Dr. Agnieszka Sobocinska

Biography

Agnieszka Sobocinska is a Professor of Global History and the Director of the Australia Studies Institute at King’s College London. Her research focuses on the intersections of history, politics, and geography in the context of international development, particularly regarding North-South contacts and Australia-Asia relations. As the Principal Investigator for the European Research Council Consolidator grant DEVHIST, she investigates twentieth-century international development initiatives in the Global South, employing a whole-of-lifecycle methodology to analyze overlooked sources, including project files, local narratives, and oral histories. Through this work, she provides fresh insights into development initiatives across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Agnieszka is the author of "Saving the World? Western Volunteers and the Rise of the Humanitarian-Development Complex" (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and "Visiting Neighbours: Australians in Asia" (UNSW Press, 2014). She has previously led research on international development volunteering and Australia-Indonesia relations, and has worked with various institutions, including the University of Sydney and Universitas Udayana in Indonesia. Her teaching includes PhD supervision focusing on histories and geographies of development, humanitarianism, foreign aid, and non-elite experiences of decolonization and globalization.

Research Interests