PhD Intro Sara Mohamed

Sara is an Egyptian-Canadian PhD candidate who has found her way back to James Cook University. After completing a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Sociology and minoring in Business, Sara came to Australia in 2018 to undertake a Master’s project at JCU Townsville under the supervision of Dr. Theresa Petray. Finding JCU to have been a great experience and learning environment she wanted to continue her studies and is now with The Cairns Institute, JCU.

Although the Australian climate is vastly different than Canada’s, having transition from -40 to +40, Sara has taken to the Cairns heat amicably. She is excited to be back and looks forward to exploring more of Australia in the future. Presently she is in the early stages of developing her PhD research within Environmental Sociology supervised by distinguished Professor Stewart Lockie, Dr. Theresa Petray, and Dr. Nick Osbaldiston.

Having grown-up in Canada’s beautiful and diverse landscape an appreciation for nature developed into a strong desire to conserve and protect those nature resources. As she continued along her studies in Sociology, she discovered a way in which her multiple interests coincided. And so, she is taking her PhD as an opportunity to further explore the intersections between race, identity, and environmental behaviours. Her research interests also include social media, self-presentation, social movements, inequality, capitalism, and environmental responsibility. Sara primarily utilizes qualitative research methods working to engage, understand, and facilitate voice for individuals participating in research. She strives to focus on empowerment and service to underrepresented environmental perspectives in the goal of diversifying the narrative around sustainability which may work to support social and environmental justice and a more sustainable future.