Can good storytelling make a difference to refugees seeking protection?
Anthea Vogl, academic and first scholar to complete the prestigious Quentin Bryce (QB) Law Doctoral Scholarship, will join the UTS Faculty of Law in May as a Lecturer specialising in migration and refugee law and theory.
Awarded the competitive Quentin Bryce Scholarship for her work on the role of the narrative model in the legal testimony of refugees and asylum seekers, Anthea was initially attracted to return to Australia from Canada to complete her PhD due to the strong reputation of UTS:Law as specialising in interdisciplinary research, with a focus on the “social impact of the law.”
With an early background in English literature – she studied a combined Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Law at the University of Sydney – Anthea went on to study a Masters of Law (Research) at the University of McGill in Montreal. A major drawcard in her decision to complete her postgraduate studies through the Quentin Bryce Scholarship was the Faculty’s support of her as a ‘co-tutuelle’ (co-enrolled) student. “The Law Faculty facilitated and supported my proposal to undertake the scholarship as a ‘co-tutuelle’ student,” she said.
“It meant that throughout my PhD I was enrolled both at UTS and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and my doctoral studies took place across both universities. I spent a year in Vancouver as part of my degree, and was able to collaborate and work with refugee and migration law scholars and advocates from North America as a result.”
Drawing comparisons between the Australian and Canadian legal systems and their treatment of asylum seekers is central to Anthea’s research, which investigates “the political implications of refugees being expected to coherently and convincingly tell their own stories of persecution in order to be afforded protection”.
An unexpected component of being a ‘co-tutuelle’ student in a Canadian university is the requirement of PhD students to orally defend their work before a formal panel. “I had to meet a hybrid of Australian and Canadian thesis-examination requirements. In the North American system, once your examiners have read your thesis, you are invited to orally defend your work,” she said.
“It struck me as pretty terrifying as I submitted my thesis, but at its best, it’s an opportunity to discuss the last few painstaking years of your research with a room of people who have read your thesis and are experts in your topic area.”
Concluding her PhD studies with a live oral defense of her thesis via video call from UTS to the University of British Columbia, Anthea is the first scholar to officially complete the Quentin Bryce Law Doctoral Scholarship program. Returning to UTS:Law as a lecturer mid this year, Anthea said she was thrilled to be officially joining the Faculty.
“So many exceptional PhD students are part of the [QBS] program and being part of a doctoral research community is indispensable in getting through a PhD! The QB Scholarship gives PhD candidates the opportunity to pursue their research interests in a genuinely supportive faculty environment,” she said.
“The option of applying for a QB teaching fellowship – and of teaching in your field whilst undertaking your research – also creates a space where PhD students can be part of the Faculty.”
With a passionate interest in changing the ways refugees and other disadvantaged members of society may be marginalised by legal regulation, Anthea is looking forward to continuing her research and teaching at UTS.
“My doctoral research revealed that there are important questions about the long-term precariousness faced by refugee communities; particularly as a result of Australia’s new regime of ‘temporary’ protection. So many aspects of existing refugee policy impede asylum seekers’ access to protection; requiring refugees to tell compelling stories when giving evidence about their past harms and persecution is just one part of a bigger picture.”
Story by: Tess Gibney
Image: Anna Zhou
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