Hannah Cowdell
College: College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Discipline: Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
Department: Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
I am an SWDTP ESRC-funded PhD researcher at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. My PhD project examines histories of ontological negotiation of legal and medical categories of sex and gender in Lebanon. I am more broadly interested in issues of bioethical consensus-making, and in decolonial and transdisciplinary approaches to research.
Prior to starting my PhD, I completed an MRes in Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter, also funded by the ESRC SWDTP. My dissertation explored the use of social media by Lebanese activists and influencers.
In 2020, I graduated from St Antony's College, University of Oxford, with an M.Phil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. My M.Phil dissertation explored the politics of British post-conflict heritage aid to Iraq. I also hold a BA in Ancient Near Eastern Studies with Arabic from University College, University of Oxford.
