Inaugural Lecture: Professor Antonia Lyons

Date: 19 September 2024

Title: Embodying the Social: Journeys in Psychology, Health and Addiction

In her lecture, Antonia described the journeys she’s taken throughout her career and the many amazing people who have enabled her to remain (and enjoy) travelling in academia. Antonia was born in Nelson and was raised by a single parent with her siblings. She moved many times throughout her childhood, ending up in state housing in the Manawatū, surrounded by the beautiful Ruahine ranges. Her early life experiences taught her how important our social worlds are for our health, and how they ‘get under our skin’ to affect outcomes. Her research explores the contexts of people’s everyday lives and the social meanings of behaviours (e.g. drinking alcohol and who/what gets stigmatised), and increasingly, the role that unhealthy commodity industries play (e.g. Big Alcohol). It’s relatively slow work, but also in-depth, collaborative, compassionate and rewarding.