Elizabeth Kath

Elizabeth Kath is a Senior Lecturer in Global Studies at the School of Global, Urban, and Social Studies and Local-Global Theme Lead at the Social Equity Research Centre (SERC). Her research navigates the complex dynamics of social and cultural interaction across boundaries of difference in the global era, with a focus on migration, intercultural relations, belonging, reconciliation, and the processes of social inclusion and exclusion. A social and cultural theorist, she also investigates how emerging communication technologies are reshaping social and cultural relations, as explored in her recent co-edited book, The Digital Global Condition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023).

Regionally, Dr Kath is a specialist in Latin American and Caribbean studies, with a strong focus on Latin American migrant communities in Australia and Australia’s relations with Latin America. Her scholarly contributions in this area include a guest edited collection in the Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies (2022) featuring the first systematic review of the literature and data on Latin American migrants in Australia, and her edited volume, Australian-Latin American Relations: New Links in a Changing Global Landscape (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

Over the past 15 years at RMIT, Dr Kath has played a pivotal role in both undergraduate and postgraduate education. She currently coordinates and teaches capstone and elective courses in International Studies, including ‘Digital Technology and Globalization’, ‘Global Research Project’, and ‘Culture & Politics in Latin America’.  Throughout her teaching career, she has consistently integrated innovative approaches grounded in social and cultural theory to enhance student engagement and academic outcomes. In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, Dr. Kath also contributes to the academic community at RMIT through various committees and leadership roles.

Dr Kath speaks Spanish and Portuguese and has spent significant periods living and conducting research in Latin America over more than two decades. Her research is widely published in peer-reviewed journals, books, and edited volumes, and she has presented her work at international conferences across Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. She maintains robust collaborative research collaborations with academic institutions both in Australia and internationally, and she has worked with a variety of industry partners. She is an experienced supervisor and examiner of higher degree research theses and regularly serves as a referee for academic journals.