ABOUT ME
Beyond my academic research interests (e.g. legal and criminological historical research, criminal law doctrine, legal education etc.) I have been interested in the question of knowledge production, on a socio-cultural level and the self. I have been learning about the challenges and importance of questioning self, familial and cultural pre-conceived ideas about what we know, what we should and can do, and who we are and can be. I am inspired by western body-mind perspectives (i.e. Louise Hay), western psychosocial and psychotherapy (Adlerian) approaches (i.e. Amitai Maged, Zivit Abramson), and western Buddhism (i.e. Tara Brach). Some areas that I am exploring and learning about are: the neuroscience of the female and male brain; children’s education; relationships; abundance mindset vs. liming mindset, etc. With time, these learnings have given me insight and tools to better understand our own and socio-cultural habitual accusations of ‘falling short’, ‘othering’ and any other possible type of judgment.
I completed my Dottore in Giurisprudenza (BA Hon) at the University of Bari (first two years) and Bologna (last year and a half) in 2004. After that, I completed a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Surrey University, UK. I joined the School of Law at Birkbeck as a PhD student in 2006; since then, I have taught several law and criminology programmes and modules. In 2016 I completed my Doctorate, and in 2018 I became a Lecturer in Law. My external examiner role for South Devon College on behalf of Plymouth University and my visiting lectureship at St. Mary’s University contributed to my teaching growth. However, fundamental for the development of my blended/online teaching expertise has been my long-term teaching with the Open University and Essex University Online.
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I believe that hands-on experience is the best way to develop expertise and meet great people; hence my wide volunteering engagements. I worked and volunteered with several organisations and charities such as the Prison Advice and Care Trust, Women in Prison and Prisoners’ Families and Friends’ Services. My last engagement within the CJS was with the Independent Monitoring Board of Prisons for one of London’s biggest category B male prisons. During the pandemic period (2021-22) I volunteered along with my husband as a vaccinator on behalf of St John’s Ambulance and the NHS. Currently, I am in the process of becoming a Magistrate (family court).