Dr Anna Gawlewicz
- Urban Studies Foundation Research Fellow (Urban Studies)
telephone: 01413308236
email: Anna.Gawlewicz@glasgow.ac.uk
Biography
I am an Urban Studies Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Social and Political Sciences, and work around migration and social diversity/difference. I am an interdisciplinary researcher and hold a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Sheffield, UK and a combined BSc + MSc in International Relations and European Studies from the Cracow University of Economics, Poland.
In my current project, Living Together, I focus on social relations between Polish migrants and the long-settled population in the context of Brexit. I explore the nature of migrant-‘host’ encounters in the East End of Glasgow: a rapidly changing and an increasingly diverse urban area. I also investigate if and how growing insecurities and anxieties caused by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union affect these encounters and the local community more broadly.
Previously, I worked as a Research Associate in Sociology on an ESRC-funded project Intimate Migrations led by Dr Francesca Stella and Dr Moya Flynn. In this project, we looked at the experiences of LGBT migrants from Central and Eastern Europe in Scotland. In particular, we investigated the role of sexuality in decisions to migrate, LGBT migrants’ sense of belonging in home and host societies, and their social networks.
Before joining the University of Glasgow, I worked on my PhD project at the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield respectively. In my PhD thesis, I explored how migration from Poland (a post-communist state) to the UK (a post-colonial state) impacts on people’s values and attitudes towards difference in terms of ethnicity, religion, class, sexuality, gender, age and disability. Specifically, I investigated migrant encounters with difference and the circulation of ideas about difference between Polish migrants and their significant others in Poland. This study was part of an ERC-funded research programme LiveDifference led by Prof. Gill Valentine.
Prior to pursuing my PhD, I worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark and investigated student migration within the historically and politically sensitive Polish-Ukrainian border region. I was also involved in a research into the media discourse of the European Union in Poland.
Research interests
I am interested in all things migration and in particular:
- Migration and the city: migrant city-making
- Migrant-‘host’ encounters/relations
- Brexit and hostile environments
- Social diversity: attitudes to/encounters with difference
- Transnational circulation of ideas: social remittances
- Migration and language: migrant language of difference
- Migration and sexuality: queer migration
- Postcolonialism and postsocialism
- Central and East European/Polish migration to the UK
As a qualitative researcher, I am also interested in:
- Translation in research methods
- Position/positionality of migrant researcher
- Reflexive and intersectional methodologies
Room 114, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8RS,