Prof. Elena Vacchelli

Elena studied Political Science at the University of Milan, Italy, and obtained her PhD at the prestigious Open University's Geography Department, working at the interface between Critical Geography and Sociology.

 

Before her PhD she held academic assignments at the Humboldt University in Berlin and at the University of Milan-Bicocca in Milan.

Elena's teaching and research interests include migration, diversity and social inequality; gender and space; embodiment; art-based and digital research methodologies.

 

She has substantial experience in researching diversity and gender in the UK and Europe, acquired through work at local, national and European level while based at the Social Policy Research Centre at Middlesex University (2010-2016).

Elena's research has been published in several leading peer-reviewed international journals such as: Gender, Place and Culture; Hagar; Cahiers du Cedref;  Research in Urban Sociology; International Migration; Sociological Research Online; Religion and Gender; and Feminist Review.

 

Her track record includes several research reports from working with European institutions, third sector organisations and local authorities.

 

She also co-authored Polygamy Matters, a report into the lived experiences of women in polygamous families in North London, with MEWSo's Aman Zanoon, Halaleh Taheri and Rose Fatherazi.