Dr Megan Catherine Rose is a cultural sociologist and artist based in Sydney, Australia. She is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Vitalities Lab, UNSW Sydney, and a doctoral researcher at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society. She is a convenor for Cultural Sociology at the Australian Sociological Association.

Megan researches the intersections of creativity, wellbeing and politics. Her areas of specialisation include:

• New technologies: care robotics, cyberpets and telepresence technologies
• Neurodivergency
• Inclusion, equity and access
• Community wellbeing
• Sexual violence prevention
• Cute media
• Youth cultures
• Transcultural flows and the politics of cultural appropriation
• Action-led, community participatory research

Megan researches and responds to social phenomena in English and Japanese language online spaces, and also works in field-sites in both Sydney and Tokyo.

Megan is committed to putting research into practice. She is Director of Research at GLOBAL KAWAII Association, founded with Haruka Kurebayashi and Rei Saionji. The associations aims to support and promote the creative practices of emerging artists in Japan and to encourage respectful cultural appreciation and exchange. She has also worked for a range of research centres including Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, and the Disability Innovation Institute. She serves on advisory boards for equity and inclusion and gender-based violence prevention work. This includes the Women and Girls Emergency Centre’s “All In” program in Australia, which aims topromote positive messages about gender, inclusion, and respectful relationships in children’s play, language, resources, and storytelling.

Megan’s work has been recognized with a Japan Foundation New Voices Scholar Award, National Library of Australia Asia Studies Grant, Vitalities Lab Scholarship and Australian Postgraduate Award.

Megan lectures in sociology, social research methods, social policy and media studies. Her contribution to teaching has been recognised with a UNSW Vice Chancellors Award for Teaching Excellence (Outstanding Contribution to Student Experience) in 2020 and Faculty of Arts and Social Science Dean’s Rising Star Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018.