Kathryn Trees

Biography

Kathryn Trees education background is in WA, with degrees from Murdoch and UWA. Her study was interdisciplinary across literature, Indigenous studies, law and social justice, and education. She was fortunate in the early 1990s to be a member of the Australian Institute Judicial Education committee to develop education for magistrates and judges as a response to the Royal Commission Report into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. This led to coordinating the 1994 Aboriginal Culture: Law & Change Seminar for Magistrates. A key outcome of this work for her has been the relationships she has developed with many Indigenous people throughout WA and projects [including 2 books with children] and friendships we continue to enjoy. Later this led to teaching a unit for justices in the Murdoch Law school and writing for the WA Law Reform Commission and its Aboriginal Customary laws project. Her research interest in resilience is partly tied to these experiences. Her  interdisciplinary background  has allowed me to teach and supervise at undergraduate, Honours, Masters and PhD level in literature, gender and cultural studies, Indigenous studies, and law. For the past three years she has been teaching a unit on gender, globalisation and cultural politics. For her, interdisciplinary study is particularly important. she ensure that my teaching is as  interactive as possible so that students learn from each other. Most importantly, she love her job.

Research Interest

Her research interests are eclectic working as I have in literature, gender and cultural studies, and customary law. Much of my current research is focused on affect theory as it relates to dying and death, and resilience. My interest in resilience is particularly concerned with the ways that young people deal with difficult family and social lives and are positive and productive.