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University of Oxford
School of Geography and the Environment

 School of Geography and the Environment

Dr Serena Hussain

Academic Profile

Serena Hussain is a Sociologist and Human Geographer and is currently a Senior Visiting Research Associate at the School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford. She joined the School as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow exploring 'Ethnic and Religious Diversity and Social Trust in Britain' (funded by the Leverhulme Trust). Before coming to Oxford in 2009 she completed an ESRC funded Research Fellowship at the University of Leeds, investigating the internal migration of ethnic groups in Britain.

Serena completed her undergraduate degree in Comparative Religions and Sociology at the University of Manchester, and her PhD in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Bristol. Her doctoral thesis, 'A Statistical Mapping of Muslims in Britain' (subsequently published as Muslims on the Map: A National Survey of Social Trends in Britain) was supervised by Professor Tariq Modood MBE and was the first PhD jointly funded by the Muslim Council of Britain and the ESRC.

Current Research

Serena's research principally explores Muslims in Britain, Ethnic Minorities in Britain, and Internal Migration. She has worked extensively with the National Census of Population and is currently engaged in projects examining:

  • Segregation in Oldham Secondary Schools: A qualitative exploration of ethnic identity and friendship choices amongst students of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and White British Origin
  • Kurdish Diasporas and Ethno-Religious Identity in the North East of England
  • Muslims on the Move: A National Survey of Social Trends in Britain (based on the 2011 Census)

Serena's teaching expertise covers diasporas, migration, global cities, cosmopolitan cities, refugees, ethnic minorities in Britain, and accessing and visualising census data.

Consultancy

Serena has consulted and worked as an independent evaluator for numerous organisations including:

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office - Evaluation of Creating Caring Communities in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
  • Department for Communities and Local Government/ Ipsos MORI - National Evaluation of Local Authority led PREVENT (UK Counter-terrorism) Initiatives
  • Middlesbrough Borough Council - Evaluation of the Harmony Initiative for the Middlesbrough Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network
  • Kashmiri National Identity Campaign, Manchester - Procurement of Statistical Data on Kashmiris in Britain
  • Open University / BBC World Service - Tuning In: Pakistani Diasporas
  • Office for Public Management / West London Alliance - Evaluation of the WLA Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Programme
  • Office for Public Management / Greater London Authority - Evaluation of the Experiences of Muslim Students in Further and Higher Education in London

Selected Publications

Books
Chapters
Journal Articles
Conference Papers
  • Hussain, S. (2009) From the valleys of Kurdistan to the Tees Valley: religion and identity among Kurds in the north east of England. Researching Islam in the UK, Birkbeck College, University of London, 5 May 2009.
  • Hussain, S. (2009) Inside, outside and on the fence: exploring the complexities of positionaity in relation to community and belonging when researching Muslims in Britain. Researching Muslims in Britain Conference, University of Cardiff, 15 April 2009.
Reports
  • Hussain, S. and OPM (2008) Experiences of Muslim students in further and higher education in London. Report for the Greater London Authority.
  • Choudhury, T. and Hussain, S. (2008) Muslims in EU Cities Reports - United Kingdom. Report for Open Society Institute, Budapest.
  • OPM and Hussain, S. (2009) Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Evaluation. Report for West London Alliance.