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Conversations in Social Justice

Conversations in Social Justice

By Institute for Social Justice at York St John University

Podcast series from the Institute for Social Justice at York St John University. With different hosts each month we intended to animate discussion about the role of higher education in social justice. New episodes each month.
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Giving Voice to the Non-Human

Conversations in Social JusticeJul 30, 2021

00:00
51:03
Men's Suicide Prevention Impact and Evaluation Project

Men's Suicide Prevention Impact and Evaluation Project

In this conversation Dr Gary Shepherd and Sam Watling discuss a new research project to provide York-based men's social wellbeing group Menfulness with information on the attitudes, opinions and insights of their service users.

Dec 11, 202328:44
Challenging domestic violence through drama and workshops with secondary aged children

Challenging domestic violence through drama and workshops with secondary aged children

In this second podcast about the NSPCC and York St John University theatre department partnership, Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond discuss the It’s Not Love project with Helen Westerman. They consider how the arts can challenge domestic abuse and send positive messages to young people about healthy relationships.

Aug 17, 202318:12
Tackling Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation through Theatre in Education

Tackling Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation through Theatre in Education

In this podcast, senior theatre lecturers Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond are joined by Helen Westerman, head of local campaigns at the NSPCC. In this episode, they explore the long-standing partnership between the NSPCC and York St John University’s theatre department and how their creative and collaborative projects have resonated with audiences of young people nationwide, exploring issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation through a theatre in education touring play, online films and teaching resources on the NSPCC website and digital learning platform.

Aug 09, 202315:30
Creating Community at York Central
Jun 26, 202358:43
Media, Democracy and Social Justice in Zimbabwe

Media, Democracy and Social Justice in Zimbabwe

In this podcast Dr Everett Ndlovu of York St John University will discuss media, democracy and social justice in Zimbabwe with activist and academic Busi Bhebhe-Ndlovu and journalist and academic Bheki Ncube.

Apr 27, 202334:07
Sustainability Stories: Investigating the UK creative industry and the communication of sustainability

Sustainability Stories: Investigating the UK creative industry and the communication of sustainability

In this podcast Dr Alexandra Dales of York St John University and Dr Rory Padfield, Lecturer in Sustainability and Business at the University of Leeds discuss the role of the creative sector in communicating sustainability and climate change stories.

Mar 30, 202346:41
Cinema and Social Justice

Cinema and Social Justice

In this episode Dr Steve Rawle and Dr Martin Hall of York St John University discuss the making of Cost of Living, a timely short film, curated from more than half a century of archive footage, that reflects on the pandemic cycles of economic boom and bust that continue to affect society.

Mar 13, 202359:58
Ties That Bind: Africa's Unsung Hero

Ties That Bind: Africa's Unsung Hero

In this podcast York St John MA Media Production student Mpho Dintwa talks to Everett Ndlovu, Lecturer in Journalism. Mpho discusses the making of his award-winning documentary Ties that Bind. The film, which received one of the top prizes at the Sotambe International Film Festival, tells the tale of Michael Dingake, a political activist and writer who was a fellow prisoner of Nelson Mandela in the battle against apartheid.

Feb 03, 202332:47
Social Action and the Radical Imagination

Social Action and the Radical Imagination

In this podcast, York St John University PhD student Jack Hunter talks to Sophia Parker, director of Emerging Futures at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). They discuss the relationship between the imagination and social action, whether we are experiencing a crisis of imagination, and discuss examples of inspiring activism that are trying to foster radical new ways of imagining the world.

Podcast transcript. 

Jan 10, 202343:26
Prison Partnership Project 3: Prison Placements and the Student Experience
Nov 01, 202221:48
Prison Partnership Project 2: Art and Criminal Justice
Nov 01, 202226:35
Prison Partnership Project 1: On the Out
Nov 01, 202219:41
Participatory Research with Autistic People

Participatory Research with Autistic People

In this conversation, Dr Brett Heasman (Psychology, YSJ), Carl Cameron (a lead peer mentor at the autism charity Matthew’s Hub), and Sammy Williams (YSJ researcher and member of Matthew’s Hub) discuss how to do participatory research with autistic people. They discuss various definitions of autism, the historical problems arising when autistic voices have not been included, and how such challenges should be addressed.

Transcript available here. 

Oct 17, 202237:51
Reflections on Current Issues in the Legal Professions with Lady Hale.
Sep 06, 202232:15
Student Mental Health and the University
Jul 27, 202242:27
Music, Leisure, Education

Music, Leisure, Education

Professor Lee Higgins - director of the International Centre for Community Music at York St John University - is joined by music education scholar Roger Mantie from the University of Toronto in Scarborough, Canada, to discuss questions surrounding social justice and their relation to the themes of music, leisure and education.

You can find the podcast transcript here. 

Jun 08, 202232:17
Paul Kissack: The Task Before Us
May 25, 202238:34
Youth, Education and Environmental Activism
Feb 28, 202241:28
Sharing Parental Leave

Sharing Parental Leave

Shared parental leave is a great policy that has the potential to bring about cultural change and drive gender equality. However, a key barrier to shared parental leave is the workplace support. Discussion in this podcast is based on shared parental leave and breastfeeding practices in UK Higher Education institution and by extension to practices in other sectors. The podcast highlights key barriers and recommendations which every employer should consider. This podcast is chaired by Professor Esther McIntosh of York St John University, in conversation with Dr Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi and Dr Anjali Raj (both York St John), Jessica Chivers of Talent Keeper Specialist, and Emma Shepherd of Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project.

Jan 04, 202248:45
Dark Academia: How Universities Die
Dec 01, 202129:34
The Social Contract of Research: Emerging from the Ruins of Empire

The Social Contract of Research: Emerging from the Ruins of Empire

If universities are founded for the common good, what is the social contract of research? In this podcast Matthew Reason, Director of the Institute for Social Justice, is joined by Dr Erinma Ochu, a transdisciplinary biologist and storyteller from the iSchool at Manchester Metropolitan University and visiting racial justice fellow at The Ada Lovelace Institute. Their conversation explores the potential of community-university partnerships, achieving equity in research funding and the value of ‘the commons’ for knowledge exchange to rebuild social and cultural infrastructures.

'We have the power those who came before us have given to us, to move beyond the place where they were standing.' Audre Lorde.

You can read the podcast transcript and find additional references and resources here.

Nov 02, 202142:51
Colonial Histories and Institutional Memory: York St John University's Historical Archive

Colonial Histories and Institutional Memory: York St John University's Historical Archive

Dr Adam Stock is joined by PhD researcher Amy McCarthy and Academic Services Manager Tom Peach to discuss a project which explored documented, institutional colonial histories in York St John University’s Historical Archive. Together they discuss historical pedagogy, colonial Christian Missionary work in Japan, India and Canada, and the complex implications for York St John as a social justice institution.

Sep 29, 202139:40
Giving Voice to the Non-Human

Giving Voice to the Non-Human

We understand better than ever that the human dramas of social justice can’t be disentangled from the natural ecosystems in which they are embedded. The creative artforms of storytelling, creative writing and theatre have an important role to play in helping us to see and understand these interconnections. But how can artforms which have tended to be all about human interactions develop ways of speaking for other species? Cath Heinemeyer and Liesl King of York St John University discuss these questions with Anthony Nanson, storyteller and author of Storytelling and Ecology: empathy, enchantment and emergence in the use of oral narratives.

Jul 30, 202151:03
Breaking Bread and Drinking Tea with Researchers of the Global Majority

Breaking Bread and Drinking Tea with Researchers of the Global Majority

Siara Illing-Ahmed is a Storyteller and PhD candidate at York St John University, she makes performances that use food and conversation to explore questions of identity and heritage. In late Spring 2021, the Institute for Social Justice commissioned Siara to create an audio performance featuring the voices and stories of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic researchers from York St John University. The result is this audio performance, a soundscape of voices and experiences that invites you to sit down and take your time to think about the lived experiences of other people within your academic community.

Jul 26, 202105:46
Dementia, Personhood and Social Justice: The Role of Creativity

Dementia, Personhood and Social Justice: The Role of Creativity

Dr Helen Pleasance and Caleb Klaces, both writers and Senior Lecturers at the York Centre for Writing, York St John University, speak to Dr Lucy Burke of Manchester Metropolitan University about the role of creative writing in achieving social justice for people with dementia. They discuss the concept of ‘personhood’, the ethics of literary representations of dementia and Lucy’s recent activism in response to the UK government’s COVID-19 policies.

Jun 29, 202134:36
Participatory Action Research and Social Justice

Participatory Action Research and Social Justice

Dr Joan Walton, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at York St John University, talks to Professor Hilary Bradbury, Co-Editor of The Sage Handbook of Action Research, and founder of AR+, which has the aim of making global knowledge democracy more available by supporting inter/transdisciplinary dialogue for those practising at the developmental edge of action research worldwide.  Hilary speaks about the work that she is doing to spread the practice of participatory action research, and actively encourage the involvement of marginal groups from both the global south and north.

May 28, 202126:20
Democratic Methodologies: Disrupting Research

Democratic Methodologies: Disrupting Research

Dr Charlotte Haines Lyon, lecturer at York St John University talks to Dr Debbie Ralls of University of Manchester and Professor Kaz Stuart of University of Cumbria.  Their conversation explores how democratic methodologies contribute to social justice and the variety of conundrums they pose. They discuss how democratic methodologies can disrupt power, research and also the academy.

Apr 30, 202144:25
Activism and Race within University Teaching and Research

Activism and Race within University Teaching and Research

In this podcast Matthew Reason, Director of the Institute for Social Justice, talks to Jonathan P Jones of New York University about universities as spaces for activism, whether through pedagogy, mentoring, research or institutional structures. They discuss the challenge and importance of exploring race within what are still predominantly white spaces and the importance of actively working to ensure that the future of universities is more diverse and representative.

Mar 31, 202134:10
The Role and Responsibilities of Universities in Transforming Society

The Role and Responsibilities of Universities in Transforming Society

Professor of Counselling Psychology at York St John University, Divine Charura, talks to Dr Jonathan Chaplin, a political theologian and a member of the divinity faculty at Cambridge University. Their discussion explores a range of matters including the role university has in activism and social justice, the qualities of a University of Sanctuary, and why it's important to engage in research and curriculum that identifies, exposes, and addresses systemic and interpersonal inequalities, injustices, and power relationships across society.

Feb 26, 202140:48
Education, Social Justice and Mental Health

Education, Social Justice and Mental Health

Nick Rowe is Director of Converge at York St John, which runs University-based courses in the arts to adults with experience of mental ill-health. In this podcast he talks to Brendan Stone, Professor of social engagement and the humanities at the University of Sheffield. Together they discuss the multiple benefits of opening up universities to work people with mental ill-health and the ways in which we all learn through our encounters with the lived experiences of other people.

Feb 01, 202129:49
Education and the Frontline of Climate Justice

Education and the Frontline of Climate Justice

YSJU lecturer in art and ecological justice Dr Cath Heinemeyer finds out more about climate justice from Thimali Kodikara, producer and presenter of the Mothers of Invention podcast (@MothersInvent), who has interviewed climate innovators and leaders from the grassroots to the top tables of global policy.

Jan 01, 202136:25