Making Waves:1st Annual PGR Symposium from the Institute for Social Justice

Making Waves Symposium is a free event taking place on Tuesday 15th June 1pm-3pm via Microsoft Teams. 

Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and equal opportunities. At the Institute for Social Justice we aim to engage people, partners and communities in a manner that sees participation, implementation and change as vital parts of its mission. The team chose the name ‘Making Waves’ to reflect the action that Postgraduate Research can generate. We believe that by sharing, collaborating and listening we can achieve more.

All the speakers at the symposium will talk for 7 minutes about their area of postgraduate research. Their topics all relate to Social Justice issues and we envisage connections to be made between researchers and academics. The symposium will run in two halves with questions after 5 speakers and a short break in-between. We currently have 10 speakers who are:

Farzana Sutcliffe- Khan— My research aims to address the gender disparities within the autistic community with a focus on Autism & Motherhood. 

Lucy Hurst - 'Decolonising the Disabled Body’ My work discusses how ecological thought can be used to decolonise our understanding of disability and help us reconsider what is 'natural' as opposed to the naturalised.

Anna Glarin - My PhD research is a practice-based reflection inquiry into the potential and possibilities of making theatre with young people.

Liz Cox - How does your Garden Grow? Socially Excluded Groups & Green Space Initiatives in the UK: An Exploration.

Catherine Birch - The Use of Trauma-Informed Community Music Practice in Enabling Narrative Through Song Writing.

Georgia Dearden - The representation of liquids in artworks that engage with healing. 

Lauren Hall - What is a learning disabled artist? This explores three main areas identity, interdependence and leadership. 

Hannah Cutting - Communication through spoken word - focusing on KS4 students with non-neurodevelopment mental health issues within mainstream secondary school.

Nicola McAteer - My PhD research has been stimulated with questions surrounding the roots of community music that are located in social activism.

Andrew Pennington - A civilising mission?: a neo-colonial lens on Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) and their relationships with communities.