MICHELLE ANDERSON ’15
Educational Background: Southern Methodist University: BA in Human Rights, BA Anthropology (2015)
Trinity College Dublin: M.Phil in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (2016)
University of Cape Town: PhD in Media Studies and Historical Studies (2020)
SMU Accomplishments: Michelle traveled globally with the SMU Human Rights Program to Rwanda and Costa Rica. She conducted research in Central America as an Engaged Learning Fellow and was the Director of Communications for the SMU Human Rights Council. Michelle was also an executive leader in her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega and she interned with Human Rights Watch.
Postbaccalaureate Career: Michelle received her PhD in 2020 for a thesis examining the role of media in South Africa’s transitional justice process. Her related work appears in journals such as the Oxford International Journal of Transitional Justice, the Journal of Perpetrator Research, and Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies. Her recent professional roles include serving as a Political Disorder Researcher with the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project on their USA, UK, and Afghanistan teams. While in South Africa, she also volunteered as a yoga instructor in maximum security prisons as part of a restorative justice program. She is now a researcher at the USC Program on Global Health and Human Rights.
Learn more about Michelle’s post-graduation journey through the following links:
Updated January 2022