Workshop on Transformative Engaged Scholarship with Prof. dr. Halleh Ghorashi on for Early Career Researchers

How can we position ourselves as researchers in times of societal polarization, particularly when doing research around contested issues related to migration, gender, social inequalities, racism, and sexism? What are different ways to be socially engaged as a scholar? Come and join us for our workshop of the PhD group of the Migration and Societal Change Focus Area at Utrecht University for the Transformative Engaged Scholarship workshop facilitated by Prof. dr. Halleh Ghorashi, professor for Diversity and Integration (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).

Workshop description 

How can we position ourselves as researchers in times of societal polarization, particularly when doing research around contested issues related to for instance migration, gender, racism, and sexism? What are different ways to be socially engaged as a scholar? The workshop is inspired by Prof. dr. Ghorashi’s lecture during the Migration and Societal Change Conference last year with the following abstract: In this lecture I will discuss various approaches of engaged scholarship and present how my own understanding of this concept has evolved throughout my academic journey. I will show the importance of critical theory and feminist epistemology in approaching engaged scholarship from a transformative angle. Then I will zoom in further in discussing the ingredients of what I call transformative engaged scholarship which has epistemic justice at its core and meaningful co-creation of various forms of knowledge as its methodology. Such scholarship aims to engage with societal actors to co-generate social change towards inclusion on meso and macro levels. I will present some examples from our research within the expertise lab: Refugee Academy at the VU to elaborate further on the importance of such forms of engaged scholarship for academia, society, and refugees.

Program

• 10:30 - 11:00 Welcome and Registration Time: Enjoy tea, coffee, and cookies, providing an opportunity for PhD students from different faculties and Prof. dr. Ghorashi to connect and get to know each other.
• 11:00 - 11:30 Lecture by Prof. dr. Halleh Ghorashi: Lecture on Transformative Engagement: Exploring how PhD students can incorporate transformative scholarship into their research, with a focus on methodology, data collection, epistemological choices (categories), and discussion.
• 11:30 - 13:00 Discussion + Interactive Workshop: Engage in a discussion and short Q&A session with Prof. dr. Ghorashi following the lecture. Afterward, participate in an interactive workshop where PhD students will reflect on their own research and explore alternative research designs, categorizations, or theoretical lenses aligned with a transformative engagement approach.