Silent Voices Research Articles

Beyond the curriculum: A gay medical student's perceptions of health sciences education and healthcare access in KwaZulu-Natal.

The prevailing social constructs of cis-heteronormativity and endosexism have structurally marginalised sexual and gender minorities, leading to their limited representation and inclusion in mainstream health systems and health sciences education. The study aimed to explore a gay medical student's perceptions of the health sciences curriculum and their experiences in accessing and utilising healthcare services offered both by the university and externally. At a university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study originates from a larger qualitative study conducted in 2018, involving 12 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT)-identifying participants who were selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The larger study used a case study approach to explore how healthcare services meet the sexual health needs of LGBT youth. Among the 12 sampled participants, one participant self-identified as 'gay' and was pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. This participant was specifically selected for analysis in this study because of their knowledge of health sciences education and pursuit of a career in healthcare. Three themes were identified in the participant's interview, including: (1) navigating healthcare services as a young gay man, (2) silenced voices: the impact of the limited Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual and + (LGBTIQA+) health education, and (3) challenging the silenced voices. There is a need for a well-planned curriculum that includes LGBTIQA+ issues to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge to provide high-quality care to all patients, regardless of their sex, gender, or sexuality. The study provides solid proposals for developing an inclusive healthcare curriculum that considers identities beyond binary going forward.

Transcending Boundaries: The Role of Literature in Challenging Social Norms and Redefining Perspectives on Migration and Cultural Marginality Through the Works of Halaby, Lahiri, and Hamid

This study aims to examine the transformative power of literature in challenging prevailing social norms and reshaping perspectives on migration, alterity, and cultural marginalization. Focusing on the novels Once in a Promised Land by Layla Halaby, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, and Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, the analysis examines the representation of the individual Other, challenging stereotypes, and highlighting the characters’ personal and political traumas. The concept of nowhereness, which stands for the emotional and psychological state of migrants moving in unfamiliar cities, is explored, highlighting the paradoxical experience of simultaneous death and rebirth. The characters in these novels are in a deep state of emptiness, serving as “citizens in waiting and deportees in waiting.” Their experiences in the liminal space of waiting are closely intertwined, creating a shared temporal landscape that enriches the exploration of the complexity of migrants. In this regard, the authors challenge the conventional tactics of silencing voices and concealing images to transform the harrowing ordeals of the Other into a powerful means of social introspection. The authors engage with Western hegemony and imperialism, seeking to inspire understanding and admiration for subaltern cultures that are marginalized by the Western world.

Athens as socio-material enactments: Experiencing the city through an art walk

In this article, I expand on the characterization of the city of Athens as a palimpsest. I embark on an analysis of the kaleidoscopic dynamics of the Greek capital, where contradictory elements can be traced. I draw on my ethnographic work on artistic practices in Athens to work towards a conceptualization of the city as multiple precarious enactments emerging simultaneously. As a way into this analysis, I follow an artistic guided walk, performed by the artist Aris Papadopoulos before an audience in the summer of 2020, throughout central parts of Athens. By describing scenes from this art walk, incoherencies emerge that, as I will argue, point to interfering and overlapping enactments of the same city. I adopt a science and technology studies approach to analyse how varying practices interweave into specific enactments. It is hoped that this approach can help us understand that no singular (and therefore reductive) representation of Athens is being sustained or promoted. Instead, it allows for inconsistencies and heterogeneous elements to come out and for silenced voices to be heard.

Witnessing the Architecture of a Cancellation: The Silencing of Voices on Palestine in Austrian Academia

This article analyzes the cancellation of a public lecture by Palestinian scholar, Walaa Alqaisiya, during a curatorial program at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in May 2022 due to false accusations of antisemitism in the context of anti-Palestinian racism in Austria. We speak of an ‘architecture’ because we analyze the questions of power, (in)visibility and erasure from the point of view of the public and institutional spaces, asking who can speak, about what and for whom, when? As a collective of former participants, we write from an implicated positionality that we call ‘participatory witnesses:’ the program ceased to be an abstract exploration of decolonial and queer/feminist perspectives, and transformed us affectively and politically, forcing us to critically respond to the censorship. We start by summarizing the unfolding of events and introducing the figure of the participatory witness and the concept of architecture. Then, we turn to Austrian academia’s climate of censorship of Palestinian perspectives. From this context, we analyze Alqaisiya’s cancellation through the prism of Euromodern Orientalist tropes, disciplinary strategies and civilizational discourses employed to continue the marginalization and exclusion of Palestinian perspectives. We pay particular attention to the significance of silencing queer Palestinian voices in the context of Israeli pinkwashing. Finally, we mnemonically map our attempts at navigating the architecture, negotiating between reclaiming public visibility for queer Palestinian perspectives and collective acts of refusal and delinking.

Racism Experienced by Callum and His Family in Malorie Blackman's Noughts + Crosses'

Racism has been a prevalent issue ever since the concept of race was known to mankind, due to this fact, a lot of kinds of racism emerged in society.This study explained the experiences of Callum and his family through the levels of racism as well as how they responded towards the racism itself in the novel Noughts + Crosses by Malorie Blackman. This study itself is a literary criticism focusing on sociological approaches by employing two theories, one by Camarra Phylis Jones named levels of racism (2000) and the second one is multimotive theory by Richman & Leary (2009). Based on the analysis of this study, the first level of Jones’ theory seems to be the most prominent out of the three which is the institutional racism, the characters in this novel were restricted or has limited access to quite a lot of government infrastructure, silenced voice, as well as small quantity of representative in power. While the personally-mediated racism manifested itself through the suspicion of minorities; especially Callum, lack of respect from the Crosses, devaluation of minorities’ capabilities, scapegoating, and dehumanization through hate crime and police brutality. In internalized racism there is also evidence of whiteness as in Lynette’s case where she believes herself to be black as well as self-devaluation by the characters themselves for example Ryan who used the slur word to his own race. Callum and his family responded with various types of response, such as Jude who is leaning towards being more aggressive after the experience of racism while Callum at least try to regain relational value within the society with relationship-promoting response as well as trying to exclude or withdraw himself from the society with avoidance or withdrawal response.

Origins of Critical Theory and the Exclusion of the Black Philosopher W. E. B. Du Bois

Critical Theory is generative for the advancement of subsequent types of progressive theories that seek justice across multiple spectrums of philosophies. Its origin manifested at the Frankfurt School, among a group of privileged White men seeking to eradicate social ills in Germany during World War II while lacking sufficient global experience and understanding to apply the theory to macro injustices. While critical theory did not redress the limitations of the intellectualized vision, the theory was reconceptualized as more encompassing with its forced relocation to the United States, though still limited in its application to the social ills of woman’s suffrage and the civil rights movement of Blacks in the United States. In flux, the revised critical theory became propagative. Despite its limitations illustrated here in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois, Critical Theory gave rise to scholarships that highlight injustices across areas it did not foresee that include race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and anticolonialism. As a result of Critical Theory across modernities, some silenced voices can be heard, despite what some have labeled an exclusionary canon.

Silent Voices and Absent Referents

Silent Voices and Absent Referents

Insights into UK Teachers’ Wellbeing and Workload during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Testimonies from the Silent Voices and Lessons Learnt

This paper presents the findings of a national survey of over 3400 teachers across all phases of education in England, 10 weeks into school closure. In this paper we report on the teachers’ experiences and their testimonies of the effects of the lockdown on their wellbeing as they navigate the situation, trying to cope with teaching and adjusting to the use of new technology to deliver lessons in the confines of their home. We present their voices as they related their experiences and emotions in real time as the event unfolded. Teachers reported an increased workload with a proportionately large amount of time spent on administrative duties and planning, but less on actual teaching. On average, these teachers spent 15 h a week marking during the lockdown. Under half of the respondents said they felt happy and cheerful often, while only 17% said they did not feel this way often. Almost all teachers said they felt that what they were doing was important and worthwhile. The most common emotions expressed by teachers were fear, isolation, neglect, anxiety, and confusion. The inconsistency and lack of clarity of government guidelines added to teachers’ anxiety. The negative media portrayal of teachers did not help. The majority of teachers reported little previous experience in online teaching and only a quarter were confident in using edtech to deliver remote teaching. Only a third of teachers said they were adequately supported for online teaching. This has implications for future teacher development and initial teacher training. However, there were equally numerous positive experiences reported by teachers. Active support from parents and consistent school-home communication were seen as important in ensuring students’ continued engagement with learning. These lessons are beneficial in supporting the long-term sick and school refusers post-lockdown.

Silencing Voices: Indigenous day schools and the education section of the 1958 Hawthorn report for British Columbia

In 1954, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration commissioned anthropologist Harry Hawthorn to investigate problems faced by Indigenous people in British Columbia. This article focuses on Hawthorn’s report, The Indians of British Columbia (1958) and compares its recommendations with the original source questionnaire responses found at the University of British Columbia’s Archives and Special Collections. The responses examined, collected near the peak of day school enrollment in British Columbia, offer new insights directly from educators about their perspectives on the problems faced by Indigenous children attending day schools, and more broadly Indigenous communities as a whole. Key changes apparent in the questionnaire responses and 1958 report showcase the absence of Indigenous voices in any of the questionnaires and a lack of interest from educators in the communities, though such interest is claimed in the report. Both the questionnaires and Hawthorn’s resulting report recommend a consistent antithetical juxtaposition of Indigenous versus western, the discouragement of family ties, and the limitation of formal education to school-aged children. Such findings work to balance Hawthorn’s status as an advocate of Indigenous rights with the damaging realities indicated through and supported by his report. Through this analysis, we aim to further understandings of the impact of day schools on communities in British Columbia, and to view kinship within a reality of resilience and survival.

Critical literacy in an indigenous elementary EFL classroom

The purpose of this study was to examine what happens when indigenous students, in a Grade 6 class in rural Taiwan, critically examine EFL textbooks. Without a critical reading of textbook content, indigenous students are unable to examine unfavorable mainstream position. However, there are few English as a Foreign Language (EFL) studies on a critical literacy approach involving indigenous students. Data collected include observations and transcripts of critical literacy teaching, participants’ artifacts, responses to questionnaires, interviews, and the researcher's reflection journal. The findings show that critical literacy classes can empower indigenous students by providing alternative ways for them to view the world and lead them to discern norms and “silenced voices” in EFL textbooks, and to “cross borders” by noticing and addressing sociopolitical power, thereby repositioning their own identities. The study extends the knowledge in knowing how critical literacy work for indigenous group and gives suggestions to EFL teachers.

Claudio Zulian’s Sin miedo: Film as Action and Memory

This study analyzes the collective pursuit of justice and memory in Sin miedo [Without Fear] (Zulian, 2017). The documentary is a grassroots implementation of a 2012 Inter-American Court of Human Rights judgement. The relatives of desaparecidos/as during the Guatemalan military dictatorship were the catalysts for the film’s creation. This study focuses on a filmic analysis of techniques, research on the history of the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, and relevant information on the family members’ hunt for justice, such as the detailing and connection of common crimes to politically motivated ones. A continued climate of impunity in Guatemala is challenged by the protagonists as they utilize the collection of testimonials and evidence to break cultures of enforced silence and fear. Zulian’s documentary claims new ground as it provides the relatives with the means to fulfill the court mandate and to actively construct and position their forcibly disappeared family members’ stories and their own within Guatemala’s historical narrative. Through their dynamic involvement in Sin miedo (2017), the relatives participate in the conversion of film into action and memory. These findings support grassroots movements in (re)shaping dominant narratives through media like film; they are also a reminder of the power of silenced voices and of the varied forms that claims for justice can take, from court mandates to documentaries.

Silent Voices of Immigrants and Refugees Battling with Mental Health and Addiction during COVID-19: A Follow- Up Population-Based Cohort Retrospective Study in Ontario, Canada

Silent Voices of Immigrants and Refugees Battling with Mental Health and Addiction during COVID-19: A Follow- Up Population-Based Cohort Retrospective Study in Ontario, Canada

Seeking access. Applied ethnopoetic analysis

Abstract This paper discusses a poetic output of a research project at the intersection of linguistic ethnography (LE) and poetic inquiry (PI) which explores the barriers experienced by refugee and asylum seekers, seeking access to Higher Education. The research draws on Jan Blommaert’s applied ethnopoetics (AEP) work to reconstruct silenced voices (Blommaert, 2006). AEP as a ‘means of recognition’ of marginalised voices is explored. The paper goes on to explore the transformative possibilities for knowledge production offered by combining AEP with PI. This innovative approach and output are presented as act of resistance to normative expectations within academia which freeze conditions for voice (Blommaert, 2008). Questions are then offered to consider how we might advance the approach and its emancipatory potential further.

Patriarchal politics, online violence and silenced voices: The decline of women in politics in Zimbabwe

Patriarchal politics, online violence and silenced voices: The decline of women in politics in Zimbabwe

Words are delicious

Words are delicious

Text]uring: writing through fashion for a new literacies dissertation

The term 'literacy' encompasses reading and writing practices, each with distinct meanings and histories. Scholars define individuals as 'literate' or 'illiterate' based on these practices, a point not to be taken lightly. New literacies studies have expanded literacy from print to encompass all forms of meaning-making, leading to an expansion of associated terminology. In American higher education, despite the expanded meanings of terms like 'writing' and 'text,' the term 'research' remains dominated by written language, even within dedicated disciplines (Coiro et al. 2008; New London Group 1996; Wilber 2008). Through a cultural studies perspective, I traced the historical evolution of American literacy to the present day. The study revealed darker consequences of literacy's past, providing insights for scholars to understand silenced voices and advocate for their inclusion in the future. Given the ever-expanding practices of literacy, the need for increased attention to writing instruction, and the problematic otherness of arts-based disciplines such as fashion, my goal is to broaden the range of accepted scholarly compositions in higher education. I believe this pursuit is key to the advancement of academic research publications. To address this paradox, I actively embraced new literacy practices by creating a dissertation supported by Barone & Eisner’s (2012) concept of arts based research. Drawing on my experiences in the industry, I sought to challenge views of fashion as frivolous by writing my dissertation in the language of dress, offering a new perspective on the interwovenness of literacy and fashion. My dissertation argues that fashion is a form of writing by exploring nonverbal communication in scholarly work. This move reconciled the perceived frivolity with the substantive nature of fashion and ignited my commitment to the acceptance of research in diverse language forms.

Missing voices: Office space discontent as a driving force in employee hybrid work preferences

AbstractThis paper draws on rich qualitative and survey data to show that employee discontent with office space is a major driving force in employee hybrid‐work preferences. Despite voice marginalisation, employees wish to take advantage of increased control over their physical working conditions and the locus of work that hybrid work has unexpectedly brought in their working lives. Taking cues from the literature on employee voice, this paper suggests that employee missing or silenced voices can be conceptualised as latent: hidden but potentially influential and inactive but potentially triggered by shifts in the labour market conditions or other external to organisations changes. The paper also brings attention to empirical academic studies as an employee voice mechanism.

An Intertextual Approach to the Political Poetry of Griselda Alvarez

The political poetry of Griselda Álvarez has played a fundamental role in the history of Mexico by highlighting silenced voices and social struggles through her verses. As the first female governor in Mexico, Álvarez paved the way for women in politics, and her poetry reflects her commitment to social justice and women's rights. Her poems, including Canto a las barbas, address pressing issues such as gender inequality, political oppression, and the fight for freedom, offering a critical and poetic perspective on the political reality of her time. Griselda Álvarez's work reveals the complex nature of art, which allows for connections between the ineffable essence of being and historical social issues. In this study, we use an intertextual analysis to approach her literary creation from a critical perspective, through which we observe that poetry constructs feelings, sensations, and beauty, while also serving as a tool for resistance and denunciation.

Teaching Art through Engaging Anti-racist Viewpoints: Privileging an Indigenous Lens

Art teacher educators have obligations to prepare preservice art teachers and researchers to be culturally competent, to understand how to respectfully and knowledgeably include silenced voices into the classroom. Through this paper, we share a collaborative project we engaged with two arts-based researcher student groups toward approaching art learning from an anti-racist perspective using the lens of an Indigenous Pedagogy We demonstrate an Anti-Racist teaching cycle we applied that begins with cultural competency and leads to cultural relevancy. The project culminated with the development of anti-racist lesson plans toward a museum exhibition that utilized recommendations shared by four contemporary Native American Artists. Our purpose was to explore a method for changing the narrative by inserting multiple Indigenous artists’ voices into the classroom conversation.

From influencing school food to handling hate speech: Methods, areas, and limitations of active citizenship in Finnish social studies textbooks

Historically, education for active citizenship has not been a high priority in Finnish schools. In this discursive study of Finnish social studies textbooks for grades 4–6, we investigate how students are encouraged to practice active citizenship, where the focus of active citizenship lies, and how active citizenship is limited in antidemocratic ways. Referring to the theoretical discussion about democracy in education, we note a discursive focus on individual influencing and communication skills as methods for active citizenship education. We find that active citizenship focuses on students’ immediate surroundings, the school, and the local area as potential fields of influence. We note how antidemocratic threats to active citizenship are often portrayed with a focus on individual feelings and manners, not on understanding democratic structures and antidemocratic threats such as silencing voices through online hate speech. We welcome a discussion about how young students can become active citizens, by encouraging a more democratic classroom culture within social studies, thereby creating space for imagining alternative futures and utopian thinking.