- Centre for the Study of Democracy
About me
Olimpia is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences, at the University of Westminster. Her primary research interests are in gender/sexuality, anthropology, politics, ethnography and queer theory. She is currently working on a project exploring the complicities and resistances between global corporations and local activists in Kenya, Argentina and Brazil. A member of the Gender and Sexuality Study Group at the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Decolonizing Steering Group, her work is published in journals including Gender, Work & Organization and Organization Studies.
Teaching
I am currently the module leader for The Politics of Killing (5PIR5010W) and guest lecturer for LGBTQ+ Studies (5WSEL009W) and Gender and Politics (5PIR5001W). In the last few years I have also been the module leader for Gender and Politics (5PIR5001W), seminar leader for Ethics, Morality and World Order(s) (6PIRS006W) and delivered guest lectures on 'Diversity Politics' and 'The Business of Sexuality' across different modules/departments. My teaching practice is driven by a desire to create inclusive, accessible and transformative learning environments that supports students' engagement with course materials. I'm also committed to collaborative teaching-learning practices which are particularly attentive to how power relations shape the classroom and institutions.
Research
Selected publications
'Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality by Rahul Rao' (Book Review). (2020). Gender, Work & Organization. DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12544.
''There’s nowhere wonky left to go': Gentrification, queerness and class politics of inclusion in (East) London'. (2020). Gender, Work & Organization, pp. 1-15. DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12495.
'Queering control and inclusion in the contemporary LGBT-friendly organization: on LGBT-friendly control and the (failed) reproduction of (queer) value'. (2020) Organization Studies, pp. 1-25. DOI: 10.1177/0170840620944557.
'Powerful writing'. (2018). Co-authored with: Amrouche, Charlotte, Breckenridge, Jhilmil, Breiding Hansen, Malte, Pedersen, Christina Hee, Plotnikof, Mie and Pullen, Alison. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organizations. 18(4): pp. 881-900.
Selected invited talks
Workshop on ‘Academic activism: irresolvable tensions or fruitful possibilities?’, ‘The Body of Work’ event series, the Wellcome Trust.
Book launch of ‘United Queerdom: From the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front to the Queers of Tomorrow’ by Dan Glass, Zed Books.
Seminar on ‘Queering LGBT-friendliness: three problems and possibilities in multi-sited ethnography’, Centre for Research in Equality & Diversity, Queen Mary University, London.
Roundtable on ‘Privatization & Queer Spaces’, Queer Identities and Philosophy Conference, Kings College London.
Roundtable on ‘Queer Spaces’, with Prof Amin Ghaziani, Prof Phil Hubbard & Lo Marshall, University of Westminster.
Conference organization
'Gender, Work & Organization 2021 Conference' (Co-Organizer), University of Kent, 30th June - 2nd July 2021.
‘Gender, Work & Organization virtual Seminar on COVID-19’ with Prof Karen Lee Ashacraft, Prof David Knights, Prof Stella Nkomo and Prof Nick Rumens, 23rd June 2020.
‘Mythbusting Intersectionality- in Conversation with Kimberlé Crenshaw’, in collaboration with the African American Policy Forum, the Center for Intersectionality & Social Policy Studies (Columbia Law School) and the Centre for Research on Race & Law (Birkbeck University), 28th May, 2019.
‘Queering the future of organization studies’ (Stream convener), 11th International Critical Management Studies Conference, The Open University, 27th – 29th June, 2019.
‘Sarah Schulman- A Witness to her Times’, in collaboration with ACT-UP, SOAS, Rich Mix and the London Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), 1st – 4th May, 2019.
‘Living on the Margins’, University of Westminster, 11th – 12th April, 2019.
‘Queer Activism Today’, University of Westminster, 3rd March, 2018.
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.