Dr Ryan Joseph O’Byrne
Key information
- Roles
- Department of Anthropology and Sociology Lecturer (Teaching & Learning) in Anthropology
- Qualifications
-
PhD in Social Anthropology, University College London (UCL)
MA Cultural Anthropology, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (NZ) - Building
- Main Building, Russell Square
- Office
- 452A
- Email address
- ro19@soas.ac.uk
- Support hours
- Wednesday 11:00am - 1:00pm
Biography
I am a sociocultural anthropologist with more than three years fieldwork experience among South Sudanese communities and refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand, South Sudan, and Uganda. My PhD fieldwork explored the intersections between evangelical Christianity and local religious systems in the rural South Sudanese community of Pajok while the primary focus of my post-doctoral research has been examining the connections between migration, resilience, and public authority among South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda. My Master’s work examined issues of agency, belonging, and cultural (re)production among the South Sudanese diaspora within New Zealand while my present research investigates the role of Christian churches as everyday governance actors within Ugandan refugee settlements, where I continue to undertake ethnographic fieldwork on an annual basis.
I have published in a range of top ranked peer-reviewed journals, including The Journal of Refugee and Immigrant Studies, The Journal of Refugee Studies, and The Journal of Religion in Africa. I was co-editor of a special issue on vernacular resilience in post-conflict Uganda for Civil Wars and I also have chapters forthcoming in the edited volumes Informal Settlement in the Global South and Migration, Borders, and Refugees in Africa, both due for publication by Routledge in 2023.
Key publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Hopwood, J. & O’Byrne, R.J. (2022). Introduction - Conceptual resilience in the language and lives of resilient peoples: Cases from northern Uganda. Civil Wars Special Issue “Vernacular Resilience in Post-Conflict Uganda”, 24 (2-3): 145-158.
O’Byrne, R.J. (2022). Resistant Resilience: Tactics of Resilience among Refugees Resisting Humanitarian Corruption in Uganda. Civil Wars Special Issue “Vernacular Resilience in Post-Conflict Uganda”, 24 (2-3): 328-356.
O’Byrne, R.J. (2021). Marriage and Belonging among South Sudanese Acholi Refugees in New Zealand. The Journal of Immigration and Refugee Studies, 20(3): 444-458.
Special Issues Edited
O’Byrne, R.J. & Hopwood, J., eds. (2022). Civil Wars Special Issue “Vernacular Resilience in Post-Conflict Uganda”.
Non-Academic, Outreach and Public Forum Publications
O’Byrne, R.J. (2022). How do refugees resist humanitarian corruption? Africa@LSE, London School of Economics (Blog).
O’Byrne, R.J. & Ogeno, C. (2021). Everyday mobility among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda reveals agency and uncertainty. Africa@LSE, London School of Economics (Blog).
O’Byrne, R.J. (2021). Marriage and belonging among South Sudanese Acholi refugees in New Zealand. Africa@LSE, London School of Economics (Blog).