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Staff Profile

Dr Miranda Iossifidis

Lecturer in Sociology

  • Telephone: +44(0)191 208 3674
  • Personal Website: http://www.cargocollective.com/mirandaio
  • Address: Newcastle University
    School of Geography,
    Politics and Sociology,
    4.129, Level 4 Henry Daysh Buillding
Background

I am a Lecturer in Sociology, and currently the Sociology PGR co-Director and Academic Lead for Employability.


I have worked on diverse research projects: OpenHeritage (Horizon 2020), Children's Magical Realism for New Spatial Interactions in the Culture Lab at Newcastle University, and Unsettling Scientific Stories (AHRC). I have also worked in urban and cultural policy (European Cultural Foundation, British Council).


Since finishing my PhD in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London (2016) I have taught in Sociology, Geography, Media and Design departments at undergraduate and postgraduate level at Goldsmiths, LSE, UCL, Oxford, University of the Arts London and Newcastle University. I am a Fellow of the HEA.


I am a Convenor of the British Sociological Association's Mid Career Forum and member of the Reactionary Politics Research Network.


I am part of the Sonic Cyberfeminisms collective, Radical Mothering collective, and have worked with the Feminist Autonomous Centre in Athens, contributing to their Summer Schools. I have a radio show on Slack's, Tyne and Wear's weird radio station.


Research Interests


My research explores questions of how environmental and reproductive futures are mobilised in the present, drawing on feminist approaches and creative methods. I have a background in urban studies and audio/visual practice.


My current research projects focus on (1) the nexus of reactionary reproductive and environmental futures, in particular populationism in relation to ecofascism; (2) histories of resistance to populationism; (3) and using creative participatory methods to explore speculative climate justice futures.

 

I have an ongoing research interest in the creative and collective negotiation of environmental presents and futures through speculative fiction, engaging with online methods to work with reading groups. This will be published in a co-authored book, "Reading Science/Fiction: Practices, Pleasures and Publics" with Lisa Garforth, Amy Chambers and Joanna Verran for Palgrave Pivot in October 2025.


Reactionary environmental and reproductive politics; ecofascism; justice-centred futures; speculative climate futures; creative methods


Please get in touch if you are interested in pursuing PhD or postdoctoral research on any of the topics listed above.




Research



Ongoing projects


  • Speculative reactionary reproductive and environmental futures: interrogating contemporary populationism.
  • Exploring speculative climate justice futures using creative participatory methods, with Mack Sproates and Bethan, funded by the Catherine Cookson Foundation. Recent blogpost on this project. See the zine itself here.
  • Part of the EU ACCELERATE consortium

Recent Projects


  • Zine workshops exploring ecofascism with local activists, with the canny little library at the Star and Shadow, Newcastle upon Tyne (2022, funded by Newcastle University GPS Small Bids)
  • Online/offline activism during the Spring 2020 UK lockdown: London-based air pollution campaigns (2021, funded by Newcastle University HaSS Pioneer Award).
  • OpenHeritage: an Horizon2020 project examining the processes and practices of adaptive heritage reuse through a living lab in Sunderland, and producing EU policy recommendations with other partners (2020-21). 
  • Urban and cultural policy analysis for the European Cultural Foundation as part of Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities (2020). 
  • Research consultancy: creating a new programme with Dr Mbaye and the British Council Creative Economy team exploring Dakar's creative ecosystem with young creative communities, 'The Space Between' (2020). 
  • Curating Dakar as an 'Art World City', with Dr Jenny Mbaye. Our chapter on independent art institution-building in Dakar was recently published in Forces of Art: Perspectives from a Changing World. (2019-2020). 
  • Children's Magical Realism for New Spatial Interactions with Dr Tom Schofield in Culture Lab, collaborating with Seven Stories to develop and facilitate workshops exploring children's relationship to space and place in Newcastle upon Tyne, through augmented reality and magical realism (2019). 
  • Prospecting Futures, part of Unsettling Scientific Stories, using digital methods to explore how online science fiction reading communities collectively and creatively negotiate Anthropocene futures (AHRC) with Dr Lisa Garforth in Sociology (2018-19).


Postgraduate supervision


  • Oscar Horton Chandler (NINE DTP)
  • Sam Padfield (NINE DTP)
Teaching

I am the co-Module Leader and Lecturer on Researching Social Life (SOC2069), and Exploring City Life (SOC3081/SOC2181). I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations. I welcome the opportunity to work with students interested in the themes outlined on my research page.






Publications