01/2008
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01/02/2007 → 31/12/2009
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01/01/2002 → 30/12/2016
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01/01/1900 → …
Research
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Prize (including medals and awards)
- CeMoRe - Centre for Mobilities Research
- Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning
- Lancaster Literacy Research Centre