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Birkbeck welcomes British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Jeffries receives award for work on 1980s feminist ‘sex wars’ and will join Birkbeck in the Autumn.

Dr Charlie Jeffries who has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the British Academy

The British Academy has awarded Dr Charlie Jeffries with a Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project, The Affective Afterlife of the Feminist Sex Wars on the US campus. Dr Jeffries is one of 53 early career academics who were awarded with the fellowship, the British Academy’s flagship programme for early career academics based in universities around the UK. The winners of the annual competition are selected for their outstanding projects and through the fellowships are enabled to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment. Dr Jeffries is a lecturer in American Studies and History will join Birkbeck from the University of East Anglia from September.

Dr Jeffries’s project explores the connective tissue between the sex wars of the 1980s, which focused on pornography and the contemporary climate on US college campuses, including discourse around trigger warning and consent – a topic particularly relevant in the light of the prominent ‘Me Too’ movement. Through the prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship she will be supported in publishing her research and be given a base in which to build a successful academic career.

Chief Executive of the British Academy, Robin Jackson, said:

“We are delighted to welcome this new cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows to the Academy; competition for these awards is always keen, and I congratulate them on their success.

“Providing support for the next generation of researchers is a major priority for the British Academy, and our flagship Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme is a vital part of that endeavour. By providing the very best early career academics with three years funding for their research and development needs, the Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme helps them to deliver outstanding work while also boosting their skills, knowledge and confidence.

“We wish the Postdoctoral Fellows every success and look forward to seeing the results of their work.”

Dr Bruna Seu, Head of Department of Pscyhosocial Studies said:

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Jeffries to Birkbeck, where she will be working under the supervision of Professor Lynne Segal. She will be pursuing her cutting-edge work on the enduring affective legacies of the feminist debates over sexuality from the 1980s, through the queer activism of the 1990s, on to the pressing feminist concerns of the moment, especially that surrounding sexual violence and trauma.”

Dr Jeffries said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the Department of Psychosocial Studies this fall as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. There are so many exciting individuals and activities in my research area at Birkbeck, and I can't wait to start my project here.”

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