Lisa Overton, Ph.D.

l.a.overton@mdx.ac.uk

Middlesex University

City: London, England

Country: United Kingdom

About Me:

For the last four years, I have worked at Middlesex University as Lecturer in Politics. Within this role, I am the Module Leader for 'Introduction to Development Studies' and also teach across the Research Methods course.I specialise in gender analysis and I apply this to all areas of my teaching. As such, I am often responsible for supervising the dissertations of students taking a gender and/or sexualities focus in their research projects. During the academic year 2017/18, I was appointed as the Course Convenor for 'War, Conflict and Development' at Birkbeck which has been a fascinating challenge. Within this role I have explored the gendered nature of conflict, militarised disaster response and the relationship to the so-called 'war on terror,' social devastation and violent peace. 

Research Interests

Conflict Processes & War

Development

Gender and Politics

LGBTQIA Politics

Urban Politics

Research Methods & Research Design

Intersectionality

Transnational Feminism

Natural Disasters

Youth

Gender Performance

Crisis

Countries of Interest

United States

United Kingdom

Sri Lanka

My Research:

My most recent research explored young women's life histories reflecting on what it was like to 'grow up' after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I explored the intersections of gender with youth and sexualities and unpacked how positive transformation can occur post-disaster. The participants themselves engaged in both collective and individual space, through gender performance groups, creativity and personal development. In the past I have explored the notion of 'supernormal patriarchy' within sites of Extractive Industry, women's access to housing and land rights in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka, 'awkward heterosexualities' and abjectification in female lifestlye television.