Culture and Politics (MA)
Meet our staff
Dr. Hitomi Koyama
Hitomi Koyama is an international relations theorist working at the intersection of comparative political theory, global intellectual history, and discourses Asianism in Japanese international political thought. View her full profile here.
Dr. Randal Sheppard
Randal Sheppard is an University Lecturer. He is particularly interested in the interaction between the roles of myths, symbols, and meaning in politics. This research has driven research on topics including nationalism and neoliberalism in post-1982 Mexico, political exile, design, and architecture in mid-twentieth century Mexico, and Cold War cultural diplomacy in Latin America. View his full profile here.
Dr. Karen Smith
Karen Smith's research interests cut across the following broad topics: the Global South understandings of international relations, foreign policy analysis, and changes in global order and implications for global governance. She is particularly interested in innovative research that explores how non-Western and non-traditional (e.g. cultural) sources can provide us with new insights into existing challenges, as well as raise new questions. View her full profile here.
Dr. Vineet Thakur
Vineet Thakur is an assistant professor in International Relations at the Institute for History. His research interests are broadly in the politics of knowledge production from the Global South, especially within the discipline of International Relations. View his full profile here.
Dr. John-Harmen Valk
John-Harmen Valk is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion. His research interests lie at the intersection of international relations, political theory, continental philosophy and the philosophy of religion. View his full profile here.