Queen's University Belfast - QUB Voices: Recent Episodes
Queen's University Belfast
The world is powered and changed by new ideas and new research. Every fortnight, our team of PhD students will be sharing the voices behind the research, addressing the topics affecting our culture and shining a light on the ideas that will shape the future. If you're interested in learning more about how research works, this show is for you.
In this researcher spotlight, Adam Pultz Melbye speaks to Jaeim Park—PhD student at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics. Jaeim’s research focuses on ecofeminism and its critical analysis of gender, injustice and ecological unsustainability. She talks about her development of the concept of care in both practice and theory and why those whose job it is to care for others need to be appreciated more. Finally, Jaeim speaks about her personal experience with PhD life and offers advice for those considering embarking on postgraduate research.
As privileged countries emerge from lockdowns and prepare to return to a new normal, another crisis is compromising the lives of large parts of the human population, while changing the environment drastically. For the month of June, QUB Voices will be focusing on climate change and sustainability, engaging with researchers who approach these issues from disciplines such as law, politics and anthropology. In the first episode, Adam Pultz Melbye speaks to masters student Maggie Murphy and PhD student Calum McGeown about their research. Maggie and Calum discuss the intersections of their work, which spans post-growth and post-carbon societies, human rights, ecofeminism, techno-optimism, individual versus societal initiative, activism and the responsibility of academics in the face of ecological disaster.
In May’s Researcher Spotlight, Georgios Varoutsos speaks with Laura Sheary, a PhD researcher based at the Seamus Heaney Centre within the School of Arts, English and Languages. Laura's PhD thesis, entitled “Inner Voice: The Sound That Will Never Stop”, explores the creative interplay between music and language. In this episode, Laura speaks about how this interplay has shaped her life as much as her research practice on the PhD journey.
In the first of May’s episodes, Georgios Varoutsos is in conversation with two PhD researchers from QUB on the topic of Music, Sound, and Artistic Research. Themes of music making, immersive technology, design, and musical performances for disabled communities are discussed in this episode. Our first guest, Alex Lucas, who designs musical instruments, talks about the process of creating to enable musical performances for those with disabilities. Our second guest, Damian Mills, speaks about inclusivity with the use of immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and music making for those with disabilities.
In April's Researcher Spotlight, Ciara Gorman speaks to Milena Williamson, a third-year PhD student from The Heaney Centre at QUB. Her creative practice PhD - entitled "War, Images, Memory: Contemporary Irish and American Poetry" - blends poetry with research on the American draft, active citizenship and what art means to us in times of great challenge.
In the first of April's episodes, Ciara Gorman is in conversation with two PhD researchers from QUB on the topic of creative protest. Themes of history, memory and activism through art are to the fore in this episode, as filmmaker and scholar Victoria Baltag illustrates how the moving image can be a powerful medium of connection between the present and the hidden past. Our second guest is author and activist Hilary McCollum, who speaks about the need for origin stories and reclaiming women's history through the lens of lesbian historical fiction.
In this episode, Laura Gillespie shares her insights into the topic that has been the focus of her research: ‘Contraband Camps.’ Contraband’ camps represent a contested and often neglected aspect of the American Civil War. Established behind Union army lines, they comprised African American former slaves who sought refuge from their owners and joined the forces against them. As such, they are a unique aspect of the history of racial discrimination, displaying not only the dire conditions to which African Americans were exposed due to racism, but also their own active agency and contribution in the fight for their liberation. Together with Chrysi, Laura discusses the challenges of doing research into a topic interwoven with racial discrimination and social inequalities traceable still to this day. Laura explains the responsibility of the researcher in having empathy and representing appropriately the humans under study. She highlights the value of Public History, and explains why a researcher’s work is always collective. Finally, Laura highlights that ‘you do you!’
In this episode Dr Yassin Brunger, Lecturer in Human Rights Law, Co-Director of the QUB Gender Network (@Gender_Network) and Co-Chair of QUB’s iRise, the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network, talks with Esther Andare and Oluwayomi Olaide-Kolapo, members of the committee of the student African-Caribbean Society. What does the student-led African-Caribbean Society do? What does it mean to be of African and Caribbean descent in Northern Ireland? How did the Black Lives Matter movement affect the ACS? Why is it essential to decolonize the curriculum? And how the Black experience is not just about racism but also about joy.
March resonates with the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In this episode Chrysi Kyratsou talks with Sydney Holt, PhD candidate at School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at QUB. Sydney unravels what fuels racism and how racial discriminations are expressed. Drawing on her research expertise and her personal experience, she explains why certain forms of racism may go unspotted, and how racism affects not only the targeted group, but the whole society. Finally, Sydney makes clear how each one of us may participate in systems that discriminate against minorities and how it is our job as human beings, to recognise our privilege and complicity and work to undo it.
February is all about building community here at QUB Voices. In this episode, we spotlight the work that the postgraduate student officers have been doing to help us feel connected and supported during the pandemic. Ciara McAllister speaks to Tasha, Elena and Lydia from QUBSU about all things Teams, finance and support.
You can contact Tasha, the Postgraduate Student Officer at su.vppostgraduate@qub.ac.uk
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our contact with others and we continue to work from home, it can be harder to establish a sense of community as a postgrad student. In this episode, Ciara is speaking to PhD students who have got involved with initiatives at Queen’s in order to feel more connected and supported during their research journey and asking them to share some advice on how to combat isolation during this difficult time. Gillian Kane speaks about her experience with the QUB School of Law’s student research network and Dr Kelsie Donnelly discusses the benefits of peer mentoring in Arts, English and Languages. Their message is clear: you are not alone.
In our next researcher spotlight episode, Ciara Gorman talks to Jordan McCullough, a second-year PhD student working on narratives of parental loss in French literature. Ciara and Jordan explore how writing and talking about grief can help us work through the most difficult periods of our lives and bring us both comfort in the present and hope for the future, which is particularly relevant in this current time of global mourning and increased mental health distress. Please be aware that content warnings for this episode include bereavement, child loss, terminal illness and anxiety.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please reach out to someone. QUB students can get in touch with the QUB Wellbeing Services Team here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/InformationforStudents/SupportAvailable/
Anyone listening in Northern Ireland can contact Samaritans for support on 116 123 (free from any phone) or 0330 0940 5717 (local call charges apply). Anyone listening in the Republic of Ireland can contact Samaritans on 116 123 (free from any phone) or Aware on 1800 80 48 48 from 10am to 10pm every day.
If you are in distress or despair, freephone Lifeline NI on 0808 808 8000 or Samaritans on the number provided above.
In this episode, Ciara Gorman speaks to Dr Lisa Bunting and Dr Paul Best from the School of Social Sciences and Social Work at QUB on the topic of mental health. Lisa gives us a broad overview of what we mean by ‘mental health’ and talks to us about her recent ground-breaking survey on mental health in young people in Northern Ireland. Paul chats to us about the work of the Digital Mental Health Network at QUB to develop the use of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technology in treating mental ill health. Please be aware that the content warnings for this episode include the topics of eating disorders, anxiety, PTSD and adverse childhood circumstances.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please reach out to someone. QUB students can get in touch with the QUB Wellbeing Services Team here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/InformationforStudents/SupportAvailable/
Anyone listening in Northern Ireland can contact Samaritans for support on 116 123 (free from any phone) or 0330 0940 5717 (local call charges apply). Anyone listening in the Republic of Ireland can contact Samaritans on 116 123 (free from any phone) or Aware on 1800 80 48 48 from 10am to 10pm every day.
If you are in distress or despair, freephone Lifeline NI on 0808 808 8000 or Samaritans on the number provided above.
In this Researcher Spotlight episode, Chrysi Kyratsou talks with Morgan Mattingly, who has just finished her MA at QUB, focusing on evaluating current policy and practice related to refugee education in the UK . Morgan aims to continue her research into the topic at a PhD level at QUB from February 2021, this time focusing on understanding the education gaps throughout the whole of the migratory journey. In the echo of the Human Rights Day, Morgan reflects on her experience as an English Language Teacher with international students in different sites of the globe, and explains why access to education is a Human Right inextricably interrelated with human development.
In this episode Chrysi Kyratsou speaks with Rachel Carlin-Lavery and Anna Magee, both volunteers at the QUB branch of the student-led charity SolidariTEE. In resonance with Human Rights Day, as well as the never-ending refugee ‘crisis’, they discuss the right to asylum, as well as why having access to legal aid is so crucial. Moreover, they explain why helping asylum seekers should be our concern, as well as how volunteering with SolidariTEE has been a life-changing experience. If you want to learn more about what SolidariTEE does and help, have a look at: http://solidaritee.org.uk/ For more information about the real numbers of refugee criseis for each EU state, as well as updates on the application policies, you may have a look at the Asylum in Europe Database [https://www.asylumineurope.org/ ] and at European Council for Refugees and Exiles [https://www.ecre.org/]. To read Council of Europe’s Anti-Torture Committee report: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europe-s-anti-torture-committee-calls-on-greece-to-reform-its-immigration-detention-system-and-stop-pushbacks
In the next of our researcher spotlight episodes, Georgios speaks to Shane O'Donnell, a PhD candidate at Queen's researching men's health and suicide.
TW Suicide
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please talk to someone. QUB students can get in touch with the wellbeing team here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/InformationforStudents/SupportAvailable/
Anyone in NI can contact Samaritans for support on 116 123 (free from any phone) or 0330 094 5717 (local call charges apply)
If you are in distress or despair, free phone Lifeline NI on 0808 808 8000.
In this episode, Georgios speaks to Professor Joe O'Sullivan, professor of radiation oncology at Queen's, and Katie Ní Chléire, Vice President Welfare at QUB Students' Union, about men's health in Northern Ireland.
TW Suicide
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please talk to someone. QUB students can get in touch with the wellbeing team here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/InformationforStudents/SupportAvailable/
Anyone in NI can contact Samaritans for support on 116 123 (free from any phone) or 0330 094 5717 (local call charges apply)
If you are in distress or despair, free phone Lifeline NI on 0808 808 8000.
In this researcher spotlight episode, Ciara is talking to Aine Doran, a PhD student at Queen's University who is researching the economic history of post-industrial revolution pandemics. Aine talks about the lessons we can learn from previous pandemics and how researching in the time of Coronavirus has impacted her.
In this episode, Ciara is chatting to 2 PhD students about how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected them and the advice they would give to others in a similar situation.
You can read the article Abbie mentions here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/information/Weekly-update/CommunityAssistantsSpace/WhatIwishIhadknownatthestartofmyPhD.html
TW - Mental Health If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please talk to someone. QUB students can get in touch with the wellbeing team here: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/wellbeing/InformationforStudents/SupportAvailable/ Anyone in NI can contact Samaritans for support on 116 123 (free from any phone) or 0330 094 5717 (local call charges apply) If you are in distress or despair, free phone Lifeline NI on 0808 808 8000.
In this introductory episode, we'll be introducing you to the QUB Voices Team and explaining the motivation behind its production. Hosted by Ciara McAllister, this episode introduces Chrysi Kyratsou, Adam Pultz Melbye, Isaac Gibson, Bihe Wen and Georgios Varoutsos -- all PhD students at Queen's University Belfast with unique research interests and skills. We'll be thinking about why a postgraduate podcast is necessary in these current times and letting you know how you can get involved.
Music composed by Bihe Wen. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.