Rebecca Olive

Rebecca's research engages with questions of power, ethics, and pedagogy in everyday life including online, and is driven by a commitment to community engagement. She is interested in how cultural change happens and ensure research intersects with teaching, policy, media, and community. As well as scholarly publications, Rebecca is committed to connecting teaching and research, and has developed a presence in cultural media and communities relevant to her research in coastal cultures, recreational lifestyle sports, social media, and ethnographic methods. Rebecca has had stories and interviews published with ABC news and radio, is a regular contributor to surf media and festivals, and writes her blog, Making Friends With the Neighbours.

Since 2018, Rebecca has been a Research Fellow with AustLit, compiling data sets about 'swimming wild' and surfing in Australian literature. These ongoing projects are producing publicly available archives of swimming and surfing sources, as well as a list of relevant scholarship. You can explore the project and resources via the AustLit site.

Recent conference organisation:

• Co-convener, Moving Futures: Researching bodies and health in the 21st century, Centre for Sport and Society, The University of Queensland, 14 November 2017
• Co-organiser, Technicity. Temporality. Embodiment. Somatechnics conference, Byron Bay, Australia, 1-3 December 2016
• Co-convener, Surfing social: Challenging surfer identities and spaces, Raglan, NZ, 10-12 Feb 2016
• Convener, The Future of Cycling: Challenges and Possibilities, Cambridge, NZ, October 1-2 2015
• Convener, The University of Waikato Gender Research Network, 2015
• Organising committee for The University of Waikato, Women in Leadership Day, 2015