Dr Mark Tayar has completed a PhD on the internationalisation of higher education and published on learning and teaching, education management and HRM.
Mark has worked at the Australian National University, Swinburne University of Technology, Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney.
Mark lives with schizoaffective disorder and is an advocate for mental health.
Mark's Hocking Fellowship research
Mark investigated the role of storytelling in the healing process for people with lived experience of mental illness, with particular attention on the use of relatable metaphors and rich narratives in digital and traditional formats to tell stories.
'I am a PhD-qualified education researcher living with schizoaffective disorder. I have published my own brief memoirs and two of my carers are working on memoirs about their journey during my psychotic episode,' he said.
'I have felt the catharsis of storytelling about mental illness. I have also felt the fear of stigma from sharing a story that involves involuntary admissions to hospital, psychosis and relapse.
'Drawing from my lived experience and my academic research on visual metaphor and digital storytelling, I will interview people who have shared their stories online or in books. I will also visit lived experience groups to investigate the role of oral storytelling and story-listening. Those interviewed will also have the option to anonymously tell a story about mental illness. These will be combined with images and animation and published online.'
