David Herbert

Professor David Herbert

Small Group Project 2022-23

Mixed relationships, racialised boundaries and white normativity in European Societies. Exploring the lived experiences, identities and representations of black/white interracial families between 1920s-present

With Elizabeth Mavroudi & Iris Wigger & Line Nyhagen

Social boundaries associated with 'race' and identity and the historical legacy of European dominance have become increasingly contested in our contemporary world. With broader public discussions emerging about mixed-race, bi-racial and interracial identities, anti-black stereotyping and problems of white historical amnesia, privilege and ignorance, and the legitimacy of age-old statues and symbols of white European colonial domination under new public scrutiny, it is imperative for independent, critical social research to engage with, investigate and better understand the roles, complex lived experiences and shifting identities of mixed race people in Europe’s past and present.

More information

Areas of interest

Migration Ethnicity Religion Populism Islamophobia

Cohort

FG8

Biography

Professor David Herbert's research interests focus on migration and the ethnic and religious diversity and the social challenges and opportunities created (e.g. multiculturalism, populism, Islamophobia) in contemporary cities. He has worked on projects in Bradford, Belfast, London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Kristiansand, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Krakow and Leipzig, using several methods to investigate this field, including surveys, interviews, ethnography and social media analysis. These interests have led him to partner in bids for interdisciplinary projects focusing on how social processes impact on the environment, two of which have recently received Horizon Europe funding — Pro-Climate will investigate how social tipping points which favour climate change resilience are reached, and Pro-Coast will investigate factors shaping community participation in coastal biodiversity conservation actions. A third recently funded Horizon Europe project, ARM, led by Lovise Aalen at the Christian Michelsen Institute, will investigate how authoritarian governments seek to control and exert influence through their diaspora populations in Europe.

Biographical details correct as of 20.04.26