SSD Voices
We would like to produce materials which could be used by departments in SSD to raise awareness about the experiences of staff and students from minoritized groups. We hope to cover areas including race, gender, visible and invisible disabilities, and neurodiversity.
We are seeking EDI Associates who could contribute to the production of such materials – either from their own lived experience as a member of a marginalised group working or studying at the University, or from the perspective of someone who would like to learn more about such experiences.
We aim to produce several outputs – each of which could be shared in 5-10 minutes within a departmental meeting or other forum – intended for a general audience of University staff.
The materials would be designed to be self-contained and self-explanatory – not requiring an expert presenter. They would not be designed to be interactive, but rather to inspire reflection.
The materials would specifically aim to illuminate the experiences of individuals within the University of Oxford context – sharing the experiences of staff and students here, to enable all members of the University to better understand these experiences. We would aim to convey the experiences in a vivid and compelling way, centering the voices/stories of individuals.
We are interested in producing materials to share the experiences of some of the following groups –
- staff or students from groups racially minoritized within the UK/University context;
- neurodivergent staff/students;
- disabled staff/students (we are keen to include the experiences of staff and students with both visible and invisible disabilities);
- gender, including trans and non-binary staff and students.
We would also welcome suggestions in relation to other marginalised groups. As the material we produce will aim to present the perspectives and voices of those who are minoritised and marginalised, we particularly welcome EoIs from those who wish to contribute from their lived experience (which may include intersectional or multiple marginalisations). We will also welcome EoIs from those who would wish to work with these staff and students, to raise up their voices.
The final selection of EDI Associates will be influenced by the need to produce workable pairings/groupings in (some of) the above, or other, areas.
We are currently seeking funding from the University’s Diversity Fund to pay to produce some short films which will meet this brief. If this is successful the EDI Associates will have the option of working alongside a professional filmmaker to produce short (c.3 min) films. We will also seek to produce materials in different formats, for example short PowerPoint presentations.
If you would be interested in contributing to the production of such materials, either on the basis of your own lived experience, or from a desire to work to share such experiences with a wider audience, please complete an ‘Expression of Interest’, noting ‘SSD Voices’ project.
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EDI Research Network and Showcase Events
A team of EDI Associates in 2022/23 worked to develop a Network of those across the Social Science Division engaged in EDI Research1, and to showcase such research.
During 2023/24 we plan to run an EDI Research Network event or seminar each term. Our aims will be to showcase our intellectual and analytical contribution to academic research and scholarly outputs in this field, and to further develop the Network of researchers to promote exchange of ideas and potential collaborations.
We are seeking one EDI Associate to work with the Associate Head of Division (EDI) Professor Nandini Gooptu, to convene one event in Hilary term and one event in Trinity term. The EDI Associate will work with Prof Gooptu to identify speakers for these two events, draw up programmes and outlines, host the events, and liaise with the SSD EDI Officer to ensure that the events are well-publicised and run smoothly. This would suit an early career researcher/academic with a passion for advancing knowledge in these areas, and interest in gaining experience of convening academic seminars.
We are also seeking up to two EDI Associates to take responsibility for organizing an event specifically for graduate students with an interest in EDI research. This might suit DPhil students with an interest in research in these areas. These EDI Associates would identify graduate students working on EDI related research, and design, plan, and manage an event specifically targeted at students.
If you would like to work on one of these projects please complete an 'Expression of Interest' noting 'EDI Research Events' project.
1 The group adopted the following working definition of research encompassed by this term:
We conceive of research relevant to this area very broadly, to include empirical, theoretical, conceptual, epistemological and methodological issues, and not confined to themes of instrumental or practical relevance to the management of people and organisations, as often indicated by the use of ‘EDI’ or ‘DEI’ terminology. We list below some indicative areas of interest, but this is by no means intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive:
1. Research on the politics of knowledge production and dissemination, research on epistemology, pedagogy, curriculum and evaluation, as well as work on research methodology and ethics, including ethical collaborations and partnerships.
2. Work on the interface between academic research and practice to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in institutional culture, including universities and analogous organisations.
3. Research which focuses on one or more minoritised characteristics or groups (such as by age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation). This includes (a) research with an intent to contribute to greater social, political, cultural or economic equity and diversity, whether with a direct or indirect impact; and (b) research that has wider theoretical and analytical significance which could be relevant to a range of different empirical contexts.
4. Any other research that a researcher would self-define as being relevant to equality and diversity issues, which does not fit within one of the above categories.
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