Dr Fitton has a first class Bachelors degree in Sociology from Lancaster University, and an MA in Social Research and PhD in Sociology from the University of York, after being awarded an ESRC 1+3 award in 2008. Her PhD focused on the contemporary UK charity shop as a case study of the wider professionalisation of charity.
Dr Fitton came to the University of Kent in 2014 to work on a research project detailing the history of charitable giving to the University, funded as part of the University’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. The eight-month project culminated in a book, Hidden History: Philanthropy at the University of Kent, which published in June 2015. She subsequently designed and implemented the Kent Centre for Philanthropy's successful distance learning Master's course in Philanthropic Studies, convening and teaching on three core modules. She was Director of Studies for the MA Philanthropic Studies from 2015 until 2018, when she moved into teaching undergraduate Sociology.
Dr Fitton has been the School of Social Sciences lead for Student Success since 2018. In that time she has worked on numerous interventions and projects to improve student attainment and retention as part of the University of Kent’s widening participation agenda. She was co-lead on the building of the Acknowledge repository (showcasing best practice in relation to race in Sociology teaching and recruitment) for the British Sociological Association and has published several articles about pedagogy, teaching and support of diverse student groups. She achieved the Diversity Mark award for diversifying the content and reading list of her module SOCi5017: Education in a Global World in 2024.
Dr Fitton has been Welcome Week lead since 2020, organising orientation materials and events for incoming students to the School. She is also (since 2025) Employability lead and Student Experience lead, coordinating the Academic Advisor system and hosting a number of student facing events.
Dr Fitton’s research is on the sociology of charity, charity shops, consumer habits, gifts, and secondhand cultures. She has developed theories around value, waste, crime and gift-giving through the lens of charity retail, exploring how the inclusion of charity disrupts the nature of exchange of money for goods in our consumer society. She also studies the consumer habits of the super-rich and their relationship to dark or ‘thanatic’ tourism and leisure. Her research crosses the boundaries between what society considers ‘good’ and ‘bad’ – exploring the liminal through the case study of the charity shop.
She also researches and writes about the teaching of non-traditional students and the relationship between diversity initiatives and academic precarity in higher education.
Dr Fitton convenes the following Sociology modules:
Dr Fitton also teaches WriteRight! Sessions on academic skills across modules at Stage 1.
Daniel Green
Thesis title: Navigating the Symbolic Violence of Mainstream Education: Double Empathy, Belonging, and Identity for British Autistic Secondary School Pupils.
Gloria Ajao
Thesis Title: Examining the extent to which the Nigerian Student Loan Act (2024) is likely to achieve its stated objectives: A Stakeholder Analysis
Afrah Al-Otaibi
Thesis Title: Qatari youth’s daily experiences and routines and their expectations of the future
Dr Fitton is interested in supervising students wishing to explore any of the topics listed under her research interests.
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