About
I am a feminist geographer who studies the connections between people and places, and issues that criss-cross primarily cultural, social, political, development and environmental geographies. I do this through the lenses of migration, mobility and everyday life, with particular emphasis on their links to development, gender, ageing and care. My own empirical work centres on migration from Albania, and I supervise doctoral research projects that examine other world contexts (see further below).
Within the University of Southampton, I contribute to various research centres, networks and working groups, such as the Southampton Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (2022-2023); Southampton's Centre for Transnational Studies (as a member of its Advisory Committee), the University's Working Group which is preparing the application for the University of Sanctuary status, and the University's Migration Network.
Beyond Southampton, examples include serving on the IMISCOE's Research Network Jury that awards the Maria Bagahna Dissertation Award for the best PhD thesis in the field of migration, integration and social cohesion in Europe (2019-2021), and peer reviewing for research funding bodies such as the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Baker Fund Awards at Ohio University (USA).
Since 2021, I have been working with colleagues as part of the Organising Group of the Birkbeck-based cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional network on Ageing, Care and the Caring Crisis, to critically interrogate concepts of age and care, and imagine new ways of thinking about them.
My interest in the ways in which marginalised people, including migrants, are caught up at the intersection of borders, migration and incarceration, has led me to join the RGS/IBG Carceral Geographies Working Group (since 2017). My current thinking on this has been deeply inspired by Prof. Gilmore's theorisation of the abolition geography and freedom as a place.
My research and teaching are informed by anti-racist and feminist epistemology and praxis, which I also seek to apply to my daily life. I am a committed educator and a supportive colleague who strives to create an environment where individuals can thrive individually and as part of communities.
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PhD Supervision
Current
Bianca Luna, 'Migration journeys and reconfiguring family relations: The experiences of Filipino labour migrants in the UK and the left-behind family' (PhD in Geography, main supervisor). Co-supervised with Dr Carol Ekinsmyth (and previosly Dr Suzanne Reimer). Recepient during 2019-2023 of an ESRC scholarship through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. 2019-2024.
Michael Lomotey, 'Afterlife of colonialism: Assessing flood-risk preparedness, response and post-disaster reconstruction in Hull through the lens of antiblackness'. (PhD in Geography, main supervisor). Co-supervised with Dr Bindi Shah and Prof. Emma Tompkins. Recepient of 'Black Futures' Faculty (FELS) Scholarship of Excellence; 2022-2026.
Mandy Preville-Findlay, 'Developing participatory, intersectional models of diaspora institutions' (PhD in Geography, second supervisor). Co-supervised with Dr Jen Dickinson. Recepient of a 'Black Futures' Faculty (FELS) Scholarship of Excellence; 2023-2027.
Yuwei Chen, ‘Chinese migrant families in Japan: Social networks, digital technologies, and transnational old-age care provision' (PhD in Geography, main supervisor). Co-supervised with Dr Nana Zhang and Prof. Mark Weal. Funded by the ESRC through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership; 1+3 programme (currently completing the MSc part of the programme in Gerontology). 2022-2026.
Completed
Kashif Salik, 'Exploring the relationship between internal migration and well- being: the case of rural Punjab, Pakistan' (PhD in Geography, main supervisor). Co-supervised with Dr Marije Schaafsma and Prof. Craig Hutton. Recepient of PhD grants during 2016-2019 from DFID, Overseas Development Institute and the Canadian Development Agency through the PRISE project (Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies). 2016-2023. Currently, Associate Research Fellow with SDPI, Pakistan.
Giorgia Prati, ‘Migration and Adaptation: The impact of migration on women’s adaptive capacity in the Mahanadi Delta, India’ (PhD in Geography, main supervisor). Co-supervised with Prof. Emma Tompkins and Prof. Craig Hutton. Recepient during 2014-2017 of doctoral funding from the DECCMA (DEltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation project). 2014-2023. Currently, Migration and Climate Change specialist for FAO in Rome.
Jessica Clapham, 'Exploring young people seeking asylum in the UK’s lived experiences of belonging in schools and colleges.' (Doctorate in Educational Psychology, second supervisor). Co-supervised with Prof. Jana Kreppner. 2020-2023.