School of Social & Political Sciences

The school welcomes the following academics joining us this year: Sara Bernard, Teaching Assistant in Central and Eastern European Studies, Hua Wang, Tutor in Politics, Minna Liinpää, Tutor in Sociology, and Dr Maëlle Duchemin-Pelletier, Tutor in Economic and Social History.

 

Sara Bernard

Sara is a teaching assistant in Central and Eastern European Studies. She is also an affiliate researcher in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow. For the academic year 2018/19, she will additionally act as associate lecturer in Yugoslav History and Disintegration at Goldsmiths, University of London. She obtained her PhD at the University of Regensburg in February 2016. Her first monograph, which investigated the return migration of guest workers in socialist Yugoslavia, is forthcoming with the renowned German publisher, Harrassowitz. Sara’s main research interest is migration and development aid in international relations between developed and developing countries during the Cold War.

 

Hua Wang

Hua is joining our school as a Tutor in Politics. She completed her doctoral research in Politics at the university in 2017. Her PhD thesis focused on the business lobbying and local policy process in China. By examining the case of Non-local Chambers of Commerce (NCCs), she unveiled how the business lobbying being conducted in an authoritarian regime, and developed a theoretical framework to explain NCCs’ lobbying variation. Hua has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the school since 2015, supporting the teaching in Politics subject. She has showed great enthusiasm in teaching and enjoyed the interaction with students. Hua’s research interests include NGO and interest groups in authoritarian regimes, Chinese policy process, local governance, the interaction between non-state actors and state actors in China.  In her spare time Hua also works as a volunteer at Glasgow Life to deliver bilingual bookbug sessions in both English and Mandarin for 0-5 pre-school children.

 

Minna Liinpää

Minna is joining the School as a Tutor in Sociology. She recently finished her PhD entitled Nationalism from Above and Below: Interrogating ‘race’, ‘ethnicity’ and belonging in post-devolutionary Scotland at the University of Glasgow. Using the Scottish independence referendum (in 2014) as a case study, this project looked at the ways in which nationalist narratives are constructed by political elites from above as well as how these narratives are interpreted, experienced and potentially challenged by ethnic minorities from below. Prior to the PhD, she completed an MRes in Equality and Human Rights and an MA (SocSci) in Sociology and Central and East European Studies, both at the University of Glasgow. Minna has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant on undergraduate Sociology and postgraduate Qualitative Methods courses since 2014. She has also worked as a Research Assistant on two projects within the School: Dr Francesca Stella’s ESRC IAA funded project entitled Developing Engagement on LGBT and Migrant Equalities and Dr Teresa Piacentini’s ESRC IAA funded project entitled Improving Interpreting Practice in Healthcare Settings.

 

Dr Maëlle Duchemin-Pelletier

Maëlle is a tutor in Economic and Social History. She completed her doctoral research at the University of Glasgow in 2018. Her thesis, Stillbirth: Medicalisation and Social Change, 1901-1992, with a special reference to Scotland, tracks the changes with regards to stillbirths in Scotland and more broadly Britain from four related perspectives: medicalisation, its impact on legislation, and, for the end of the period on societal and religious changes. Maëlle has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant since 2014, supporting the undergraduate teaching in Economic and Social History. She has also participated in the University second-year medical students’ Selected Studies Component schedule since 2015. Maelle has also worked as a Research Assistant on the project entitled A History of Working-Class Marriage, 1855-1976 for Prof Eleanor Gordon and Dr Rosemary Elliot. Maëlle’s research interest include the History of Medicine, the History of Childbirth, the History of Obstetrics & Midwifery, Gender Studies, Economic & Social History, British and European History, Modern History, and the History of Death.

 

 

 

 

 

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First published: 3 September 2018