Rebecca Olive

Dr Rebecca Olive is a feminist cultural studies and ethnographic researcher working in the areas of sport and leisure, human-environmental health and wellbeing, environmental humanities, and feminist theory. Her research explores how everyday, recreational sport and leisure activities are experienced through cultural politics, ecological encounters, relationships with humans and non-humans, and social media production and consumption. Drawing on reflexive, participatory, ethnographic methods reflects her interest in everyday contexts and experiences and community-focused forms of engagement.

She began an RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellowship in 2022, which examines recreational sport and leisure in urban bodies of water including oceans, estuaries, rivers, and outdoor pools, with a focus on urban swimming in terms of public safety, climate resilience, and urban regeneration. This work builds on an ARC DECRA (Australian Research Council - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award) (2019-2022), which was focused on the role of recreational sports (swimming and surfing) in how participants develop relationships of care and responsibility for coastal and ocean ecologies.

Prior to this, Rebecca was a Lecturer in the School of Human Movement & Nutrition Studies at The University of Queensland (2016-2022) and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sport and Leisure Studies at Waikato University (2014-2016). Rebecca is the President of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia (CSAA), and the Victorian Chair of the Australian Coastal Society, and is on the Editorial Boards of Annals of Leisure Research and Sporting Traditions.

Rebecca’s growing research profile and collaborative relationships have led to publications in leading journals, edited collections, invited seminars, and organisation of events. As well as academic publications, Rebecca is active in community and public engagement, including community presentations at film nights and festivals, podcast and radio interviews, articles for publications including The Conversation, Surfing World, White Horses, and Surfline, and the production of a podcast series (Saltwater Library). You can learn more about this work at her website, https://movingoceans.com/.