Bio

[short bio]

Ioana Cerasella Chis (she/they) is social researcher interested in anti-capitalist, anti-work, and anti-disablement politics. She completed her PhD in July 2024 in the Political Science and International Studies Department at the University of Birmingham with a thesis titled ‘The Politics of Work and Disablement: Prefiguring a Non-Productivist Future’. Some of Ioana’s most recent publications can be found in the Global Political Economy Journal, the International Journal of Care and Caring, and the International Journal of Disability and Social Justice. Ioana serves on the committees/boards of Society for Disability Studies, Marxism and Disability Network, Leisure Studies Association, and the Theory Study Group of the British Sociological Association. Currently, Ioana is collaborating with other scholars to co-edit Special Issues for academic and non-academic journals. She is also editing a Book Review Symposium article, while undertaking other scholarly ‘service’ work not covered in this bio. In 2026, Ioana will start a three-year Leverhulme Trust & LKAS Postdoctoral Fellowship.

In 2024, I completed an ESRC-funded doctoral project at the University of Birmingham (link to my UoB page) that focused on the politics of disablement and precarious work in the UK. The project was made possible through a collaboration with twenty-seven gig economy workers who identify as disabled, chronically ill, experiencing mental distress, and/or neurodivergent and who contributed through interviews and diary entries. Information regarding recent (2023+) presentations and other project-related news can be found here.

I undertook all my degrees at the University of Birmingham. My research interests have changed over time, but their main underlying commonality has been my interest in producing interdisciplinary, socially useful, and emancipatory knowledge that can be used for the advancement of collective struggle and social change. In 2022, I became Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have facilitated seminars on modules of political science, political theory, research methods, research skills, comparative politics, and social policy/sociology-related topics in the School of Government and School of Social Policy and Society.

Over the past decade, I have undertaken work in various areas of the university, holding roles such as Academic Skills Advisor (Academic Skills Centre), Graduate Teaching Assistant (POLSIS), Tutor of A-level students (Access to Birmingham Scheme), Student Enhancement Administrator (School of Social Policy), and others. During previous degrees, I undertook funded placements and internships within the third and public sectors, thus exploring the way in which work is conducted within Birmingham-based social enterprises, charities, and the city council. During my PhD, alongside teaching and my ongoing research, I undertook a (self-organised) three-month, ESRC-funded placement with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, gaining valuable insights from this sector. I also acted as a member of the advisory team for an inter-institutional academic project that investigated changes to the working environments of workers in the hospitality sector during the early stages of the Covid19 pandemic.

Throughout my time in higher education, I have been a keen supporter of other scholars’ and activists’ research and insights – I have organised numerous talks, workshops, Symposia, conferences, or conference panels (via the British Sociological Association; BSA Theory Study Group; the Marxism and Disability Network; my department/school; the Contemporary Philosophy of Technology Research Group; and Birmingham Autonomous University). For instance, in 2015, I co-founded The Contemporary Philosophy of Technology Research Group, through which I co-organised numerous talks and symposia until the end of 2019. I have also been actively involved in the UNISON and UCU trade union branches on campus.

Active involvement in academic associations/networks:

Steering Group member of the Marxism and Disability Network (since March 2023);
Co-convenor of the British Sociological Association, BSA Theory Study Group – some examples of BSA Theory events I hosted – in 2022; in 2024 (since July 2022);
Member of the Board of Directors for the Society for Disability Studies, SDS (since September 2024);
- Member of the Communications and Publications Committee of SDS;
Executive Committee Ordinary Member for the Leisure Studies Association (since July 2025);
Reviewer for The Journal of Sociology (of the Australian Sociological Association); Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography; Review of International Political Economy Journal; Political Behaviour Journal, and for a funding body with applications amounting to up to £100,000;
Member of two awards committees of the American Sociological Association Section on Marxist Sociology (Lifetime Achievement Award & Teaching and Praxis Award) for the 2025/2026 academic year;
Mentor, British Sociological Association (2024/2025 and 2025/2026).

Qualifications

PhD in Political Science, University of Birmingham, 2024
Thesis title: ‘The Politics of Disablement and Precarious Work: Prefiguring an Anti-Productivist Future’
- Supervisory team: Dr Emma Foster & Dr Laura Jenkins (Department of Political Science and International Studies – School of Government, University of Birmingham)
- External examiner: Dr Kirstin Munro (The New School for Social Research, New York)
- Internal examiner: Dr Harriet Clarke (Department of Social Policy, Sociology, and Criminology – School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham)
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2022
Horizon Certificate holder, Higher Education Institute, University of Birmingham, 2022
MA Social Research, University of Birmingham, 2019
Dissertation title: ‘We are worth so much more than our productivity: The politics of work and disability’
- Supervisory team: Dr Emma Foster & Dr Laura Jenkins
MA Social and Political Theory, University of Birmingham, 2016
Dissertation title: ‘The role of the university within a feminist organology of hyper-industrial societies: Thinking through the pharmacology of care, otium and desire’ (engagement with the work of Bernard Stiegler and bell hooks)
- Supervisor: Dr Ross Abbinnett
BA Sociology and Political Science, University of Birmingham, 2014
Dissertation title: ‘The Aporia of Human Rights: A radical reconceptualisation of the right to asylum, based on a politics of equality and ethics of hospitality’ (engagement with the work of Jacques Derrida, Giorgio Agamben, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Jacques Rancière)
- Supervisor: Dr Ross Abbinnett

My research interests:

Politics of disablement
Politics of (waged and unwaged) work and rest
Heterodox Marxism
Politics from below and collective struggle
Philosophy of technology
Sociology, politics, and philosophy of education, knowledge production, and pedagogy
Trade unionism
Emancipatory research
Critical social theory.

Membership of academic associations/networks (recent or current):

British Sociological Association (BSA)
European Sociological Association (ESA) & its Critical Political Economy Research Network (CPERN)
The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
International Sociological Association (ISA)
Conference of Socialist Economists (CSE)
Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE)
Political Studies Association (PSA)
American Political Science Association (APSA)
Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA)
Leisure Studies Association (LSA)
Social Policy Association (SPA)
Society for Disability Studies (SDS)
Marxism and Disability Network (MDN)
European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS)
European Consortium for Political Research (membership through institutional affiliation) (ECPR)
The British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA).