Sarah Dunstan

Dr. Sarah Dunstan is a Lecturer in the International History of Modern Human Rights at the University of Glasgow’s Department of History. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and international law, particularly in the context of 20th-century French, British, and U.S. empires. She explores how understandings of humanity shaped citizenship and human rights frameworks through decolonization struggles, transnational activism, and international institutions like the UN and UNESCO.

Her first monograph, Race, Rights and Reform (2021), examines Black activism across the French empire and the U.S., while her current Leverhulme Fellowship project, Crises of Man, analyzes mid-century crises (e.g., WWII) and their impact on human rights law. Dunstan’s work bridges academic research with policy engagement, including contributions to the Scottish Council on Global Affairs.

Her publications span peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and book chapters, addressing topics like anticolonial thought, gendered international law, and linguistic decolonization. Key awards include the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2020–2023) and a Royal Historical Society Fellowship.

Grants include the Leverhulme Fellowship, Scottish Council grants on citizenship, and British Academy funding for race in intellectual history. She actively supervises PhD students in human rights history, empire studies, and gender/race frameworks, welcoming projects on Western European and U.S. histories.

Before Glasgow, Dunstan held fellowships at Queen Mary University of London, Columbia University, and the University of Sydney, where she earned her PhD in 2018. Her research has been supported by the British Academy, Fulbright Foundation, and others.