SCHOLAR
Dr. Sari Rima Alfi-Nissan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA), at Oxford University. Sari’s research focuses on intersections of neoliberalism and nationalism in youth identity formation and state education. She is a cultural sociologist focusing on entrepreneurship education, the sociology of educational spaces, youth aspirations, and the formation of self and identity in the iGeneration era.
Sari completed with highest honours her MA in the Social Psychology track at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University, and was the valedictorian of her class. She completed her PhD at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University and was also the valedictorian of the 2024 PhD Awarding Ceremony. Sari was granted the Presidential Doctoral Fellowship of Excellence, the Rector Award of Distinction and won the University Presidential Award for Article Publications for four consecutive years. During her PhD studies, Sari was a visiting researcher at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent. Since 2022, she is a member of the Critical Sociology and Philosophy of Education (CRISP) research group at the University of Helsinki.
Sari is a highly experienced lecturer for both postgraduates and undergraduates. For the past few years, she has been teaching various seminar courses as well as methodology courses in Sociology and in Education using qualitative and quantitative methods.
Sari employs both her research experience and her performing and writing skills to teach the art of Storytelling of Knowledge.
PhD Valedictorian Speech
LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
Storytelling of
Empirical Knowledge
This workshop takes the participants on a journey to articulate their public voice, while gaining practical tools to make their knowledge accessible to a large audience. Through interactive activities and creative storytelling techniques, participants will uncover the art of making empirical knowledge not just informative, but truly captivating.
The Presentation of Self in School Education
The role of educators demands highly performative skills, as they create, produce, and direct their performance on the school stage. In this workshop, through the perspective of Ervin Goffman's performance theory of personal interaction and Kurt Lewin's theory of Action Research, we will look at the school stage and its opportunities to create social and organization change.
Research Methods 101
Sari takes her participants on a worry-free, fun, safe-to-make-mistakes journey to understand all the basics of research methods. This workshop familiarizes the participants through experience of trial and error with tools of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research methods.
Is There a Sociologist in the room?
Educational spaces are more than academic hubs; they're social and material environments where children and educators live and interact. What social values shape the school's environment? How are these values translated into daily school life? What links exist between social values and the physical space in education?
The older I get, the more I learn about my family’s history. I’m named after my great-grandmother, Rima. I used to hate my middle name. I said, ‘The day I turn 18, I’m changing my name.’ Then I heard my father’s story about how Rima never learned to read or write. She used to sign her name with a handprint. When I got my bachelor’s degree, I wrote out my name as ‘Sari Rima Alfi-Nissan.’ Now I’m proud to be named after Rima (Jerusalem Post).