معرفی
Dr. Holly Collison is a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) in Anthropology at Loughborough University London, specializing in Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) with extensive fieldwork across Africa and Southeast Asia. Her research examines youth identity, community dynamics, international development, peacebuilding, and social inclusion through grassroots perspectives.
Her academic foundation includes a PhD investigating post-conflict urban youth populations in Liberia, West Africa, where she collaborated with former child soldiers, orphans, and displaced youth. This research culminated in the monograph 'Youth and Sport for Development: The Seduction of Football in Liberia' (Palgrave, 2016). Prior to her current role, she served as a Research Associate on the ESRC-funded 'Sport for a Better World?' project, conducting fieldwork across Jamaica, Kosovo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Zambia to produce policy guidance with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Collison's research interests center on the anthropology of sport, emphasizing participatory methodologies informed by her qualifications as a performance netball coach and multi-sports coach. Her work critically analyzes how sport functions in post-conflict development interventions, community reconstruction, and identity formation among marginalized youth populations.
Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on the complexities of Sport for Development programs in fragile contexts, highlighting tensions between international development agendas and local community experiences. The 2016 monograph establishes her expertise in using football as a lens to examine post-conflict social dynamics in Liberia.
Collison has secured significant research funding through the ESRC grant for the 'Sport for a Better World?' project, which generated global policy impact. She has lectured extensively on Sport and Peace, Sport and International Development, Qualitative Research Methods, Anthropology and Sport, Cultural Perspectives of Sport, and Youth Studies.
