Shannon Sandford

Dr. Shannon Sandford is a Lecturer in Literary Studies at the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University. She completed her BA (Hons) and PhD at Flinders University, South Australia. Her research explores self-representation, embodiment, and marginalized lives in exploratory literary forms, particularly focusing on graphic storytelling for personal disclosure of trauma, illness, violence, and displacement.

Research interests center on:

• Life writing and autobiographical forms
• Graphic narratives and visual cultures
• Digital media and experimental literature
• Representations of trauma and marginalization
• Works by women, queer, non-binary, migrant, and refugee creators

Publications demonstrate consistent focus on narrative forms in crisis contexts, with recent work analyzing refugee webcomics, ecological crisis narratives, and pandemic-era academic discourse. Article themes show strong interdisciplinary engagement with cultural, gender, and memory studies.

Scientific awards include:

• GCSCR ECR Seed Funding Grant (2024)
• Transnational Literature Fellowship (2022-2023)
• Best Higher Degree by Research Student Publication (2022)

Currently serves as Associate Supervisor for doctoral research on collaborative storytelling in aged care. Affiliated with the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities.