Dr Abigail Branford

My doctoral research explored how the British Empire is understood by students in secondary schools in England. Here, I turn the lens of post-conflict education – which I had applied in my previous work on teaching apartheid histories in South Africa – on the former imperial centre. I am interested in the role of educational institutions in postcolonial knowledge production, having also worked on the politics of academic publishing in West African universities. My first research projects concerned gender and gender-based violence in transitional justice processes and I continue to be involved in research and interventions against intimate partner violence. 

After studying Transitional Justice at the University of Cape Town, I read for an MPhil in Education, Globalisation and Development at Cambridge. Thereafter I did the MSc in African Studies at Oxford and completed my doctorate at Oxford's Department of Education.