Identity and Belonging Research Stream
The Identity and Belonging research stream explores how legal, social and cultural frameworks shape, regulate, and contest the ways individuals and communities understand themselves and are recognised by the state. Identity and belonging are broadly conceived to accommodate an array of interesting work. The stream considers identity in action—how people and communities use and navigate legal/cultural tools to define themselves, claim space, and challenge exclusion.
Our members work across cutting edge areas, including:
- Trans rights and gender recognition, examining how legal systems interact and control individuals legally recognised gender.
- Intangible cultural heritage, exploring how traditions, practices, and collective memory help communities build and maintain distinctive identities.
- Social Class and Academia, combining intersectional research and community initiatives to improve experiences in higher education.
Together, we investigate how law can both empower and marginalise, and how communities push back through culture, activism, and legal reform. The stream creates a vibrant space for interdisciplinary research and collaborative work that is socially engaged, justice focused and grounded in the lived realities of those navigating the boundaries of identity and belonging.
Members of the stream:
- Kay Dunn
- Jess Randall
- Alice Storey
- Gary Pykitt
- Fay Glendenning
- Raxonna Khanum
- Ian Axtell
- Nathan Kerrigan
- Peirs Von Berg
- Kirsten Antoncich
- Craig Newberry-Jones
- Beverley Cole
- Lindsay Hunter
- Nicola Stevens