Ms Bryony Vince (she/her)
BA, MA, MA
Department of Politics and International Relations
Doctoral Researcher
Full contact details
Department of Politics and International Relations
Modular Teaching Village
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 1AJ
- Profile
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Bryony is an ESRC funded doctoral student in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and was previously an Associate Lecturer (Module Leader) at Sheffield Hallam University.
She is co-editor of the Lexington book series Global Dialogues: Non-Eurocentric Visions of the Global and Editor-at-large at E-International Relations. She is also a permanent Committee Member on the University of Sheffield Participatory Research Network (PRN@TUOS) and PGR Representative on the Department's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Bryony was previously an Affiliate Researcher at Stellenbosch University and a Fellow of the Centre of the Comparative Study of Civil War.
Her research looks at contextually specific, indigenous approaches to peacebuilding and broadly seeks to decenter and move beyond Eurocentric and colonial approaches to and understandings of peacebuilding and International Relations. Her current PhD research looks at whether and how the African worldview of ‘Ubuntu’ is useful as a tool for transforming conflict and building peace in South Africa.
Her article, Constructing a Non-Western Theory of IR: A Cosmological Framework, was shortlisted for the 2019 Northedge Essay Prize by Millennium: Journal of International Studies, and her essay How Global is Security Studies? The Possibility of Non-Western Theory was awarded the E-International Relations Essay Award in 2018.
She blogs at unapologeticacademic.com.Latest publication: The importance of indigenous solutions during post-war peacebuilding | Civil War Paths blog
- Qualifications
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MA, Social Research Methods, University of Sheffield (with Distinction)
MA, International Politics, University of Sheffield (with Distinction and Award for Highest Achievement)
BA (Hons), Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield
- Research interests
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Research interests
- International Relations
- Peacebuilding
- Conflict resolution
- Participatory research methods
- Qualitative research methods
- Decoloniality
- Anti-Eurocentrism
- UbuntuOverview of PhD research
Project title: The (Mis)use of Indigenous Knowledge: How Ubuntu is Used as a Tool for Peacebuilding in South Africa
Bryony's research looks at whether and how the African worldview of ‘Ubuntu’ is useful as a tool for transforming conflict and building peace in South Africa. It asks: How do people understand Ubuntu and practice its values in their everyday lives; How has Ubuntu been used/misused by government, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and community organisations to inform peacebuilding?, and; What can this tell us about using contextually specific or indigenous knowledge for peacebuilding more broadly, in both theory and practice? This research involves document analysis, and four months of overseas fieldwork in Cape Town, South Africa; this involved ethnographic observations, non-participant observations and interviews with individuals in local communities, NGOs, and community organisations, as well as peace and conflict practitioners.
This research provides a detailed and more grounded analysis of how local knowledge and values can be integrated into peacebuilding solutions, and the challenges of doing this in reality. It also adds more nuance to discussions around whether and how concepts, ideas and worldviews – particularly those originating outside of the West – are both used and misused in academic and policy spaces.
- Research group
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International Relations
- Grants
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ESRC Overseas Fieldwork Grant (June 2022)
Awarded a £5,000 research grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to undertake overseas fieldwork in Cape Town as part of my PhD research.
ESRC Overseas Institutional Visit Grant (March 2022)
Awarded a £4,000 research grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to undertake an Overseas Institutional Visit as an Affiliate Researcher at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
ESRC 1+3 PhD Studentship (2019-2023)
Awarded a £90,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to undertake an MA in Social Research Methods and PhD research at the University of Sheffield.
- Teaching interests
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Bryony's teaching interests broadly lie in International Relations and qualitative research methods. In particular, she is interested in teaching decolonial, anti-Eurocentric and decentered approaches to International Relations and peacebuilding, as well as qualitative/participatory research methods. She is passionate about decolonising the curriculum and wider University, and strives to adopt inclusive strategies into her teaching practices.
- Teaching activities
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Experience
Associate Lecturer (Module Leader) - MA Decolonising and Decentering International Relations, Sheffield Hallam University (2021/2022)
- Professional activities and memberships
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Committee Member and PGR lead – Participatory Research Network, University of Sheffield (PRN@TUOS) (2022-present)
Committee Member (PGR representative) – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Department of Politics and International Relations (2022-present)
Book Series Co-Editor – Global Dialogues: Non-Eurocentric Visions of the Global (2020-present)
Editor-at-Large – E-International Relations (2018-present)
Co-Convenor – International Relations Group, Department of Politics and International Relations (2022-2023)
Affiliate Researcher – Stellenbosch University (2022)
Fellow – Centre for the Comparative Study of Civil War (2021-2022)
- Awards
Highest Achievement in MA International Politics (2019)
Awarded £100 by the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University and Sheffield for Highest Achievement in the MA International Politics course.
Millennium Northedge Essay Prize (Shortlisted – 2019)
Bryony's article, Constructing a Non-Western Theory of IR: A Cosmological Framework, was shortlisted for the Northedge Essay Prize by Millennium: Journal of International Studies.
E-International Relations Essay Award (2017)
Bryony's essay, How Global is Security Studies? The Possibility of Non-Western Theory, won the E-IR essay award in 2017.