Dr Phillip Mar completed a doctorate in social anthropology from University of Sydney in 2002. His doctoral research was on immigration from Kong Kong and the transnational experience of urban spaces. He has lectured in sociology and anthropology at University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and Macquarie University.
Engaged Research Fellow, Institute of Culture and Society
Alexandra Wong is an Engaged Research Fellow at the Institute for Culture and Society. She has completed three projects during her time with the ICS, including an ARC Linkage Project ‘Sydney’s Chinatown in the Asian Century’ with Professors Ien Ang, Donald McNeill and Kay Anderson (2012-2015), a survey with Dr Dallas Rogers and Dr Jacqueline Nelson (UTS) on ‘Public Perception of Foreign Housing Investment in Sydney’ (2015-2016), and a consultancy project ‘Mapping Cultural Venues and Infrastructure in the City of Sydney LGA’ with Professors Ien Ang, David Rowe and other ICS researchers for the City of Sydney (2016). She is currently working on a book about small firms and entrepreneurship with Professor Scott Holmes (School of Business), which is going to be published by Taylor & Francis in 2017.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society
Teresa Swist is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Culture and Society. She is part of the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre’s Safe and Well Online project (researching social communications in the promotion of young people’s safety and wellbeing). Teresa’s doctoral thesis ‘Becoming a creative practitioner in a complex society: Fostering a capability approach in higher education pedagogy’ explored student, academic and professional perspectives of creativity from a social-ecological perspective. Her research interests span the interplay of knowledge, cultural and creative practices and unfolding discursive-material relations. Teresa has a background in secondary school teaching and management, as well as higher education professional development.
Dr Cecilia Hilder
Researcher, Institute for Culture and Society
Cecilia holds a PhD from the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Her PhD research studied Australian youth-led activist organisations and the ways everyday practices shape political subjectivities in the digital age. Cecilia‘s research interests centre on the ways everyday practices surface in the digital age, and the affective dimensions of political engagement. Cecilia supports a range of research projects at the Institute for Culture and Society and has previously worked in investor relations and government relations, with extensive experience in infrastructure provision and commercial property.
Geography And Urban Studies and Lecturer In Urban Planning & Urban Studies, Geography And Urban Studies, Western Sydney University.
With a background in social and design sciences, Ryan studied and worked on natural resource management in Southeast Asia before becoming an urban planner. He worked in strategic planning for local government before joining City Futures Research Centre in 2011. An early career researcher, Ryan completed his PhD in 2017.
Ryan’s PhD investigated the community conflict associated with the mixed land uses in and around Kings Cross, Sydney, framing it as a contested place identity. Other research interests include examining how urban design, renewal and planning can improve housing delivery, social equity and opportunity and natural resource management in cities.