Socio-spatial dynamics of queerness and mobility in Bogotá, Colombia

I studied for a BA in Modern Languages (Spanish, Russian, Czech) at the University of Sheffield before living and working as an English teacher in Colombia, the Czech Republic, Japan, and elsewhere in the UK. I then returned to Sheffield to pursue my postgraduate studies - an MA in Intercultural Communication & International Development. Directly before beginning this PhD, I completed a second MA in Social Research here as part of the same ESRC-funded White Rose DTP scholarship. I have also worked in professional services at another UK university and in an admin support role at an LGBTQ+ youth charity.

My doctoral project derives largely from my own background as a queer migrant in Bogotá and other places alongside a curiosity about queer experiences of urban space which developed during my first MA. My PhD seeks to investigate the complex interplay between urban space, individual and collective queer identities, and diverse articulations of forced and voluntary migration in Colombia. I will explore how these factors shape each other, focusing on experiences of public and private space while seeking to understand how multilocal queer migrants from Colombia and abroad engage in placemaking practices and negotiate their sense of belonging in the city. I have a particular interest in Bogotá as a site of convergence for diverse patterns of queer mobility. 

draw on the work of scholars from Latin America and around the world, including urban, intercultural, and mobility theories such as right to the city, intersectionality, and multilocality. I will follow a qualitative methodology including reflexive thematic analysis, participatory mapping, and urban storytelling. Through this approach and the knowledge generated about and alongside intersectionally diverse multilocal queer migrants, my research aims to advance theoretical debates and present empirical findings with the potential to inform socially just and culturally appropriate institutional and popular responses to this community’s socio-spatial needs.

Supervisors: Dr Philipp Horn, Dr Melanie Lombard, Dr Jane Woodin