Society matters: Recent Episodes
Aston University School of Social Sciences and Humanities
Society matters is a podcast from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) at Aston University. Presented by journalist Steve Dyson, the podcast series explores some of the fascinating work of academics within the School on current issues facing society.
In this episode, we head to Café Artum in Hockley Social Club in Birmingham for Professor Helen Wood and Dr Mairi Brennan’s live talk: Reality TV: Who cares.
The Society matters LIVE talk took place on Thursday 29 February 2024.
Next up, for Society matters LIVE is the talk: Accountability: A Cure for a Toxic Workplace?
The contemporary workplace is evolving as a result of rapid digitalisation, human rights movements, and socio-economic turbulence. The post-#MeToo society pays greater attention to organisational accountability for workplace environment and culture, motivating employees to seek workplaces free from bullying, harassment, discrimination, and other toxic behaviours.
So, What is accountability at work? Who is accountable to whom and for what? How can you hold power to account?
Hosting the live talk on Thursday 28 March is Dr Galina Goncharenko - a Reader in Accounting at Aston University, who’s encouraging us to look at our workplace from the perspective of accountability.
Dr Goncharenko’s research focuses on social accounting, accountability at work, workplace democracy, netnography and accountability discourses on social media platforms. Her work has published in a number of leading accounting and management science journals, such as Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Business Ethics Quarterly.
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In this new series of Society matters, Aston University brings you Dr Danny Fitzpatrick's Society matters LIVE talk as well as a taster of the next event at Cafe Artum in Hockley Social Club with Profesor Helen Wood. Join Danny as he explores the reason why football is becoming more political in the 21st century. Instead of focusing on the right and wrongs of each individual debate, this session will analyse how political theory can help us answer this question.
If you fancy catching up on Danny's previous Society matters episode, click here.
The talk took place on Thursday 30 November 2023.
Next up, is Reality Television: Who cares?
We consider the new landscape for reality television production which demands a more caring environment.
After high-profile suicides and a Parliamentary enquiry, Ofcom changed the Broadcasting Code in 2021 to demand better welfare and ‘duties of care’ for participants.
Yet at the same time survey reports from unscripted production crew outline serious concerns about working conditions in reality television.
So what does this mean for reality TV and their participants?
Professor Helen Wood and Dr Mhairi Brennan will share insights from their AHRC research project entitled ‘ReCARETV: Reality Television, Working Practices and Duties of Care’ - which considers policy, production and participation in the UK ‘unscripted’ television sector. The talk will last approximately 40 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A/discussion.
The talk will take place at Cafe Artum on Thursday 29 February from 1730-1900 hrs (doors open at 1700 hrs).
For more ticket information, click here.
To catch up on all Society matters episodes, click here.
Follow us on Twitter for the latest information here.
Dr Emily Christopher, a lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University, discusses how the notion of ‘women’s work’ is still deeply embedded in today’s society. Her research shows that while men may be doing more household work than they used to, women still do the 'lion’s share' and are often left multi-tasking, while men stick to solo duties such as mowing the lawn.
Read the full press release: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-research-household-chores-reveals-fascinating-home-truths
Dr Robbie Love, Lecturer in English Language at Aston University, suggests that schools could include teaching about swearing in lessons to help teenagers understand the differences between harmless cursing and deeply offensive slurs. Dr Love also discusses how swearing has been a part of the English language for centuries, and that swear words can be ‘cathartic’ in terms of easing pain or frustration.
Dr Alexis Paton, a health expert at Aston University, discusses how years of austerity have left the NHS devalued and underfunded. She argues that swift investment and long-term, cross-party planning are now needed for survival, with a focus on training more staff and maintaining existing hospital infrastructures.
Dr Parveen Akhtar, a senior lecturer and deputy head of politics, history and international relations at Aston University, discusses how the UK having its first non-white prime minister is a ‘big moment’. But she says his ability at restoring economic stability and tackling the cost-of-living crisis will decide his fate at the polls.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-uks-first-non-white-prime-minister-big-moment-can-rishi-sunak-survive
Dr Ilaria Scaglia, a senior lecturer in modern history at Aston University, explains how the ‘history of emotions’ can provide vital lessons for politics today, particularly when studying the 1920s and 30s. She said that the past can guide society on how it decides to conduct itself now, as individuals and countries.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-history-emotions-provide-vital-lessons-politics-and-society
Dr Graeme Hayes, a reader in political sociology at Aston University, says protest through collective action can achieve meaningful climate change. But speaking ahead of the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, the expert in environmental activism argues that governments will only be persuaded to do the right thing if they face sustained movements, not one-off actions.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-collective-action-only-way-change-global-climate-policies
Dr Virginie Grzelczyk, an expert on security in the Korean peninsula at Aston University, argues that it's time for the West to acknowledge North Korea’s status as a nuclear power to help defuse escalating tensions.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-west-must-acknowledge-north-koreas-status-nuclear-power
Dr Volker Prott, a senior lecturer in modern history at Aston University, discusses the “bitter irony” of “celebrating” the 75th anniversary of the partition of India, given the violence and huge displacement of people it caused. He argues the partition was part of a global pattern and that debate is now needed to find ways to accommodate human diversity rather than pulling people apart.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-partition-india-evil-act-or-rush-grant-independence
Dr Anton Popov, a senior lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University, predicts that Russia could face economic collapse and civil war over its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian-born academic said his country was “sinking into a dark place" and could soon become a pariah state, somewhere like Iran or North Korea.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-russia-could-suffer-economic-collapse-and-civil-war-over-ukraine
Ernest Reid, an expert in Russia protests at Aston University, takes part in our special series on the Ukraine war. He explains how anti-war protests are being stifled by a media blackout, which means many ordinary Russians don’t know how they feel about the invasion. Plus he says mass detentions with thousands of Russians locked up without charge has spread fear about joining protests.
Read more: https://www.aston.ac.uk/latest-news/podcast-russia-anti-war-protests-stifled-media-blackout-and-detentions
Dr Elisabeth Schimpfössl, a senior lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University, and an expert on Russia, analyses fears of Putin’s ‘madness’ over the invasion of Ukraine. She also discusses speculation that only a “heart attack-style” assassination of the dictator by his senior military and secret services could stop him escalating the war.
Dr Ed Turner, a reader in politics at Aston University, discusses how a Germany without stalwart former leader Angela Merkel faces a number of huge challenges – not least the threat of Russia invading Ukraine. He explains that new Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also grappling with Covid-19, Germany's 'crumbling' infrastructure and net-zero climate change targets, but just wants to 'move on' with the UK after Brexit.
Dr Amanda Beattie, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Aston University, discusses how researching refugees' traumatic journeys across the Balkans resulted in an exhibition at Tate Liverpool that went worldwide. Now she's helping to launch a new Centre for Migration and Forced Displacement at Aston University to make sure what is a ‘humanitarian crisis’ remains an ‘important conversation’.
Dr Céline Benoit, a senior teaching fellow in sociology and policy at Aston University, says school nativity plays have a secure future – because children love them, and they are more of a cultural than a religious performance. But her research indicates that schoolchildren need more of a say on the future of religious education.
Dr Abigail Boucher, a lecturer in English literature at Aston University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities, reveals how students are taught to challenge the credibility of what they’re reading with detailed research and critical thinking skills.
Dr Joseph Yannielli, a lecturer in history at Aston University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities, reveals how Birmingham's industrial pioneers were deeply linked to the slave trade. He also discusses the importance that digital archives play in our understanding of the personal and very human stories emanating from this shameful part of our history.
Sue Campbell, a teaching fellow in translation studies at Aston University, reveals there are more than 100 languages spoken in Birmingham schools, but that vital information about Covid-19 was only translated into 17 of them. Her research project has mapped the city's language clusters to assist the authorities and is now training 'translation champions' to help local communities.
Dr Lauren Traczykowski, a senior lecturer in law ethics at Aston University, discusses what obligations the international community has to intervene and assist when a state is unable or unwilling to help its own population in the aftermath of a natural hazard.
Dr Danny Fitzpatrick, a 'politics of sport' specialist in the Politics and International Relations department at Aston University, discusses how football fans’ fury over the European Super League was 30 years in the making. His research traces how fans’ activism has been growing since protests against the ‘breakaway’ Premier League in the 1990s.
Dr Alexis Paton, a social epidemiology and sociology lecturer at Aston University's School of Social Sciences and Humanities, discusses how ethnic minorities and other groups have not been treated equitably during COVID-19. She argues that ethics could create more fairness when tackling future pandemics.
Dr Stephen Fay, a lecturer in Spanish at Aston's School of Social Sciences and Humanities, describes how a new narrative therapy project carried out via Zoom in Latin America has improved the lives of people with dementia. He's hoping to spread the work to Cuba and bring it back to the West Midlands.
Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Aston University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities, describes how the live music sector will survive, despite being devastated by the lockdowns resulting from COVID-19.
Dr Tamineh Tayebi, a lecturer at the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, hopes her research into online abuse and why people are offended by certain words and phrases will help to combat digital hate crime and cyberbullying.
Dr Elisabeth Schimpfössl, senior lecturer in Sociology and Policy at Aston University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities, discusses how her research found that many super-rich Russians often saw themselves as ‘biologically superior’.
Dr Emma Richardson, research fellow in forensic linguistics at the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, discusses how her methodology initially used to study pub-talk is now helping police interviewers understand victims of sexual assault and call handlers to assist domestic abuse victims.