School of Social and Political Science

Dr Ian Russell

Lecturer in African Studies and International Development

Profile picture of Dr Ian Russell
irussell@exseed.ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 1756
4.03
Chrystal Macmillan Building
15a George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LD

Research interests

Childhood & Youth Identities & Inequalities International development International Development Cluster Methods Politics and political violence Race and decolonial thought Science, knowledge and policy

I am particularly interested in questions relating to education, knowledge-producing institutions, conflict, and development. My current research topics relate to national statistics organisations in Africa in a changing data landscape, higher education for refugees, and the educationalisation of social problems in development discourse and practice. My doctoral research was a study of the challenges facing universities in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka and their interactions with processes of peacebuilding and development. I have also worked with the METRO project (https://www.metro-project.eu/) to explore questions related to production of metrics and standards by international organisations. With the Political Settlements Research Programme at the University of Edinburgh, I co-conducted an investigation of the practice of ceasefires for vaccination campaigns. With colleagues, I have also carried out research examining trends in knowledge production in African Studies.

 

PhD supervision

Topics I am interested in supervising include:

  • The politics of education and development
  • Education in conflict-affected contexts
  • The governance and politics of knowledge systems
  • Education for refugees and asylum seekers
  • Decolonisation and the politics of academic knowledge, particularly in relation to African contexts
  • Student and popular movements

 

Background

I am an experienced educator with a background in teaching that spans across different levels and educational settings. I believe in taking a critical approach to pedagogy and in taking an active approach to seeking out opportunities to support student development.

I am currently the Programme Director of the MScR in Sustainable African Futures, which is run in partnership with Wits University and the Mastercard Foundation as part of Wits-Edinburgh Programme in Sustainable African Futures.

This academic year (2023/24) I am also course organiser for the Data Collection (Sem. 1), Dynamics of African Development (Sem. 1), and Research Design (Sem. 2) courses.

Works within

Students on courses I am organising or on the MScR Sustainable African Futures can book a meeting during my guidance hours (Book time with Ian Russell: Office hours). These are Wednesday 9-10am and Thursday 2.30-3.45pm. Otherwise, to book a meeting, please email me at irussell@ed.ac.uk.

Publications by user content

Publication Research Explorer link
Grek S, Russell I. Beyond Bologna? Infrastructuring quality in European higher education. European Educational Research Journal. 2023 May 31. Epub 2023 May 31. doi: 10.1177/14749041231170518
 View
Russell I. The limits on critical voice in conflict-affected universities: Evidence from Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. International Journal of Educational Development. 2023 Jan;96:102685. Epub 2022 Oct 18. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102685
 View
Russell I. Giving back and the moral logics of economic relations. Qualitative Research. 2022 Sept 28;1-18. Epub 2022 Sept 28. doi: 10.1177/14687941221129802
 View
Russell I. Degrees of peace: Universities and embodied experiences of conflict in post-war Sri Lanka. Third World Quarterly. 2022 Apr 3;43(4):898-915. Epub 2022 Mar 7. doi: 10.1080/01436597.2022.2038129
 View
Russell I, Wise L, Badanjak S. Shots for peace? Vaccination ceasefires and the fight against Covid-19. 2021.
 View
Russell I, Wise L, Badanjak S. Breathing Space: Vaccination Ceasefires in Armed Conflict. Political Settlements Research Programme, 2021. 68 p.
 View