Dr Melania Calestani
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
- Department of Midwifery
- School of Education, Midwifery and Social Work
- Kingston Hill
Senior Lecturer (Department Lead for Research) Medical Anthropologist
- Email:
- m.calestani@kingston.ac.uk
About
I am an anthropologist with postdoctoral experience in health services research and social sciences. My main teaching and research interests are in qualitative/ethnographic research methods and medical anthropology. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the department lead for research.
I teach on undergraduate/postgraduate degrees in Midwifery and on the Doctor of Education Programme. I am module leader for Social and Political Context of Birth 2 (2nd year Midwifery) and Knowledge and Practice in Educational Settings (Doctor of Education programme). I also lead the Ways of Knowing thread, which is integrated into all modules to ensure the assimilation of research knowledge and its application to clinical practice. I have been supervising PhD students and Master students (mainly MRes in Clin Research and MSc in Global Health at St George's University) researching different topics. I am also an active member of the Midwifery Tackling Racism Working Group and have been acting as the chair of the Group since September 2023.
I have experience of carrying out research in Europe, the UK, Bolivia and Mexico. My main research interests include critical understandings of race and ethnicity, health inequalities and perspectives from critical medical anthropology. Throughout my studies and professional work, I have had a personal and passionate engagement with biosocial research concerning health, disease and well-being and, theoretically, I have engaged with perspectives form critical medical anthropology and epidemiology, linking the macro with the micro level. I am interested in perspectives from the margins, critical theory and social justice.
Qualifications
- PgCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
- PhD, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MRes, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MSc, Anthropology and Ecology of Development, UCL (University of London)
- MSc (3 years + 1) , Geography, University of Genoa (Italy)
Domains
I teach on undergraduate/postgraduate degrees in Midwifery and on the EdD (Doctor of Education) programme.
Teaching
Module leader:
-Social and Political Context of Birth 2 (2nd year Midwifery).
-Ways of Knowing Threat (1st, 2nd and 3rd year Midwifery).
-Knowledge and Practice in Educational Settings (Doctor of Education Programme).
Contribute to:
-Social and Political Context of Birth 1 (1st year Midwifery).
-Social and Political Context of Birth 3 (3rd year Midwifery).
-Policy Transfer and Analysis (Doctor of Education Programme).
Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- PgCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
Courses taught
My work in Bolivia for my PhD (2009) in anthropology has focused on individual and collective definitions of 'the good life', exploring religious and medical pluralism among Aymara people. In the UK, I carried out research on processes of decision-making and person-centred care in the NHS. Most recently, I have conducted critical ethnographic research on spiritual care in hospitals, examining how practices of prayer can be transgressive, affecting power relations and experiences of inclusion/exclusion. My research interests also include critical understandings of race and ethnicity, health inequalities and perspectives from critical medical anthropology. Throughout my studies and professional work, I have had a personal and passionate engagement with biosocial research concerning health, disease and well-being and, theoretically, I have engaged with perspectives form critical medical anthropology and epidemiology, linking the macro with the micro level. I am interested in perspectives from the margins, critical theory and social justice.
Recent Research Grants
2021 - present Women and birthing people's Experiences of Induction of Labour (CAHSCR First Grant Scheme, Collaborators: Dr Kirstie Coxon and Dr Chao Wang)
Awards
2017 Jim Lewis Prize for the most innovative article in the journal European Urban and Regional Studies: Gregson, N., Crang, M., Botticello, J., Calestani, M. and Krzywoszynska, A. "Doing the 'dirty work' of the green economy: Resource recovery and migrant labour in the EU" in European Urban and Regional Studies 23.4 (2016): 541-555.
2010 Ashby Prize for the most innovative article in the journal Environment and Planning A: Gregson, N., Watkins, H. and Calestani, M. ‘Inextinguishable Fibres: Demolition and the Vital Materialism of Asbestos' in Environment and Planning A, 2010, Volume 42 (5), pages: 1065-1083.
2009 Best dissertation award granted by the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) https://isqols.org/dissertationaward PhD Thesis with fieldwork in Bolivia
Publications
Managing chronicity in unequal states : ethnographic perspectives on caring
(2021). London, U.K.: (UCL Press)
Vivir bien/Buen vivir and post-neoliberal development paths in Latin America : scope, strategies, and the realities of implementation
(2021). (SAGE Publications)
Prayer as transgression? The social relations of prayer in healthcare settings
Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl, Sharma, Sonya, Brown, Rachel and Calestani, Melania (2020). Montreal, Quebec: (McGill-Queen's University Press)
Youth on religion : the development, negotiation and impact of faith and non-faith identity
Madge, Nicola, Hemming, Peter J., Stenson, Kevin, Allum, Nick, Calestani, Melania, Goodman, Anthony, King, Katherine, Kingston, Sarah and Webster, Colin (2013). London, U.K.: (Routledge)
An anthropological journey into well-being: insights from Bolivia
Calestani, Melania (2013). Dordrecht, Netherlands: (Springer Netherlands)
How experiences of weight stigma impact higher-weight women during their maternity care : a meta-ethnography.
Cunningham, Jenny, Calestani, Dr. Melania and Coxon, Dr. Kirstie, 2024, Midwifery, pp 104242
Experiencias y significación de la pandemia de Covid-19 en población indígena en situación de vulnerabilidad estructural : un estudio cualitativo en el estado de Oaxaca
Montesi, Laura, Calestani, Melania and Ortega Zavala, Nadia, 2023, Región y sociedad (35), pp e1785
The circular paradox of including people with severe brain injuries and reduced decisional capacity in research : a feasibility study exploring randomised research, consent-based recruitment biases, and the resultant health inequities
Clark, Teresa, Lewko, Agnieszka and Calestani, Melania, 2023, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice
Managing uncertainty in multidisciplinary renal team meetings : decision-making processes and complex challenges in kidney transplant listing
Calestani, Melania, Roderick, Paul, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Ravanan, Rommel and Leydon, Geraldine M., 2023
Toxic legacies and health inequalities of the Anthropocene : perspectives from the margins
Calestani, Melania, 2023, Medicine Anthropology Theory (10), 2
Family carers’ experiences of dysphagia after a stroke : an exploratory study of spouses living in a large metropolitan city
Robinson, Anna, Coxon, Kirstie, McRae, Jackie and Calestani, Melania, 2022, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
Supporting girls and young women victims of sexual harassment in schools : "me and you and everyone we know"
Goodman, Anthony and Calestani, Melania, 2022, Safer Communities (21), 1, pp 1-18
Introduction. Vivir bien / Buen vivir and post-neoliberal development paths in Latin America : scope, strategies and the realities of implementation
Artaraz, Kepa, Calestani, Melania and Trueba, Mei, 2021, Latin American Perspectives (48), 3, pp 4-16
Perceived impact on efficiency and safety of experienced American physician assistants / associates in acute hospital care in England : findings from a multi-site case organisational study
Drennan, Vari M, Calestani, Melania, Taylor, Francesca, Halter, Mary and Levenson, Ros, 2020, JRSM Open (11), 10
Integration and retention of American physician assistants/associates working in English hospitals : a qualitative study
Taylor, Francesca, Drennan, Vari M, Halter, Mary and Calestani, Melania, 2020, Health Policy (124), 5, pp 525-530
Book Review of : 'The quest for the good life in precarious times : ethnographic perspectives in the domestic moral economy' edited by Chris Gregory and Jon Altman
Calestani, Melania, 2019, The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology (20), 1, pp 105-107
Caring for nature matters : a relational approach for understanding nature's contributions to human well-being
Jax, Kurt, Calestani, Melania, Chan, Kai M.A., Eser, Uta, Keune, Hans, Muraca, Barbara, O'Brien, Liz, Potthast, Thomas, Voget-Kleschin, Lieske and Wittmer, Heidi, 2018, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (35), pp 22-29
Learning from an early pilot of the Dutch Buurtzorg model of district nursing in England
Drennan, Vari, Ross, Fiona, Calestani, Melania, Saunders, Mary and West, Peter, 2018, Primary Health Care (28), 6, pp 23-25
Variation in practice patterns for listing patients for renal transplantation in the United Kingdom : a national survey
Pruthi, Rishi, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Calestani, Melania, Leydon, Geraldine, Eyles, Caroline, Oniscu, Gabriel C., Tomson, Charles, Bradley, Andrew, Forsythe, John L., Bradley, Clare, Cairns, John, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher, Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel, Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian, Ravanan, Rommel and Roderick, Paul J., 2018, Transplantation (102), 6, pp 961-968
Tackling the workforce crisis in district nursing : can the Dutch Buurtzorg model offer a solution and a better patient experience? A mixed methods case study
Drennan, Vari M, Calestani, Melania, Ross, Fiona, Saunders, Mary and West, Peter, 2018, BMJ Open (8), 6, pp e021931
Assessing consensus between UK renal clinicians on listing for kidney transplantation : a modified Delphi Study
Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Taylor, Dominic M., Leydon, Geraldine M., Calestani, Melania, Oniscu, Gabriel C., Bradley, J. Andrew, Tomson, Charles R., Bradley, Claire, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher J.E., Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel J., Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian G., Ravanan, Rommel and Roderick, Paul, 2018, Transplantation Direct (4), 5, pp e343
Book Review of: 'Gender, globalisation, and health in a Latin America context' by Jasmine Gideon
Calestani, Melania, 2017, Bulletin of Latin American Research (36), 2, pp 266-267
Doing the 'dirty work' of the green economy: resource recovery and migrant labour in the EU
Gregson, Nicky, Crang, Mike, Botticello, Julie, Calestani, Melania and Krzywoszynska, Anna, 2016, European Urban and Regional Studies (23), 4, pp 541-555
Suma qamana in Bolivia: indigenous understandings of well-being and their contribution to a post-neoliberal paradigm
Artaraz, Kepa and Calestani, Melania, 2015, Latin American Perspectives (42), 5, pp 216-233
Patient attitudes towards kidney transplant listing : qualitative findings from the ATTOM study
Calestani, Melania, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Leydon, Geraldine, Ravanan, Rommel, Bradley, J. Andrew, Tomson, Charles R., Forsythe, John L., Oniscu, Gabriel C., Bradley, Clare, Cairns, John, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher, Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel J., Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian G. and Roderick, Paul, 2014, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (29), 11, pp 2144-2150
Book Review: Evo Morales and the Movimiento al Socialismo in Bolivia - edited by Pearce, Adrian J
Calestani, Melania, 2013, Bulletin of Latin American Research (32), 4, pp 512-513
Vivir bien, entre utopía y realidad [Living well, between utopia and reality]
Artaraz, Kepa and Calestani, Melania, 2013, Tabula Rasa (18), pp 105-123
Using computer decision support systems in NHS emergency and urgent care: ethnographic study using normalisation process theory
Pope, Catherine, Halford, Susan, Turnbull, Joanne, Prichard, Jane S., Calestani, Melania and May, Carl, 2013, BMC Health Services Research (13), 111, pp 1-13
Political markets: recycling, economization and marketization
Gregson, Nicky, Watkins, Helen and Calestani, Melania, 2013, Economy and Society (42), 1, pp 1-25
Being 'an authentic alteño': young people in a Bolivian Andean city
Calestani, Melania, 2012, Journal of Youth Studies (15), 4, pp 541-555
Inextinguishable fibres: demolition and the vital materialism of asbestos
Gregson, Nicky, Watkins, Helen and Calestani, Melania, 2010, Environment and Planning A (42), 5, pp 1065-1083
'Suerte' (Luck): spirituality and well-being in El Alto, Bolivia
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Applied Research in Quality of Life (4), 1, pp 47-75
An anthropology of 'The Good Life' in the Bolivian Plateau
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Social Indicators Research (90), 1, pp 141-153
Book Review: Sian Lazar, El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia. London: Duke University Press, 2008.
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Critique of Anthropology (29), 4, pp 471-472
Book review: Alberto Corsín Jiménez (ed.), Culture and Well-being: Anthropological Approaches to Freedom and Political Ethics. London: Pluto Press, 2008.
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Critique of Anthropology (29), 1, pp 125-126
Three narratives of anthropological engagement
Calestani, Melania, Kyriakakis, Ioannis and Tassi, Nico, 2007, Anthropology Matters (9), 2
The biopolitics of COVID-19 in the UK : racism, nationalism and the afterlife of colonialism
Gamlin, Jennie, Gibbon, Sahra and Calestani, Melania (2021). In: Manderson, Lenore, (eds.), Burke, Nancy J., (eds.) and Wahlberg, Ayo, (eds.), Viral Loads : anthropologies of urgency in the time of COVID-19. London, U.K.: UCL Press, pp 108-127
The ethno-racial basis of chronic diseases : rethinking race and ethnicity from a critical epidemiological perspective
Calestani, Melania and Montesi, Laura (2020). In: Gamlin, Jennie, (eds.), Gibbon, Sahra, (eds.), Sesia, Paola, (eds.) and Berrio, Lina, (eds.), Critical medical anthropology : perspectives in and from Latin America. London, U.K.: UCL Press, pp 170-192
Mario Lodi’s educational approach : is this relevant for anthropology in the twenty-first century?
Calestani, Melania (2018). In: Paganopoulos, Michelangelo, (ed.), In-between fiction and non-fiction: reflections on the poetics of ethnography in literature and film. Newcastle, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars, pp 130-143
Spirituality, luck and well-being
Calestani, Melania (2014). In: Michalos, Alex C., (ed.), Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Reference, pp 6285-6289
Wellbeing in El Alto, Bolivia
Calestani, Melania (2012). In: Atkinson, Sarah, (eds.), Fuller, Sarah, (eds.) and Painter, Joe, (eds.), Wellbeing and place. Farnham, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 171-183
Religions of native peoples and nursing
Calestani, Melania, White, Nereda, Hendricks, Auntie Joan and Scemons, Donna (2012). In: Fowler, Marsha D., (eds.), Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl, (eds.), Sawatzky, Richard, (eds.) and Johnston-Taylor, Elizabeth, (eds.), Religion, religious ethics, and nursing. New York, U.S.A.: Springer, pp 267-294
South London Community Education Provider Networks : evaluation report
Drennan, VM, Calestani, M and Littlejohns, P (2017). London, U.K.: (Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston University and St George's, University of London.)
Ethnography and survey analysis of a computer decision support system in urgent out-of-hours, single point of access and emergency (999) care
Pope, Catherine, Turnbull, Joanne, Halford, Susan, Prichard, Jane, Calestani, Melania, Salisbury, Chris, May, Carl, Barrett, Christine and Lattimer, Valerie (2011). London, U.K.: (National Institute for Health Research)
When Heidegger meets Freire
Buckley, Aga, Calestani, Melania and Curtis, Katherine(2023). In: JSWEC 2023: Social Work Education, Research and Practice in Turbulent Times, 15-16 Jun 2023 :Glasgow, U.K.
An anthropology of well-being: Local perspectives and cultural constructions in the Bolivian Altiplano
Calestani, Melania (2009), PhD thesis, Goldsmiths College, University of London