Faculty/Staff Profile Title

Faculty Profile Image

Education

Ph.D., George Mason University
M.S., University of Baltimore
B.A., American University

Shelly Clay-Robison is an assistant professor in the School for Public and International Affairs where she teaches in the M.S. Negotiations and Conflict Management program. As an ethnographer, she relies on her training in conflict analysis and resolution and the visual arts to examine how communities use visual culture to create social change during violent conflict and after a mass atrocity. Her current research is in Indonesia where she works with artists and activists who support the 1965 survivor community, feminist action, and other social movements. She also works in peacebuilding and racial reconciliation in Baltimore and develops conflict resolution workshops for K-12 students and faculty.

Prior to joining UBalt, Dr. Clay-Robison taught anthropology and peace and conflict studies at York College of Pennsylvania and is currently the lead program facilitator for the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the University of Delaware. She also consults as an executive leadership and conflict resolution coach. Before her work in higher education, her career focused on international human rights policy and protection of civilians during armed conflict.

Visual Culture and Social Change, Resistance, Memory after Violent Conflict, Mass Atrocity Prevention and Education, Arts-based Peacebuilding, Social Movements in Indonesia, Feminist Ethnography

Peace and Social Justice, Culture and Conflict, Conflict Assessment, Conflict Transformation, Negotiations

Intellectual Contributions

Book Chapters

Clay-Robison, S. (2020). Empowered Women Empower Women: Peacebuilding in the Era of #MeToo. Rowman and Littlefield.

Clay-Robison, S. (2020). The Arts Are Not for Sale: Addressing Cultural Trauma and Prioritizing People over Profit in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Peter Lang Publishing.

Refereed Journal Articles

Clay-Robinson, S. (2024). Strength Comes from the People: Sustaining Activism and the Arts in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Peace Chronicle.

Clay-Robison, S. (2022). Solidarity without Borders: Friendship, the Arts, and Social Movements. Peace Review.

Clay-Robison, S. (2021). Visualizing A More Perfect Union: Social Science and the Visual Arts Building Just Futures Together. The Radical Review.

Research Report

Clay-Robison, S. (2024). Listen to the People: The Influence of Group Grievance on State Fragility. Fragile States Index.

Book Reviews

Clay-Robison, S. (2022). Armed Conflict, Women and Climate Change. Genocide Studies and Prevention.

Presentations

Rhee, M. G., Kiel, S., Sunny, S., Clay-Robison, S., Keyes, E., & Stansbury, J. SoTL Commons, "Building Bridges: Cross Disciplinary Collaboration ​to Advance SOTL Practices," Georgia Southern University, Savannah, GA. (2025).

Clay-Robinson, S. International Studies Assn, "• “Memory Activism, Authoritarianism, and the Arts after the 1965 Killings in Indonesia: Who Has “The Right to Look?” International Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, CA, April 2024," (2024).

Clay-Robinson, S. "• “Kesaksian Tanah (Testimony of the Soil)” Panelist, York College of Pennsylvania, February 2024," (2024).

Clay-Robinson, S. "• Chair and discussant for “Visual Narratives of Violence” at International Association of Genocide Scholars, Barcelona, Spain July 2023," (2023).

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Clay-Robison, Shelly , Sponsored by Provost’s Award for Collaboration and Innovation, (2025 - 2026).