Dr Kearrin Sims ~ Lecturer, Development Studies

Kearrin is a critical development scholar trained in sociology and international relations. Broadly speaking, his research interests in social justice and social change have coalesced around three primary themes. 

First, is an interest in equitable development. Through ethnographic research methods and extensive in-country fieldwork, Kearrin examines the uneven ways in which development projects and interventions are encountered and experienced by vulnerable communities. This includes a focus on knowledge-power relations between development stakeholders, and an analysis of how processes of development produce new forms of marginalization and disadvantage. In particular, his research in this domain has interrogated development-induced displacement, human rights abuses (including enforced disappearances), and the complex community level transformations that result from national and transnational development initiatives.

Second, is a focus on Asian regionalism and the intensification of south-south cooperation within the region. Here, his interests emanate around both expanding transnational infrastructure connectivity’s and the geopolitics of development – particularly within the Mekong region. Kearrin is examining the consequences of China’s growing presence in Mainland Southeast Asia, and its role in shaping global development norms, priorities and practices.

Third is his exploration of new ways of thinking about development studies pedagogy and global citizenship education. At a time when the global development sector is undergoing profound change, Kearrin’s research looks for improved methods of teaching and learning in the field of development. His work in this domain includes a focus on both tertiary and secondary education, as well as industry partnerships with service-based learning organisations.

 

Kearrin's approach to academia is centered on finding creative and collaborative mechanisms for bringing together teaching, research and community engagement activities. To this end, Kearrin was a founding executive committee member of the Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) and the Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS). He is also an executive committee member of the Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network, a Review Editor for Asian Studies Review, and Chair of JCU’s Sustainable Development Working Group.

Kearrin welcomes applications from prospective PhD candidates interested in any of the above research themes. He is also the program convenor of JCU's Master of Global Development:  https://www.jcu.edu.au/courses/master-of-global-development 

Teaching

• EV5911: Development Practice Project Proposal and Literature Review (Level 5; CNS)
• EV5951: Development in Practice (Level 5; CNS)
• EV5952: Critical Issues in Global Development (Level 5; CNS)
• EV5953: Research Methods for Global Development (Level 5; CNS)
• SC5900: Special Topic (Level 5; CNS)
• SC5901: Special Topic 1 (Level 5; CNS)
• SC5902: Special Topic 2 (Level 5; CNS)
• SC5903: Literature Review (Level 5; CNS)
• SC5909: Minor Project and Seminar (Level 5; CNS)

Experience

• 2017 to 2021 - Research Fellow, Cairns Institute (James Cook University)
• 2016 to 2017 - Adjunct Fellow, Humanitarian and Development Relief Initiative (HADRI), School of Social Sciences and Psychology (Western Sydney University)
• 2015 to 2017 - Research Associate, Institute for Culture and Society (Western Sydney University)

Research Disciplines

• Political Science (1606)
• Sociology (1608)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• International Relations (9403)
• Community Service (9401)
• Government and Politics (9402)

Awards

• 2017 - Pacific Affairs 2017 William L. Holland Prize. Article: "Gambling on the Future: Casino Enclaves, Development, and Poverty Alleviation in Laos"
• 2015 - Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography Shortlist - Best Graduate Student Paper - "The Asian Development Bank and the production of poverty: Neoliberalism, technocratic modernization and land dispossession in the Greater Mekong Subregion"

Memberships

• 2020 - Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network, Executive Committee Member
• 2019 - Development Studies Association of Australia Executive Committee Member
• 2017 - Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Affiliate Member Representative for JCU
• 2017 - Association of Mainland Southeast Asian Studies (AMSEAS) Treasurer and founding member.
• 2015 - Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Sims K (in press) Risk navigation for Thinking and Working Politically: the work and disappearance of Sombath Somphone. Development Policy Review, , DOI:10.1111/dpr.12527.
• Sims K and Roy S (in press) Climate change mitigation and adaptation in Bangladesh: the need for community-based approaches. Asia-Pacific Viewpoint, , DOI:10.1111/apv.12290.
• Sims K (2018) Teaching development studies in times of change. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 59 (2), pp. 147-158, DOI:10.1111/apv.12195.
• Sims K (2017) Gambling on the future: casino enclaves, development, and poverty alleviation in Laos. Pacific Affairs, 90 (4), pp. 675-700, DOI:10.5509/2017904675.
• Sims K (2015) Culture, community-oriented learning and the post-2015 development agenda: a view from Laos. Third World Quarterly, 36 (10), pp. 1922-1943, DOI:10.1080/01436597.2015.1074036.
• Sims K (2015) The Asian Development Bank and the production of poverty: neoliberalism, technocratic modernization and land dispossession in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 36 (1), pp. 112-126, DOI:10.1111/sjtg.12093.
• Howe B and Sims K (2011) Human Security and Development in Lao PDR: a responsibility to provide and protect. Asian Survey, 51 (2), pp. 333-355, DOI:10.1525/AS.2011.51.2.333 .

Book Chapters

• Sims K (2020) High modernism in a small country: China "develops" Laos. In: The Deer and The Dragon: Southeast Asia and China in the 21st Century. Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, pp. 271-298
• Sims K (2020) The ADB and AIIB: cooperation, competition and contestation. In: Rethinking Multilateralism in Foreign Aid: beyond the neoliberal hegemony. Routledge Explorations in Development Studies. Routledge, New York, NY, USA, pp. 145-159
• Sims K (2018) More growth, less freedom? charting development pathways in Lao PDR. In: National Security, Statecentricity, and Governance in East Asia. Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 127-149
• Sims K (2016) Uneven geographies of transnational capitalism in Laos. In: Globalization and Transnational Capitalism in Asia and Oceania. Routledge, Abingdon, UK, pp. 199-213
• Sims K and Winter T (2016) In the slipstream of development: World Heritage and development-induced displacement in Laos. In: Urban Heritage, Development and Sustainability: international frameworks, national and local governance. Key Issues in Cultural Heritage. Routledge, Abingdon, UK, pp. 23-36

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 28+ research outputs authored by Dr Kearrin Sims from 2011 onwards.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Education for Sustainability in a Difficult Political Climate: A Social Learning Model (PhD , Secondary Advisor)