Dr Lisa Bernasek, BA MA PhD

picture of Dr Lisa Bernasek, BA MA PhD

Academic Coordinator

Lisa has a background in Social Anthropology with a focus on Middle East and North African Studies and expertise in Arabic and French. She has worked for LLAS since 2007 as a research fellow and an Academic Coordinator. From 2010-12 she was the Academic Coordinator for the Higher Education Academy’s Islamic Studies Network.  She has also taught within Arabic, French Studies, and Islamic Studies and is the convener of the Curriculum Innovation Module 'The Arab World (in and) Beyond the Headlines'.

Lisa can be contacted by
Email: l.bernasek@soton.ac.uk | Tel: +44 (0)23 8059 4814 | Fax: +44 (0)23 8059 4815

Biography

Lisa has a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University (1996), an MA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University (2003), and a PhD in Social Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies, also from Harvard University (2007). Her PhD research focused on the collection, exhibition and circulation of North African art and material culture in state museums and North African-run cultural sites in Paris. She joined LLAS in 2007 as a research fellow for a HEFCE-funded report on International Approaches to Islamic Studies, and has carried out research on the teaching of Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies in higher education in the UK and internationally. She has also served as an Academic Coordinator supporting Languages of the Wider World and Literary and Cultural Studies, and was the Academic Coordinator for the Higher Education Academy’s Islamic Studies Network. She currently works as part of the team of academic developers to deliver professional development, research and projects in her areas of interest.

Expertise

  • Developing resources and workshops for academics and postgraduates in languages and related studies, including Islamic Studies
  • Editorial experience as editor of Perspectives: teaching Islamic Studies in higher education
  • Project and funding bid development
  • Research, writing and project management for externally funded research reports and projects
  • Interests in Islamic Studies, languages of the wider world, literature and culture, area studies, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies

Key achievements

Projects

  • Higher Education Academy Islamic Studies Network (2009-2012)
  • Islamic Studies Provision in UK Higher Education (2009-10)
  • International Approaches to Islamic Studies in Higher Education (2007-08)

Resources

Papers/articles

  • Bernasek, L. and Bunt, G. (2010) Islamic Studies Provision in the UK: a report to HEFCE by the Higher Education Academy. Bristol.
  • Bernasek, L and Canning, J. (2009) Influences on the Teaching of Arabic and Islamic Studies in UK Higher Education: connections and disconnections. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 8 (3), pp. 259-275.
  • Bernasek, L. and Bunt, G. (eds.) (2008) Subject Centres for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies and Philosophical and Religious Studies. International Approaches to Islamic Studies: a report to HEFCE. Bristol: HEFCE.
  • Bernasek, L. (2008) Teaching Arabic: the view from the US. Liaison Magazine 1: 33-35.

Selected non-pedagogic publications