Shadia’s research interests include ethnography, oral traditions, intangible cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and local communities. Her doctoral dissertation investigated attachment to abandoned heritage, using ethnographic research methods, published by Archaeopress, Oxford, in February 2013.
Having recently stepped down as a Tutor at Wolfson, she has submitted chapters in books that will be published in 2024 as well as being a consultant for a Google Project: Uncover Sudan's Pyramids with Google Arts & Culture. A podcast for The Historical Association A Level podcast series: Ancient Nubia & the Kingdoms of Kush, was released in October 2023. Currently, she is writing two solo books and a joint-authored book to be submitted to publishers in 2024 and 2025.
In addition to her role at the University of Cambridge, she is a consultant for the ‘Rising from the Depths’ East Pemba Maritime Heritage Project and a Research Fellow at the School of Global Studies, Department of Anthropology and International Development, University of Sussex.
She holds the following positions:
- Guest lecturer at the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, University of Cambridge
- Research Associate at the Indian Ocean World Centre
- Member of (SARS) Sudan Archaeological Research Society, British Museum
- Member of (SAS) Sudan Archaeological Society, Khartoum, Sudan
- Researcher with the Civilisation in Contact Project