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Contemporary student geographies: inequalities, injustices, and agency (1)
August 30, 2023 @ 9:00 am – 10:40 am
Convenors: Matej Blazek (Newcastle University; matej.blazek@ncl.ac.uk) John McKendrick (Glasgow Caledonian University; j.mckendrick@gcu.ac.uk)
Without having fully recovered from Covid-19 disruptions, university education is being enveloped in a confluence of emergent crises, among others: (i) cost-of-living struggles, unaffordability of studies, and increasing debts that plunge students into poverty, (ii) colonial legacy and everyday manifestations of structural racism, (iii) gender-based violence, transphobia and abuse of power within institutions, and (iv) the rise of poor student mental health along with eroding support structures. At the same time, we witness a rise of student activism facing and challenging these issues, from campaigns to decolonise the curriculum, through student rent strikes, to efforts to root out misogyny and racism from campuses. In this session we invite papers that take stock of contemporary university student geographies, with a particular focus on three interrelated issues: – Structural inequalities and injustices, as experienced by students or manifested otherwise – Students’ own agency in facing, addressing, and challenging these issues – Critical reflections on the roles and responsibilities of academics in supporting students to challenge injustices within the Academy We are interested in research and insight from practice that explores the structural factors that underlie the uneven student experience of university education, and students’ capacities to act as agents of change. We welcome 15-minute contributions from a range of geographical, cultural and institutional contexts; papers that focus on undergraduate and/or postgraduate education; and also those that provide historical insight on contemporary student geographies.
Note: this is the first of a 2-part in-person session. Event details for the second part can be found here.
You can find the full list of speakers, titles and abstracts for this event at https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule/e8539db3-8965-4ac3-9860-4220d0c20d3e
For the full list of GeogEd RGS Annual International conference listings, please visit https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule?trackIds=bb7c70fb-f09d-42d8-b13e-4de4ccc7ea3c&date=2023-08-30