Ashleigh van Zyl

My PhD research focuses on national identity, collective memory, and future thinking in South Africa, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. More specifically, I am interested in how the extent of ‘connectedness’ to national identity changes the way people collectively remember their country’s national past, and collectively imagine its future.

I started my PhD in September 2023, and have been working under the supervision of Dr Scott Cole and Dr Jennifer Shevchenko. Before this, I completed both my Psychology MRes degree (2023) and Psychology BSc (Hons) degree (2022) at York St John University.
Alongside my research, I also teach on some of the undergraduate modules, including qualitative research methods and individual differences.