Aidan McGarry

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar - University of Southern California

Aidan completed all his formal higher education at Queen’s University, Belfast, gaining his PhD in 2007. HIs research focuses on how marginalised groups around the world find and express their demands, this includes Roma communities in eastern Europe and LGBTIQ activists in India. He led a AHRC project on urban protest movements in Turkey from 2016-2018. In the past, Aidan has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University, New York, the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence and the European Centre for Minority Issues in Germany. He was awarded a EURIAS Fellowship at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in Amsterdam in 2018-2019. He became a Professor in 2021 and is the Associate Dean of Research in his school.  

During his Fulbright Fellowship, he will explore the intersection of environmental activism, digital media and visual culture. California houses strong environmental groups; Aidan will use the case of California wildfires to assess how activists use the power of images on social media to change attitudes, raise awareness and challenge opponents regarding the climate crisis. Whilst he will miss London, Aidan will try his best to enjoy the California sunshine and landscape....whilst in LA he relishes the chance to experience full cultural immersion. As a food fanatic he looks forward to trying out the incredible food truck scene in LA and hopes to fulfil a lifelong dream to drive a convertible Mustang from LA to San Francisco along the Pacific Coast Highway and visit Big Sur.