Liria de la Cruz Hernández receives Honorary Master of Arts

Liria de la Cruz Hernández, long-term collaborator of Dr Paloma Gay y Blasco at the Department, received an Honorary Master of Arts last Wednesday at the December graduations.

Liria is the first Roma woman to receive an honorary degree at the University. Although she left school aged 11 and for most of her life earned her living as a street vendor, Liria is the co-author of an academic monograph and several articles in international refereed journals.

Liria’s work, written in collaboration with Dr Paloma Gay y Blasco, deals with issues of anthropological methods, Roma gender relations, Roma customary law and its impact on the status of women, and Roma women’s rights. Liria was honoured for her contribution to the field of social anthropology, to the study of Roma lives, and to the teaching of Social Anthropology at St Andrews.