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Intersectionality in the liminal space: researching Caribbean women’s health in the UK context
Get PDFAfrican Caribbean women in the UK who are diagnosed with chronic illnesses that are related to overweight and obesity are more likely to experience poorer outcomes than their White British counterparts. It is then important to increase understandings of how women from this ethnic group perceive health with relation to body shape and size so that interventions can be developed to prevent the development of such conditions and to improve outcomes. As such, it is important to develop research methodology that encourages participation in health research from African Caribbean women and enables the capture of in-depth data that gives insight into the nuances of health understandings related to the body and the social realities in which they exist.
This paper details the methodological framework of The Big Talk project, an investigation that sought to develop a novel approach to conducting health research with seldom heard communities. The concept of intersectionality, as used in Critical Race Theory, was applied as a theoretical tool for exploring the dynamics of societal power and where this power intersects across the lived realities of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability and class. For this research, these intersections are explored for African Caribbean women and how they relate to concept of health, body shape and size.
This research study was conducted in spaces identified as liminal spaces for African Caribbean women: talk radio programmes; hairdressing salons and; local community groups. A Black feminist epistemological approach was used to facilitate the collection of data. The data that emerged from these liminal spaces are not necessarily definitive answers on health for African Caribbean women, but rather illuminate alternative ways of understanding the social world from the perspective of those subject to power.
This phenomenon makes liminal spaces intersectional in their construction and in taking such an approach to analysis could enable finely grained details of discourses regarding health, wellness and the body to be gathered. The importance of this understanding can help to improve preventive health interventions for African Caribbean women
Epistemological moor-ing. Re-positioning Foucault, Bourdieu and Derrida theory to its Northern African origins
Get PDFThe question of why the works of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu and Jacques Derrida are often attributed to France by HE lecturers and students when the origins or developments of their key ideas come from Africa is examined from critical and personal standpoints. The article joins the call for the decolonisation of the HE curriculum and gives detail to why the theory of these oft-cited thinkers and philosophers comes ‘out of Africa’ through an examination of their experiences in the Moorish regions of Tunisia and Algeria. Reasons for the attribution of the ideas to France are given including Eurocentrism, Wikipedisation of theory and the mythologization of France. This article is a response to the act of positioning theory which came from Africa as French in HE lectures. The authors consider why they might have done this including a deep reflection on the subject, listening to voices from Africa
Community perspectives of mathematics and statistics support in higher education: The role of the staff member
Get PDFMathematics support now forms a widely accepted and important part of the provision of higher education institutions within the UK and Ireland to assist students within their learning of mathematics and statistics, particularly as they make the transition to university study. Over the last 15 years it has seen growth as an area of scholarship, and behind this has been the role of those staff members who oversee, develop, deliver and research mathematics support within their institutions. To date, however, there has been little work that explores the roles, opportunities and recognition afforded to such individuals, but this is important if visibility for mathematics support as part of the provision and practice of higher education institutions is to continue to grow and a sustainable community of practitioners is to be established. Here we report on a survey of 51 individuals with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the mathematics and statistics support provision within their institutions. Findings show that the majority of staff with such responsibility for the delivery of mathematics support within institutions are in permanent roles and that in many instances this forms the sole focus of their employment; there also exists an important and visible role for postgraduates in the delivery of mathematics support. Finally, there is evidence that most staff working in this area feel recognised and well supported with opportunities to develop their roles, engage with professional development, and to contribute to a national community of practice
Performance and surveillance in an era of austerity: schooling the reflexive generation of Muslim young men
Get PDFThe last 15 years have seen a remarkable shift in the educational representation of British-born Muslim young men. In the media-led reclassification of them, from South Asian to Muslim, they have moved from ideal student to potential jihadist. This article draws upon a three-year ethnographic study with young Muslim men located within the West Midlands. A shared emphasis on structural issues across critical theoretical frameworks on neoliberalism, government discourses, such as Prevent, and counter narratives on Islamophobia serves to underplay young Muslim men’s subjectivity, and in so doing limits their self-authorization. We argue that at a time of intense state/institutional surveillance as a ‘suspect community’ and the criminalization of ethnic and religious difference, Muslim young men are in the process of negotiating late-modern urban masculine identities. Simultaneously, deploying a methodological reflexivity indicates that a re-reading of their narratives provides insights into recent political changes and national belonging
Review: Clouds: Nature and Culture, Richard Hamblyn, Reaktion Books, London (2017), p. 251, £14.95 paperback
Get PDFA new dialogue between biblical scholarship and Religious Education
Get PDFReligious Education (RE) naturally draws on various aspects of the academic study of religions to ensure the accuracy and currency of its content and pedagogy. This paper sets out the case for a more intense dialogue between RE and the field of biblical studies, in order to address perceived weaknesses in the teaching of Christianity in UK schools, specifically in the use of biblical material in the classroom. Two recent major shifts within biblical scholarship are highlighted here: (1) a transformation in the understanding of the first century Jewish context within which Christianity was formed; and (2) the emergence of new forms of biblical interpretation which draw on the perspectives of previously marginalised groups. These developments potentially have important and positive implications for RE, because they demonstrate the breadth and variety of the religions of early Judaism and Christianity; offer new information about central topics on current RE syllabi; raise questions about the plurality and ‘ownership’ of the interpretation of sacred texts; encourage greater nuance in applying biblical texts to contemporary theological and ethical debates; and provide space for people from varied backgrounds to engage directly with the biblical texts in informed and innovative ways
Development and Validation of the Five-Factor LAMBI Measure of God Representations
Get PDFGod representations are complex and there is no standard, relatively short, and easy to administer measure reflecting both anthropomorphic and abstract representations of God. We developed a new measure with five dimensions: Limitless, Authoritarian, Mystical, Benevolent, and Ineffable (the LAMBI scale). In Study 1, we used exploratory factor analysis to examine the factor structure of a preliminary list of 41 common adjectives that people might use to describe God. In Study 2, we identified the 25 best-fitting items, using confirmatory factor analysis to show that a five-factor model fit well, and began to validate the new scale using measures of religious commitment, individualistic spirituality, and Quest. In Study 3, we found the scale has good test-retest reliability. In Study 4, we examined the contribution of the LAMBI scales in predicting conservatism, values, and beliefs, above and beyond two existing measures of God representations. In Study 5, we used latent profile analysis to identify four response patterns across the five dimensions: Relational, Abstract, Unbelief, and Amorphous (no differences across the five dimensions) and show little relation between these profiles and religious group membership. We conclude that the LAMBI scale assesses important individual differences in thinking about God and can potentially be used to predict beliefs and social attitudes
Modeling the Cosmos: Transformative Pedagogy in Science and Religion
Get PDFThis article reflects on the classroom pedagogy promoted by Christopher Southgate and its implications for the science-theology conversation. It highlights several important aspects of Southgate’s pedagogy. The use of models of God, humanity and cosmos emphasize relationality while encouraging the synthesizing of ideas. The promotion of holism in theological reflection is vital for nurturing students to become theologians themselves through the active re-evaluation of key doctrines and ideas. An emphasis on ethical considerations reinforces synthesis between theology, science and ethics, and is vital for perspective transformation. These aspects of Southgate’s teaching should be recognized as vital for promoting intellectual independence, partnership and theological transformation, all of which are essential to good science and theology pedagogy
The Good, The True and the Beautiful: Imagining an Ethico-political Future for the Philosophy of Religion
Get PDFThis article argues that the future of philosophy of religion is ethical and political. Much of the current sense of dissatisfaction felt by both critics and practitioners of philosophy of religion can be traced to a perceived lack of relevance, a problem exacerbated by the diminishing, yet persistent, divide between Anglo-American and Continental approaches. A philosophy of religion that is committed to the Platonic ideals of Goodness, Truth and Beauty offers an ethical and political imaginary that has the potential to make philosophy of religion able to consider the most urgent problems of our age. It is argued here that the work of Pamela Sue Anderson, Douglas Hedley and Mark Wynn encapsulates these Platonic ideals and shows how the philosophy of religion can model itself as truth seeking, innovative and transformative