The Representation and Identity Studies research group explores the shaping of racial, ethnic and gender identities through experiences of trauma and cultural dislocation and the formations of identity in intercultural communication. ​

Our research explores identity and body-based metaphor in political discourse (Musolff, McLennan); the impact of Holocaust Memory on national identities (Musolff); slavery and antebellum America (Fraser); witness narratives, memory, and trans-linguistic justice (Filipović); quilting and African American cultural history (Fraser and Tillet). Colleagues in this group (Fear-Segal et al) are founding members of the Native Studies Research Network – host to international conferences on indigenous bodies.

The group maintains key partnerships with University of California Davis (a staff and student cross-linguistic research exchange programme); Dickinson College (dialogues between Native American Elders and academics); Kent University UK (on Civil Rights and Anti-Apartheid movements) and with Polish, German and Austrian partner institutions on the impact of Holocaust Memory on national identities.