Role
Dr. Bowes is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport. Winner of the 2021 Vice Chancellors Teaching Award, Ali leads the first year module Sport, Culture and Society, whilst also contributing to the second year Sociology of Sport, the Body and Health module, and the third year Contemporary Issues in Sport module. Dr. Bowes supervises research dissertations in the sociology of sport focusing on women's sport, related to media coverage, social media, gender and sexuality, professionalisation and commercialisation.
Career overview
Dr. Bowes joined NTU in January 2019. In 2013, Ali was awarded her PhD at in the Sociology of Sport from Loughborough University under the supervision of Prof. Alan Bairner. She also holds a BSc in Sports and Exercise Science, and a PGCE in Secondary Physical Education from Loughborough University, as well as a PGCAP from Nottingham Trent University. She is a fellow of the HEA.
Prior to working at NTU, Dr. Bowes was a Programme Area Lead in the Higher Education Sport department at Loughborough College, the Course Leader for Sport Science and Sport Coaching blended degrees, and a Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport and Physical Education. She is a trained PE Teacher, and taught at schools in Nottingham and Leicester.
Research areas
Current research centres on sociological examinations of women’s sport, specifically:
- Sociocultural examinations of professional/elite women’s sport
- Media representations of women in sport
- Gender and sport
- The intersections of gender and national identity in sport
Current PhD Supervision
- Alex Harris: Gendered inequalities in the sport media workplace (Director of Studies)
- Debi Gibson: The medical regulation of women's sport (Co-Supervisor)
Dr. Bowes is a member of the Sport and Society research group, part of the SHAPE research centre, researching in Sport and Exercise Science.
For any potential doctoral students interested in studying a PhD in the above areas, please visit the Research Degree page.
External activity
Media Engagements
Ali has been interviewed about her research for both television and radio, and has had her research featured in a range of media outlets nationally and internationally. This includes BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour, BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC News, Sky Sports News, the Telegraph, the New York Times, The Week, Eurosport, the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. Ali also writes for The Conversation:
- Clarkson, B., Culvin, A. and Bowes, A. (2021, 23 April) European Super League was a lucky swerve for women's football. The Conversation.https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-failure-was-a-lucky-swerve-for-womens-football-159473
- Bowes, A. (2020, 21 October) How elite sportswomen have suffered more than men during the pandemic. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-elite-sportswomen-have-suffered-more-than-men-during-the-pandemic-148071
- Bowes, A. (2020, 15 June) Coverage of women’s sport is pathetic at the best of time – the lockdown has made it even worse. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/coverage-of-womens-sport-is-pathetic-at-the-best-of-times-the-lockdown-has-made-it-even-worse-140593
Journal Reviewing
Dr. Bowes is on the Editorial Board for Managing Sport and Leisure. She is a Reviews Editor for The History, Culture and Sociology of Sports specialty section in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. She also provides expert opinion and reviews articles submitted to several internationally-recognised journals, including:
- International Review for the Sociology of Sport
- Sport in Society
- Sport, Education and Society
- Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health
- Communication and Sport
- International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics
- Journal of Global Sport Management
Membership of Professional Bodies
Dr. Bowes is a board member of the Football Collective, an active member of the International Sociology of Sport Association, and a member of the Women's Sport Collective.
Sponsors and collaborators
Dr. Bowes is currently involved in collaborative research with:
- Dr. Alex Culvin (The University of Salford)
- Dr. Niamh Kitching (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick)
- Prof. Alan Bairner (Loughborough University)
- Dr. Stuart Whigham (Oxford Brookes University)
Publications
Selected Journal Articles:
- Culvin, A. and Bowes, A. (2021) the incompatibility of motherhood and professional women’s football in England. Front. Sports Act. Living. 3:730151, pp. 1-13.https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.730151
- Culvin, A., Bowes, A., Carrick, S. and Pope, S. (2021). The price of success? Equal pay and the US Women’s National Soccer Team. Soccer & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2021.1977280
- Carrick, S., Culvin, A. and Bowes, A. (2021). The Butterfly Effect? Title IX, the USWNT and the continued fight for gender equality. Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport. 31(2), pp. 289-311. https://doi.org/10.18060/25604
- Bowes, A., Lomax, L. and Piasecki, J. (2021). A losing battle? Women's sport pre- and post-COVID-19. European Sport Management Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021.1904267
- Whigham, S., Bowes, A., Kitching, N. and Bairner, A. (2021). Selling Scotland? Selling women’s golf? The 2019 Solheim Cup in the ‘home of golf’. Journal of Sport and Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2021.1883096
- Kitching, N., Bowes, A. and MacLaren, M. (2021). ‘Write when it hurts. Then write till it doesn’t’: Athlete voice and the lived realities of one female professional athlete. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 13(1), pp. 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1836507
- Bowes, A., Lomax, L. and Piasecki, J. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on elite sportswomen. Managing Sport and Leisure. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1825988
- Bowes, A. and Kitching, N. (2020). ‘Wow these girls can play!’: Sex Integration in Professional Golf. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 13(2), pp. 217-234.
- Bowes, A., Bairner, A., Whigham, S. and Kitching, N. (2020). Women, war and sport: The battle of the 2019 Solheim Cup. Journal of War and Culture Studies.13(4): 424-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/17526272.2020.1829788
- Bowes, A. and Kitching, N. (2020). ‘Battle of the sixes’: Investigating print media representations of female professional golfers competing in a men’s tour event. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 55(6), pp. 664-684. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690219842544
- Bowes, A. and Bairner, A. (2019) Three lions on her shirt: hot and banal nationalism for England’s sportswomen. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. 46 (6): 531-550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723519850878
- Bowes, A. and Bairner, A. (2018) England’s proxy warriors? Women, war and sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.53(4), pp. 393-410. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216669491
Press expertise
Dr. Bowes can provide expert opinion on the following topics:
- Women in sport
- Professional women's sport
- Media coverage of women's sport
- Elite English women's sport
- National identity in women's sport