Martina Vittoria Sottini is a PhD candidate in Human Geography and Urban Studies. Her research examines the experiences of Mongolian migrant women in Seoul, South Korea, and the ways they navigate and negotiate multi-scalar, intersecting social structures - gender and ethno-racial nationalism - and the precariousness these relations reproduce. Whilst existing literature has most often drawn upon the experiences of either female marriage or labour migrants, Vittoria’s thesis takes on a comparative approach. In doing so, her thesis reveals the foundational mechanisms, relations, and legal-institutional frameworks that reproduce the widespread exploitation and oppression of migrant women, regardless of their Korean visa status. Vittoria’s research brings new light to the geographical study of social reproduction, agency, and migration studies in the Northeast Asian context.
Vittoria holds a MSc degree in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam. Her MSc dissertation was about internal Mongolian migration, unplanned urbanisation, and urban conflicts in Ulaanbaatar’s semi-formal settlements, known as the ger districts. Prior to that, she obtained a BA degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the LUISS Guido Carli University, where she conducted research on Indigenous peoples’ rights in Latin America, multicultural education, and political struggles and resistance in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.
Research interests:
- Social Reproduction Theory (Life’s Work);
- Intersectionality;
- Migration;
- Citizenship Studies
- Global city-making
Recent publications:
Supervisors
Prof Hyun Bang Shin
Prof Claire Mercer