Dr. Hannah Dawson

Overview

Dr Hannah Dawson is a senior lecturer in the Anthropology and Development Studies department at the University of Johannesburg. Hannah has a DPhil (PhD) in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, and an MPhil in International Development from the same institution. Research My research grapples with the social, economic, and political shifts stemming from mass unemployment, and the ways in which the future of work and welfare is being imagined – and transformed – in South(ern) Africa. I have approached this through a range of projects, including a study on how young people are making lives and livelihoods outside of wage employment, digital technologies and the changing nature of work, and popular demands and policy-making around more expansive cash transfers. In addition, my previous research examined political protests and the political subjectivities of unemployed young people. Supervision: Hannah is happy to supervise MA and PhD projects connected to work and labour, the social dynamics of money and cash transfers, and inequality. Recent publications include: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=c9vRnWkAAAAJ&hl=en Redistributive politics and the radical possibilities of crisis: the case of social protection in South Africa during Covid ( Global Social Policy, co-authored with E. Fouksman) Father-child (dis)connections: expectations and practices of young un(der)employed fathers in Johannesburg ( Men and Masculinities) Faking it or Making it: The politics of consumption and the precariousness of Black mobility in South Africa ( Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute) Living, not just surviving: the politics of refusing low-wage jobs in urban South Africa ( Economy and Society) ‘Making plans through people’: the social embeddedness of informal entrepreneurship in urban South Africa ( Social Dynamics) Labour, laziness and distribution: Work imaginaries among the South African unemployed ( AFRICA, co-authored with E. Fouksman) Hannah also writes popular press articles on topics including basic income , the changing world of work , youth unemployment , and digital labour platforms .