Iyan Offor
Senior Lecturer in Law
Dr Iyan Offor is a Senior Lecturer in Law and leader of the Animals, Nature & Society Research Stream within Birmingham City University's Centre for Human Rights.
Biography
I conduct socio-legal and theoretical research on animals, nature, and society, focusing on global animal law, global environmental law, critical legal theory, posthumanism, queer theory, intersectionality, and law & literature.
Background
I joined BCU in August 2021 as a lecturer in law and was promoted to senior lecturer in August 2023. Prior to joining BCU, I gained qualifications from the University of Edinburgh, with an exchange to the National University of Singapore (LLB), the University of Aberdeen (LLM by research), and the University of Strathclyde (PhD). I worked as an associate lecturer and research assistant at the University of Strathclyde from 2018 to 2021. I also worked as a global research fellow at the Center for Animal Law Studies (Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon) in 2021. In addition to this, I have held visiting lecturer positions at Aarhus University, Lewis & Clark Law School, the University of Stirling, and Wageningen University and Research. I have also held a position as a visiting scholar at the Global Animal Law Section of the Max Placnk Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Before commencing my academic career, I worked in the third sector as a policy officer (and other roles) for Eurogroup for Animals between 2016 and 2019.
Industry connections
I collaborate closely with the UK Centre for Animal Law, having just co-hosted their annual conference (the UK Animal Law Conference). I have also held other positions with ALAW in the past including sitting on their Scottish Steering Committee and working as a volunteer.
I am an associate member of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law & Governance and review editor of the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy. I am always happy to speak with students about how these connections could benefit them.
Area of expertise
I am an expert in global animal law, global environmental law, critical legal theory, socio-legal studies, law & literature, global law, and international law. In short, I am happy to talk about anything related to animals, nature, society and the law. Additionally, I am happy to talk about how these topics are experienced or worked on by members of marginalised communities, particularly the queer community.
Notable projects
I am currently working on solarpunk and multispecies worlding – a research project that will explore solarpunk literature and how it can be used to craft queer and hopeful methodologies for the task of multispecies legal worlding.
I am passionate about making real change in the world that will improve the situation of animals, nature, and marginalised human beings. Researching to advance this field, and teaching students about these issues, is deeply satisfying to me as an ethical vegan and lifelong advocate of animal and environmental protection.
My PhD student Michelle Strauss founded the Animal Advocacy Project which aims to improve animal welfare by using the law.