Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Statement
Dr Anna Bryson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and a Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.
Her most recent research has developed at the intersection of socio-legal studies, transitional justice and oral history.
She is currently working on two RCUK funded projects - 'Enhancing Democratic Habits: An Oral History of the Law Centre Movement' (AHRC-funded collaboration with colleagues at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, and the British Library) and 'Apologies and Dealing with the Past' (Principal Investigator on ESRC Impact Acceleration grant). In addition, her recently awarded British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship is supporting the completion of her fifth book titled ‘Conflict and Civility: Memory, Identity and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland’.
Anna has previously been co-Investigator on a number of externally funded research projects including ‘Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past: A Socio-Legal Analysis’ (ESRC) and ‘Brexit and Northern Ireland: The Constitutional, Conflict Transformation, Human Rights and Equality Consequences’ (ESRC). The co-authored monograph (with K. McEvoy and L. Mallinder) arising from an ESRC-funded international comparative project on ‘Lawyers in Conflict and Transition’ was published by Cambridge University Press in March 2022.
Prior to her appointment to QUB Law in 2014, Anna was involved in a series of research projects exploring various aspects of the history and legacy of conflict (including the €1.1million EU-funded ‘Peace Process: Layers of Meaning’ project she co-directed with S. McConville). She has significant expertise in the theory and practice of oral history and has to date conducted more than 200 substantial interviews with a wide range of individuals including victims and survivors, former security force personnel, ex-combatants and former prisoners, lawyers, politicians and senior government officials. She is the Northern Ireland representative for the Oral History Society and provides accredited training on behalf of the organisation.
In 2020 Anna was elected as Chair of the independent human rights organisation, the Committee on the Administration of Justice. She is also a member of the AHRC Peer Review College. In 2021 she was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford.
In recognition of her successful delivery of a range of modules at undergraduate and post-graduate level and the fact that her career is grounded in 'an integrated approach to teaching and research leadership' she was appointed Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in July 2021.
As Impact Champion for the School of Law, Anna works closely with colleagues at School and Faculty level to help cultivate world-leading research that addresses both local and global challenges. She is the QUB staff representative for the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series at Stormont and she was recently elected to the Board of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (and the Impact Award committee). Drawing on her previous experience as Chair of the QUB Law ethics committee she was appointed to the Royal Irish Academy’s ‘Ethical, Political, Legal and Philosophical Studies Committee’ for the 2022-26 term.
Anna was co-author (with K. McEvoy and L. Mallinder) of a REF 2021 4* Impact Case Study on Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland. This reflected intense and sustained engagement with colleagues from QUB Law, the Committee on the Administration of Justice and a former senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office lawyer to inform key debates on dealing with the past in Northern Ireland and in particular to provide accessible legal and policy commentary to a wide range of stakeholders. Outputs from the collaboration have included authoring over 30 policy documents and blogs, drafting ‘model legislation’, writing responses to government consultations and providing free technical legal and policy advice to key stakeholders in Northern Ireland (victims and survivors, civil society organisations, the British and Irish governments, political parties, veterans, former combatants, the British Army, the PSNI, religious leaders, politicians) as well the British and Irish governments and international actors e.g. Council of Europe, US Congress and the United Nations. During this time the Model Bill Team organised twenty public seminars and six major conferences (attended by senior representatives of the British and Irish governments). Anna has given expert evidence to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Good Friday Agreement (2018), the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (2020, 2022) and the US House Foreign Affairs sub-committee on Europe (2022) and has contributed extensively to media analysis of issues relevant to her research (television, radio, blogs). In 2016 Anna was awarded a QUB Vice-Chancellor's Research Impact Prize for her work on the Oral History Archive proposed under the Stormont House Agreement. Further information regarding her work on legacy issues is available at: https://www.dealingwiththepastni.com/.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Network
Projects
- 5 Active
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R1244LAW: Enhancing Democratic Habits: An Oral History of the Law Centre Movement
06/07/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R1293LAW: Conflict and Civility: Memory, Identity and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland
22/03/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R1599LAW: Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past: A Socio-Legal Analysis
McEvoy, K., Bryson, A., MacCarthaigh, M. & McAlinden, A.
01/03/2016 → …
Project: Research
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A battle for truth and justice
Bryson, A. & McEvoy, K., 01 Aug 2022, Amnesty International Newsletter, Autumn 2022, 214.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
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Accounting for the past: the role of public apologies in Ireland
Bryson, A. & MacCarthaigh, M., 02 Oct 2022, In: Irish Political Studies. 37, 4, p. 571-595Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile55 Downloads (Pure) -
Apologies in transitional justice
Bryson, A. & McEvoy, K., 16 Oct 2022, (Accepted) Research handbook on transitional justice. Lawther, C. & Moffett, L. (eds.). 2nd ed. Edward Elgar PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Boycott, Resistance and the Law: Cause Lawyering in Conflict and Authoritarianism
McEvoy, K. & Bryson, A., 01 Jan 2022, In: Modern Law Review. 85, 1, p. 69-104 36 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile42 Downloads (Pure) -
Cause Lawyering in Conflicted, Authoritarian and Transitional Societies: Politics, Professionalism and Gender
Bryson, A., McEvoy, K. & Batesmith, A., 25 Apr 2022, Lawyers in 21st-Century Societies: Volume 2: Comparisons and Theories. Abel, R. L., Sommerlad, H., Hammerslev, O. & Schultz, U. (eds.). 1st ed. Hart Publishing, Vol. 2. p. 327-352Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Appointed Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority
Bryson, Anna (Recipient), 23 Jun 2021
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Article Shortlisted for SLSA Article Prize of the Year 2022
Bryson, Anna (Recipient) & McEvoy, Kieran (Recipient), 05 Apr 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Awarded British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship 2022-23
Bryson, Anna (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Awarded CAST Collaborative PhD Studentship (Funded by the Department of the Economy)
Bryson, Anna (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Other distinction
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Awarded Government of Ireland Scholarship (Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences)
Bryson, Anna (Recipient), 1999
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Oral History (Journal)
Anna Bryson (Editor)
15 Nov 2022 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity
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Presented a Paper on 'Apologies, Acknowledgment and Dealing with the Past' at Irish Association of Law Teachers Conference
Anna Bryson (Speaker)
11 Nov 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Invited to Join Expert Advisory Group for Shared Island/North-South Research Project on The Role of Civil Society in Post-Brexit Security
Anna Bryson (Board Member)
Nov 2022 → …Activity: Consultancy types › Work on advisory panels for social community and cultural engagement
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Invited to Chair Session on Reparations for Armed Conflict at QUB International Conference on Reparations, Responsibility and Victimhood in Transitional Societies
Anna Bryson (Chair)
31 Aug 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Invited Member of Working Group for AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (Event)
Anna Bryson (Member)
25 Aug 2022 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of peer review panel or committee
Press / Media
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Invited to Join Panel to Provide Expert Comment on Legacy Bill for UTV Live From Stormont
21/11/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Irish News Coverage of Contribution to US Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee - ('Washington DC Committee Hears British Government Legacy Bill Will "Drive a Horse and Carriage" Through the Good Friday Agreement')
16/07/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Belfastmedia.com Coverage of Contribution to US Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee ('British Legacy Bill Cover-up Threatens Peace: Congress Committee Hearing Chair)
15/07/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Interviewed for World Politics Review Feature Piece by Jonathan Gorvett ('A Northern Ireland Amnesty Bill Could Thwart Victims' Fight for Justice')
27/06/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Impact
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Co-author of 4* Impact Case Study for REF 2021
Anna Bryson (Participant), Kieran McEvoy (Participant) & Louise Mallinder (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact
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Invited to Give Expert Evidence to Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster
Anna Bryson (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact
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Invited to Give Expert Evidence to US House Foreign Affairs Committee on "Truth and Accountability for Victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland"
Anna Bryson (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact
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Invited to Give Private Briefing to Members of NI Affairs Committee on UK Government Proposals on the Legacy of Conflict in Northern Ireland
Anna Bryson (Participant)
Impact: Public Policy Impact