Supervisor: Professor Leigh Payne
Societies in transition from conflict and authoritarian rule adopt a range of methods to respond to legacies of violence and atrocity. Yet often marginalised groups, such as LGBTQ+ people, are left out of these processes of transitional justice. Emma researches LGBTQ+ engagement with these processes through participation in rights claiming and challenging current structures of rights and justice.
Emma’s DPhil research focuses on the forms of LGBTQ+ storytelling in the aftermath of conflict, contrasting state-sponsored processes with LGBTQ+ mobilisation in alternative, cultural spaces of storytelling. Her thesis combines a comparative study of truth commissions which feature testimonies from LGBTQ+ victims, and an in-depth study of the recent Colombian Truth Commission.
Her fieldwork is funded by a Study Abroad Studentship from the Leverhulme Trust.
Research Interests: Human Rights, LGBTQ+ movements, Storytelling, Conflict, Transitional Justice
Previous Education: Emma has an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford, and a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford. Since completing her masters, she has worked in human rights and peacebuilding.
