Rate My Professor Johanna Garnett

Dr. Johanna Garnett is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Peace Studies in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the University of New England (UNE), Armidale, Australia, where she has been a lecturer for 11 years. She earned her PhD in Environmental Peacebuilding in Myanmar from UNE, a Master's of Environmental Advocacy from UNE, a Bachelor of Social Science in Sociology from UNE, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Garnett previously served as Head of the Department of Social and Philosophical Enquiry until June 2023, Honours Coordinator, and currently holds the roles of Discipline Convenor for Peace Studies and Course Coordinator for the Master of Arts and Graduate Certificate of Arts. She coordinates units including PEAC100 Introduction to Peace Studies, PEAC373/573 Globalisation as if People, Peace and Ecosystems Matter, SOCY345/545 Mixed Methods in Social Research, SOCY336 Sociology of the Modern Family, and SOCY301/501 Changing Climate/Changing Lives. Additionally, she supervises research projects and PhD students on topics such as women's participation in peace processes, social movements, and nonviolent conflict transformation.

Her research focuses on social movements, everyday politics, social and environmental justice, political sociology, and the sociology of youth and families, with extensive fieldwork experience in Myanmar and Southeast Asia from 2013 to 2019. There, she established an education and training facility based on permaculture and environmental peacebuilding. Garnett has presented her work at national and international conferences and received awards including the 2017 Chancellor’s Doctoral Research Medal for Excellence in Research and International Impact, 2021 School Citation for Education Excellence, 2020 CARES Award for HDR Supervision, 2021 South East Asian Centre Writers Workshop Grant, and multiple unit commendations. Key publications include ‘Democracy Icon or Demagogue? Aung San Suu Kyi and Populist Politics in Myanmar’ (book chapter, 2023), ‘Reimagining Space, Reorganizing Lives: Environmental Activism in Myanmar’ (book chapter, 2022), ‘Plotting a Future: Alternative Food Initiatives in Australia during COVID-19’ (2021), ‘De-mystifying violent extremism in Myanmar: Confrontation and contestation around religion, development and state-building’ (journal article, 2020), ‘Permaculture for a post COVID-19 world: A community initiative in Myanmar’ (2020), and ‘The wilderness experience in national parks: a case study of Boonoo Boonoo National Park’ (2020).