Rachel Williamson

Rachel Williamson serves as Senior Tutor in the English Department within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Canterbury since February 2024. Her academic profile integrates teaching, research, and community engagement focused on contemporary cultural narratives.

Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Canterbury (2018-2022) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching from the University of Auckland. Williamson actively supervises Master's and Doctoral students in gender and cultural studies.

Research centers on maternal ambivalence, particularly embodied maternal experiences intersecting with cultural anxieties, and gender-based violence representations in media. Her work examines post-#MeToo sociocultural shifts and legislative impacts on these narratives, with significant contributions through her 2023 Palgrave Macmillan monograph 21st-Century Narratives of Maternal Ambivalence.

Williamson's publications demonstrate evolving focus from maternal studies toward broader cultural analysis of gender violence and workplace interventions. Recent 2024-2025 output combines academic rigor with public engagement through The Conversation, addressing maternal representation in Nightbitch, Audrey, and streaming content while connecting to legislative changes.

Peer review activities include contributions to Surveillance & Society, Film International, and the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative through 2025.

Teaching encompasses WRIT101/ENGL117 coordination, guest lectures on maternal sexuality and cinematic representations, and past coordination of COMS232: Risk and Crisis Communication. Her DVFREE workplace initiative research reflects practical application of academic work to domestic violence prevention in New Zealand professional settings.