Rhiannon Griffiths

Education

Rhiannon holds a BA (Hons) from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in Japanese and History, specialising in memory and representation of historical violence. As part of this degree she spent an academic year at Sophia University in Tokyo studying Japanese, nationalism, and religious violence. In 2018, Rhiannon completed the LLM International Human Rights Law and Practice at CAHR, during which she also worked with SUARAM, a national NGO in Malaysia, on placement. Rhiannon then accepted ESRC 1+3 funding to pursue the MA Social Research and a PhD.

Experience

Rhiannon has worked as a lecturer in English and drama in Kagoshima, Japan, as well as with a foreign language media company as the Studio Project Manager. Currently, she also volunteers as a lead activist with Amnesty International UK as the Japan Country Coordinator, and as Research Officer for the Anti-Death Penalty Project.

Research

Rhiannon's research will consider the legacy of historical human rights violations in East Asia. It will focus on civil society led transitional justice mechanisms, and their potential to act as positive social control in contesting State denial. By examining case studies such as the Yushukan museum (which exhibits nationalist narratives on the past) and the advocacy surrounding the "Comfort Women" (which pushes for victim redress), the thesis will inform human rights campaigning and reconsider the top-down narratives inherent in transitional justice studies.

Rhiannon is supervised by Dr Ioana Cismas and Professor Paul Gready.

Contact details

Email: rg1102@york.ac.uk