Queen's University Belfast - QUB Voices Queen's University Belfast

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.