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Dr Natalie Jester

Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology

BUSINESS, COMPUTING & SOCIAL SCIENCES
Core areas of my research expertise are international security, gender, militarisation, and secrecy/transparence. Within teaching, I take an empathetic approach, ensuring that students feel supported. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and publish on pedagogy, too.

Biography

I am a lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Gloucestershire. I was awarded my PhD by the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol in 2020, and joined the University of Gloucestershire shortly afterwards.

My research focuses on in/security and identity on digital platforms such as YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook and online news websites, asking about the relationship between discourse and violence. I have published in a wide variety of journals including Millennium: Journal of International Studies; Critical Military Studies; and International Political Sociology. I am a co-convener of the BISA Post-structural Politics Working Group, and sit on the editorial boards of the journals International Feminist Journal of Politics, and Global Change, Peace & Security. I am currently the School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences Advocate for People, Culture and Environment.

I have been teaching since 2013, starting at the University of Bristol, and have been nominated by students three times for teaching awards. I occasionally publish on pedagogy also, sit on the editorial board of the journal Teaching in Higher Education, and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I have supervised PhDs examining militarisation, the politics of digital infrastructure, and online harms. I am happy to receive enquiries about PhD supervision.

Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Gloucestershire, 2022
  • PhD Politics (specialism: International Relations), University of Bristol, 2020
  • PGDip Research Methods, University of Bristol, 2020
  • MSc Gender and International Relations, University of Bristol, 2012
  • BSc Politics, University of Bristol, 2011

Membership of professional bodies

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • International Studies Association
  • British International Studies Association
  • SPIN, the Secrecy, Power and Ignorance Network

Teaching & Research

Teaching

My teaching speaks to my expertise across global issues and identities, spanning both undergraduate and postgraduate modules. Examples of modules I have led include: Data Collection & Analysis; Gender, Culture and Society; Global Challenges; Historical Dynamics in Global Politics; International Security; and Injustice and Freedoms.

Research

My research is concerned with the intersection of security and identity in digital spaces. It asks what practices of global violence might be made possible by the discourses found in spaces such as online news reporting, social media and other digital platforms. My recent work has focused on militarisation, feminism, secrecy/transparency, and epistemology. I have an expertise in discourse analysis, digital methods and visual material such as images and videos.

Publications

More publications from Dr Natalie Jester can be found in the Research Repository.

External responsibilities

  • External Examiner for Politics and International Relations, London South Bank University.
  • I am happy to be approached as an external examiner for PhDs.
https://www.glos.ac.uk/profile/nat-jester/