Dr Luisa Gandolfo

Biography

I completed my doctoral studies in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, analysing the formation and sustenance of identity in the Palestinian community in Jordan.

Subsequently, I conducted research on expressions of gender and political activism in the Arabic blogosphere  during a Centre for Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW) postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Durham. 

I also held the Al Tajir lectureship in post-war recovery studies at the University of York, where I engaged in research exploring the role of art and culture in social change in Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.

Lastly, I am the author of Palestinians in Jordan: The Politics of Identity (2012), co-editor of Post-Conflict Memorialization Missing Memorials, Absent Bodies (2021), and my articles and chapters have focused on gender, identity and activism in West Asia and North Africa.

Internal Memberships

I am currently the Postgraduate Research and Taught Postgraduate Officer for the Department of Sociology.

Between 2015-2021, I was the School of Social Sciences Athena SWAN co-lead (2016-) and Equality and Diversity Officer.

Research Overview

My research interests are located in Palestine-Israel, Jordan, and Tunisia, and encompass:

• Memory and mourning practices
• Mapping and memorialisation
• Trauma and post-war reconciliation
• Refugees and migration
• Diasporic identities and exile

For further details on published papers, visit here.

Relating to the above research themes, I have peer-reviewed submissions to the following journals: 

• Cultural Sociology (editorial board member, 2024-2027)
• Sociological Research Online (editorial board member, 2024-2027)
• Politics, Religion, and Ideology
• The Journal of North African Studies
• British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
• African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal
• Visual Studies
• International Feminist Journal of Politics
• Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
• Journal of Historical Sociology
• Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research
• Mortality
• Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
• Journal of Cultural Geography
• Nationalities Papers
• Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies
• Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions

Funding and Grants

Research Grant, 2016, 'Missing Memorials and Absent Bodies: Negotiating Post-conflict Trauma and Memorialisation'. Awarded by the Leverhulme/British Academy, Febuary 2016. 

Research Grant, 2015-2016, 'The Political and Cultural Identity of the Libyan Community in Malta.' Awarded by The Society for Libyan Studies. February, 2015.

Research Fellowship at The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, ‘Comparative Discourses of Memory and Trauma in Palestinian and Israeli Art.’ Awarded by The European Institutes for Advanced Study (EURIAS) Fellowship Programme, September 2014-August 2015.

Research Grant 2013-2014, ‘Comparative Discourses of Memory and Trauma in Palestinian and Israeli Art.’ Awarded by The Carnegie Trust. University of Aberdeen. June, 2014. 

Research Grant 2012-2013, ‘Divine Intervention: The Role of Christian Evangelical Proselytism in the Palestine-Israel Conflict.’ Awarded by The Carnegie Trust. University of Aberdeen. June, 2013.

Teaching Responsibilities

Course Co-ordinator

Gendered Approaches to Conflict and Societies [SO4074]

Sex, Gender, and Violence: Critical Approaches [SO5519]

Dissertation in Sociology [SO5904]

Contributes to:

Studying Social Life I: The Embodied Self [SO2006]

Sociology of the Everyday II: Global Issues in the 21st Century [SO2509]

Thinking Sociologically [SO3066]