Rate My Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch

Sandra Jovchelovitch is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, a position she has held since joining the institution in 1995. Trained as a social and clinical psychologist, she previously worked as a lecturer at the Institute of Psychology of PUC-RS in Brazil and has held visiting professorships in France, Brazil, and Sweden. She has advised UNESCO and the World Health Organization and continues to maintain strong teaching and research collaborations in Brazil and across Latin America. Her expertise encompasses social and community development, human rights, dialogue and conflict resolution, representations, knowledge, identity, culture, and the public sphere.

Jovchelovitch's research focuses on human development under contextual adversity, the social psychology of public spheres, community development, the socio-cultural context of knowledge, social representations, and the socio-cultural psychology of community, particularly in Latin America. She has authored key publications including Knowledge in Context: Representations, Community and Culture (Routledge, 2007; Classics Edition, 2017; Portuguese translation, Vozes, 2008), Underground Sociabilities: Identity, Culture and Resistance in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas (UNESCO, 2013, with J. Priego-Hernandez; Portuguese edition, 2013), Social Representations and the Public Sphere: The Symbolic Construction of Public Spaces in Brazil (Vozes, 2000), and Textos em Representações Sociais (Vozes, 1994, now in its 15th reprint). Highly cited works include 'Entrevista narrativa' (2002, with M.W. Bauer) and 'Narrative interviewing' (2000, with M.W. Bauer). She led the Underground Sociabilities project, which produced a bottom-up social development toolkit presented at the United Nations and implemented worldwide, and the UKRI-MinCiencias Colombia-funded Pathways to Reconciliation project, examining mental health impacts of forgiveness programs in post-conflict communities. In 2012, she was elected a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (CPsychol, FBPsS) in recognition of her contributions to social and cultural psychology.