SDG5 Event:How does lived experience impact research focus?  - Register Now!

Ahead of our February 6th panel discussion, "SDG5 - How does lived experience impact research focus?", we asked our speakers to share how this lens influences their research and why understanding intersectionality is crucial in today's world. 
Published in Social Sciences
SDG5 Event:How does lived experience impact research focus?  - Register Now!
Like

Share this post

Choose a social network to share with, or copy the URL to share elsewhere

This is a representation of how your post may appear on social media. The actual post will vary between social networks

Register here: https://cassyni.com/events/QJmLergTtcMtzXRcSoxmQ1 

This event is part of the Springer Nature SDG Talk series, a forum for discussion within and beyond academia of issues, progress and opportunities relating to research in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  

Coined in 1989 by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw (pioneer in civil rights, critical race and Black feminist legal theory), intersectionality is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”. It describes how various aspects of a person's identity can intersect and create multiple, layered forms of oppression or privilege. We asked our speakers some introductory questions to give you a sense of the event. We would be happy to see you there! 

  1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work? 

Carmen Leon-Himmelstine: I work as a Research Fellow at ODI Global. My research explores migration and displacement decision-making, the health impacts of entrenched social and gender norms that disadvantage girls and women, and the effectiveness of social protection programs for children and youth.  

Sharada Srinivasan: I am a researcher at the University of Guelph, and my work focuses on gender and development, particularly in the global South. I have explored issues like female infanticide, domestic violence, youth and farming, and elderly care. 

Kristina Areskoug Josefsson: With years of experience as a physiotherapist, my research focuses on improving health and welfare through work-integrated learning, optimizing education in health and welfare professions, and addressing ongoing challenges in these fields. 

Elahe Haschemi Yekani: I am a professor at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where my research focuses on diasporic writing, postcolonial studies, visual culture, cultural memory, and intersectionality. I explore queer narratives of migration with a comparative focus on Germany, Britain, and the US. 

Deja Knight: As a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, I focus on HIV, substance use, and the social determinants of health, particularly in marginalized Black communities. I research how various social factors intersect to influence health outcomes, specifically in HIV prevention. 

  1. What first inspired you to explore topics related to intersectionality in your field?

Carmen Leon-Himmelstine: Growing up in Mexico City, I witnessed stark inequalities, with women and indigenous communities often facing the greatest challenges. During my PhD, I lived in indigenous communities in Oaxaca and tracked migration to Mexico City and Los Angeles, deepening my commitment to intersectional research. 

Sharada Srinivasan: I first encountered intersectionality while working with an NGO addressing female infanticide. This experience challenged my assumptions about the practice and its causes, though I didn’t recognize it as intersectional at the time. 

Kristina Areskoug Josefsson: My background as a physiotherapist made it clear to me that intersectional perspectives are critical in healthcare. This was my starting point, and during the progress of co-productive development and research, intersectionality has continued to be important. 

Elahe Haschemi Yekani: I am particularly interested in bringing into conversation questions from intersectionality research with approaches in cultural studies that challenge binary forms of categorization such as Queer Theory and Postcolonial Studies. 

Deja Knight: Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, I experienced how race, gender, and class intersect to create health disparities. Personal experiences, like being unfairly judged by healthcare providers, showed me how intersecting identities impact treatment. Witnessing these inequities, especially their role in HIV diagnoses among African American women, sparked my passion for studying intersectionality and HIV prevention. 

  1. Could you tell us about a project you’re currently working on and why it’s meaningful to you?

Carmen Leon-Himmelstine: I’m currently working on a project exploring how multilingualism can facilitate conflict resolution in five African countries. It’s meaningful because it challenges traditional views of language and ethnicity as sources of division, instead highlighting their potential to foster understanding and peace. 

Sharada Srinivasan: I recently completed a systematic review on the experiences of international students facing gender-based violence. It’s important because it sheds light on the struggles these students face and their resilience, despite the challenges in host countries. 

Kristina Areskoug Josefsson: I’m working on a project focused on strategic career planning through work-integrated learning, particularly for PhD graduates. This is important to me because it addresses the challenges these graduates face in a competitive job market, especially with varying gender and ethnicity experiences. 

Elahe Haschemi Yekani: I am the Principal Investigator of an ERC Consolidator Grant Project called “Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary”, in which intersectionality plays a crucial role. Together with a team of two postdoctoral researchers and two doctoral researchers, I explore new modes of (intersectional) academic knowledge production. The project proposes that artistic practice can acknowledge negative effects and contribute to a reimagination of community that goes beyond national and heteronormative constraints. The project underlines the relevance of Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary as archival sites that have the potential to challenge the workings of racist structures and foster new modes of belonging.  

Deja Knight: I’m researching how theories Intersectionality and the Theory of Gender and Power to elucidate how socioecological factors shape HIV PrEP pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness, knowledge, and interest among Black women in Baltimore. This project is so meaningful because it is the exploratory formative work that would ideally lay the groundwork for a PrEP implementation intervention that is specifically designed for Black women. 

  1. What do you hope audiences will take away from discussions at this event?

Carmen Leon-Himmelstine: One of my favourite expressions from the indigenous Zapatista movement is “un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos” (a world where many worlds fit). I hope this event helps us all to learn about other ways to understand and engage with intersectionality, to learn from each other and to incorporate different epistemologies in our work. 

Sharada Srinivasan: The importance of intersectionality, how to move beyond rhetoric and practise intersectionality.   

Kristina Areskoug Josefsson: Novel perspectives on intersectionality, especially how unique combinations in various contexts are related to both discrimination and privilege. 

Elahe Haschemi Yekani: I think we need to engage more deeply with questions of how to do intersectional research in various disciplines rather than use it simply as a moniker for diversity. From the perspective of literary and cultural studies, the focus is more on affective and emergent structures of identity formation than on clear-cut categories. 

Deja Knight: I hope that audiences understand that you cannot separate marginalized identities. When you see a person at the intersection of marginalized identities being treated poorly or being disenfranchised in any way, it is impossible to attribute that power to any one of those identities. Additionally, it is impossible to make any changes for the lived experiences of people living at these intersections without addressing the power that perpetuates these inequities and injustices. 

To hear more from our speakers on this important topic, please make sure to join us on Thursday 6th February! 

Register here: https://cassyni.com/events/QJmLergTtcMtzXRcSoxmQ1 

Please sign in or register for FREE

If you are a registered user on Research Communities by Springer Nature, please sign in

Follow the Topic

Gender Studies
Humanities and Social Sciences > Society > Gender Studies
Sociology
Humanities and Social Sciences > Society > Sociology