SJ Cooper-Knock (they/them)

My research focuses on the politics of urban in life in South Africa. The current focus of my work includes: everyday policing and punishment; being and belonging in the city; the politics of crisis; and concepts of urban justice.

I completed my undergraduate in History and Politics (BA Hons) at the University of Nottingham. Later, I studied for my MPhil and DPhil in International Development at the University of Oxford.

I worked at the London School of Economics and Political Science in International Development before moving to the University of Edinburgh where I was jointly appointed by Social Anthropology and the Centre of African Studies.

I joined the University of Sheffield as a joint appointment between the Department of Sociological Studies and the School of Law in 2021. I am also a member of the Sheffield Institute for International Development and the Centre for Criminological Research.

I am also an Associate Researcher at ACMS at the University of the Witwatersrand, I am on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies and Critical African Studies.