Sally Shortall
1990 PhD, Sociology, National University of Ireland
1988 M. Social Science, University College Cork, Ireland
1985 B. Social Science, University College Cork, Ireland
Professor in Sociology
Telephone: +44 (0) 28 90973228
E-mail: s.shortall@qub.ac.uk
My main research interests are rural development theory, policy, and practice; social changes in farming practice; and the role of women on farms and in rural development. An international comparative perspective underpins my research. Recent research has examined the effects on farm families, and rural dwellers more generally, of the EU Common Agricultural Policy Reforms.
I am interested in the concepts of social capital and social exclusion in rural areas, and particularly whether area-based development programmes foster social inclusion and civic democracy.
My current funded work includes research on health and safety on farms, gender proofing of the CAP reforms, and public attitudes to the countryside. I am currently undertaking a comparison of US/ EU approaches to rural development. I am als currently interested in the social construction of knowledge to inform rural policy and the power struggles between empirical and normative knowledge. This draws on my research experience of being an ‘expert’ adviser for the UK Food Standard Agency, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the time I spent in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland, as and ESRC funded Knowledge Transfer Fellow.
I continue to be interested in the theory and practice of rural development and gender relations in agriculture. I regularly organise sessions at the World Congress of Rural Sociology and the European Rural Sociology Congress. I have worked with the European Commission, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), and Australian and North American organisations on my research. In addition to academic research, I have a well-established background in policy development and very solid links with user groups.
Teaching interests
Rural sociology, industrial sociology, sociology of organizations, community and society.
Selected forthcoming and recent publications:
Books and Reports:
Brown, D., Shortall, S. Shucksmith, M., and M. Warner, Eds. (2012) Rural Transformations and Rural Polices in the UK and US. London, Routledge
Shortall, S. (2010) An Evidence Base to Inform Rural Policy. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland. Funded by ESRC Knowledge Research Fellowship Programme. (74 pages)
Shortall, S. (2010) Women working on the farm: how to promote their contribution to the development of agriculture and rural areas in Europe. Brussels, European Parliament (34 pages)
Varley, V., and Shortall, S., and J. McDonagh (2009) The politics of sustainable rural Ireland. In McDonagh, J., Varley, T., and S. Shortall (eds.) A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland Aldershot: Ashgate
Journal Articles:
Shortall, S. (2013) Guest Editor and Contributor. Special issue of Sociologia Ruralis: Using the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to Critically Examine the Use of Evidence to Inform Rural Policy. Vol. 53 (2).
Shortall, S. And M. Warner (2010) Social Inclusion or Market Competitiveness? A Comparison of Rural Development Policies in the European Union and the United States Social Policy and Administration Vol. 44, pp. 575-597
Roginsky, S and S Shortall (2009) Civil society as a contested field of meanings. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 29: 9 473-487
Porter, S. and S. Shortall (2009) Stakeholders and perspectivism in qualitative policy research. A realist reflection. Public Administration Vol. 86 Issue 4.
Warner, M. and S. Shortall (2008) Growth Coalitions and Rural Development Policy in the EU and the US EuroChoices US. Vol. 7 No. 3. December
Shortall, S. (2008) Are rural development programmes socially inclusive? Social inclusion, civic engagement, participation and social capital: exploring the differences. Journal of Rural Studies Vol. 24 No. 4. Pp. 450-457
Book Chapters:
Shortall, S. and M. Warner (2012) Rural Transformations: Conceptual and Policy Issues. In Brown, D., Shortall, S. Shucksmith, M., and M. Warner, Eds. (2012) Rural Transformations and Rural Polices in the UK and US. London, Routledge
Radford, K. And S. Shortall (2011) Socially Enterprising Communities: Service Co-Production in Rural Areas. In Socially Enterprising Communities: Service Co-Production in Rural Areas Edward Elgar. Shortall*, S. and A. Byrne (2009) Does gender matter for rural sustainability? In McDonagh, J., Varley, T., and S. Shortall (eds.) A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland Aldershot: Ashgate
Varley V., and J. McDonagh and S. Shortall (2009) Rural Sustainable Development: Diverse and contested meanings. In McDonagh, J., Varley, T., and S. Shortall (eds.) A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland Aldershot: Ashgate
Varley, V., and Shortall, S., and J. McDonagh (2009) The politics of sustainable rural Ireland. In McDonagh, J., Varley, T., and S. Shortall (eds.) A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland Aldershot: Ashgate
Selected recent research grants:
Shortall, S. (2008) Economic and Social Research Council Placement Fellow with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland £83,464.
Older People for Older People (Northern Periphery Programme, INTERREG). 244,989 Euro. 2008-2010. Overall budget 1,969,996 Euro
External examining:
BA Sociology and MA Sociology, University College Dublin 2010-2013
BA Sociology and MA Criminology, Bangor University, Wales. 2010-2013
Some External Appointments:
Appointed to the Social Science Research Committee of the UK Food Standards Agency 2011
Appointed to the editorial board of Sociologia Ruralis 2011
Commissioned to prepare briefing paper for the European Parliament to inform redesign of the Rural Development Regulation post 2013. Commissioned in 2010.
Commissioned to prepare briefing presentations for the New Accession Western Balkan States. European Commission 2010.
Appointed member of ESRC Peer Review College. 2010
Invited to give keynote address in Melbourne The changing role of women in the global dairy industry, where’s our future? Invitation from Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, in conjunction with Genetics Australia. 2010
Economic and Social Research Council Knowledge Transfer Research Fellow, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland 2008-2010
Visiting Research Fellow, Polson Institute of Global Development, Cornell University, USA 2008
Visiting Research Fellow, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, USA 2008
University and School Management Responsibilities:
- Sociology UoA REF Champion 2011-2013
- Director of Research: Cluster ‘Contemporary Social Issues and Policy’
- Member of the School Senior Management Board
