Dr Karina Smith

Karina's research focuses on postcolonial literature and theatre with a particular focus on the Caribbean and Canada. She is both a literary studies and gender studies scholar whose research analyses issues such as low-paid work, sexuality, globalisation, women's histories as they are represented in literature and other cultural production. She is also interested in migration and diasporic communities, particularly the Caribbean and African diasporas.

Recent publications

Refereed journal articles

Smith, Karina (2013) ‘These things not marked on paper’: affect, creolisation and tomboyism in Joan Anim-Addo’s Janie, Cricketing Lady and Margaret Cezair-Thompson’s The Pirate’s Daughter ’, Feminist Review (Special Issue: Affects and Creolisation) 104: 119-137

Smith, Karina. (2013) ‘Sugar, Sugar’: questioning the sexual division of labour on Jamaican sugar plantations in Sistren’s Sweet Sugar Rage and The Case of Miss Iris Armstrong’, Women’s History Review; 1-16

Smith, Karina (2013) ‘From Politics to Therapy: Thirty-five years of Sistren's theatre and outreach work in Jamaica’, New Theatre Quarterly, 29, 1: 87-97

Refereed chapters

Smith, Karina (2012) ‘The Politics of Collective Organisation: teaching Sistren’s Bellywoman Bangarang and Ida Revolt Inna Jonkonnu Stylee’, MLA Options for Teaching Series: Teaching Anglophone Caribbean Literatures, Supriya M. Nair (ed), New York: Modern Language Association Press. Pp. 220-230 

Conference presentations

Smith, Karina. (2013) ‘Caribbean Popular Theatre and Canadian Development Funding: community building via North/South ‘partnerships’, Caribbean Studies Association, Grenada, Grenada Grand Beach Resort, Grand Anse, Grenada

Teaching responsibilities

Unit coordinator: Re-presenting Empire: Literature and Postcolonialism

Postgraduate research students and post-doctoral fellows

Completions

3 Honours (principal supervisor), 1 Masters minor thesis (principal supervisor)

Current supervision

2 PhD students (principal supervisor), 2 Honours students (principal supervisor), 2 PhD students (co-supervisor), 1 Masters student (co-supervisor)

Research grants

2008: Victoria University Early Career Research Grants Scheme, totalling $25,000

2010: School of Communication and the Arts, Mid-Career Grants Scheme, totalling $12, 500

2010: International Council for Canadian Studies Research Fellowship, $6,200

2012: Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development Mid-Career Research Scheme, totalling $20,000

Professional memberships

• Australian Association for Caribbean Studies
• The Caribbean Association of Victoria (CaribVic)