Pragmatic hope, profound humility

About Professor Marcelle Dawson's research

Marcelle is a sociologist with an interest in social movements, protest and alternative futures. She also has an intellectual curiosity in the socio-cultural analysis of sport. Her varied research interests are held together by an abiding commitment to critical humanism. Recent research projects address the relationship between ideology, affect and popular resistance, with the aim of understanding how shared emotional bonds, rather than more traditional affinities, inspire people to build solidarity across difference.

Marcelle obtained her DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford, where she spent more time in Port Meadow than any of the libraries. Before joining the University of Otago, Marcelle taught in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg. In 2009, she was seconded as a Senior Researcher to the Centre for Social Change, where she served as acting Director for a year.

In mid-2012, Marcelle moved to Dunedin ostensibly to teach a couple of courses in Sociology for one year. A decade later, she took up the role as Head of Sociology, Gender Studies and Criminology, serving in that capacity for three years.

This lecture will be followed with light refreshments, tea, coffee and juice.

Streaming information

This event will be livestreamed from 5:25pm, Thursday 10 September 2026.

Livestream Professor Marcelle Dawson's IPL