Since joining Flinders Law School in 2011, Maria has been teaching in both Socio-legal studies and Criminal Justice. She holds a double Honours degree in Law and English Literature and a PhD in Cultural Studies. Her research is interdisciplinary and primarily focuses on the complex relationship between law, justice and sovereignty with a specific emphasis on racialised communities (Aboriginal peoples, refugees and migrants) in Australia. In addition to this, she is exploring the impact of sovereign debt on notions of democracy and national sovereignty in the context of contemporary debt 'crises' in Europe.