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.

In this episode, Laura Gillespie shares her insights into the topic that has been the focus of her research: ‘Contraband Camps.’ Contraband’ camps represent a contested and often neglected aspect of the American Civil War. Established behind Union army lines, they comprised African American former slaves who sought refuge from their owners and joined the forces against them. As such, they are a unique aspect of the history of racial discrimination, displaying not only the dire conditions to which African Americans were exposed due to racism, but also their own active agency and contribution in the fight for their liberation. Together with Chrysi, Laura discusses the challenges of doing research into a topic interwoven with racial discrimination and social inequalities traceable still to this day. Laura explains the responsibility of the researcher in having empathy and representing appropriately the humans under study. She highlights the value of Public History, and explains why a researcher’s work is always collective. Finally, Laura highlights that ‘you do you!’

In this episode Dr Yassin Brunger, Lecturer in Human Rights Law, Co-Director of the QUB Gender Network (@Gender_Network) and Co-Chair of QUB’s iRise, the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network, talks with Esther Andare and Oluwayomi Olaide-Kolapo, members of the committee of the student African-Caribbean Society. What does the student-led African-Caribbean Society do? What does it mean to be of African and Caribbean descent in Northern Ireland? How did the Black Lives Matter movement affect the ACS? Why is it essential to decolonize the curriculum? And how the Black experience is not just about racism but also about joy.

March resonates with the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In this episode Chrysi Kyratsou talks with Sydney Holt, PhD candidate at School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at QUB. Sydney unravels what fuels racism and how racial discriminations are expressed. Drawing on her research expertise and her personal experience, she explains why certain forms of racism may go unspotted, and how racism affects not only the targeted group, but the whole society. Finally, Sydney makes clear how each one of us may participate in systems that discriminate against minorities and how it is our job as human beings, to recognise our privilege and complicity and work to undo it.

February is all about building community here at QUB Voices. In this episode, we spotlight the work that the postgraduate student officers have been doing to help us feel connected and supported during the pandemic. Ciara McAllister speaks to Tasha, Elena and Lydia from QUBSU about all things Teams, finance and support.

You can contact Tasha, the Postgraduate Student Officer at [email protected]