Career highlights

My research career highlights includes:

• being named top scholar contributing to and most cited for the topic cluster of ‘Cultural Diversity; Islam; Racism’ on Scopus from 2018 to 2023 (based on Scopus citation data, with a SciVal overall Field Weighted Citation Impact at 5.71),

• 1 of my publications has been ranked in the top 10% most cited publications worldwide and my research has been cited by researchers in 19 countries,

• the election to the role of Vice President for the Australian Association for the Study of Religion from 2023,

• an invitation to deliver the prestigious 2022 Penny Magee keynote lecture,

• speaking about my research at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice in Western Cape University, South Africa,

• and co-success with competitive funding ($35,900) from the Templeton Religion Trust for a project to study digital conspiracy theories in spiritual/wellness communities.

My research

I have research interests in cultural/religious diversity; anti-racism; migration and multiculturalism; social equity and belonging, with a particular focus on Indigenous-settler relations, and especially within diverse/religious communities. I adopt a decolonial perspective in my research and study culture and society through networks of media texts (print and digital).

My research skills include both quantitative and qualitative methods, such as content analysis, surveys, discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and digital ethnography. I am constantly exploring new, creative ways to tackle emerging social issues.

I have developed two main research areas of interest: 1) decolonial perspectives in study of religion, to examine and unmoor how the term has long been narrowly viewed through Eurocentric perspectives, particularly in settler-colonial Australia and 2) addressing issues of social equity and inclusion in diverse, intersectional communities in Australia.

1. Decoloniality and religion

In my PhD, I investigated how ‘religion’ is constructed, contested and negotiated in Australian media discourses and found the persistence of a British/colonial influence on Australian public discussions about religion. Specifically, institutional, white/Anglo and patriarchal perspectives were dominant in framing these discussions, while minority and female perspectives played marginal roles; Indigenous perspectives were glaringly missing. Through this research, I argue that the complex relationship between Christianity, colonialism and whiteness persists in contemporary society and requires further interrogation.

2. Social equity and inclusion for diverse communities

In my experience as a Research Fellow on Australian Research Council Discovery and Linkage projects, I interviewed more than 60 community members from migrant, refugee and multicultural background. The research projects I worked on focused on cultural and religious diversity within specific ethnic/racial communities, and issues of equitable access for these communities with social services (health, housing and employment). Collectively, I worked with advocacy and community organisations, policymakers and the community at large through these projects. More recently, I am leading a small project examining migrant Asian women and their (in)visibility in reproductive health issues.

Academic Memberships

1. International Sociological Association (ISA)

2. Australian Association for the Study of Religion (AASR)

3. The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)

4. Asian Media and Cultural Studies Network (Deakin University)

5. Mobilities‚ Diversity and Multiculturalism Stream (Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University)