Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Melania Calestani

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Time: 12.00pm - 1.00pm
Price: free
Speaker(s): Dr Melania Calestani, Kingston University

This event will be held online. Click here to join.

All are welcome to the Psychology Colloquia, where distinguished guest speakers present talks encompassing a diverse array of topics within the field of Psychology and beyond.

This week's speaker is Dr Melania Calestani, Kingston University. She is an anthropologist with postdoctoral experience in health services research and social sciences. She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, Midwifery and Social Work. In the UK, she carried out research on processes of decision-making and person-centred care in the NHS. Her research interests also include critical understandings of race and ethnicity, health inequalities and perspectives from critical medical anthropology.

Abstract: Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: ethnographic perspectives from the margins

This presentation will critically deconstruct embodiments and social histories of toxicity, addressing uneven power relations and health inequalities generated through late capitalism in Matamoros (Mexico) and Naples (Italy). By focusing on food and water consumption in regions at the margins of borders and defined as toxic wastelands, the presentation will look at how mechanisms taking place in the individual realm are ‘subsumed' (Breihl 2019, 33) within more complex historical, economic, and environmental processes. Ethnographic research in Mexico and Italy is the point of departure to reflect upon the powerful impact that social, political and commercial determinants of health have on individuals' well-being.

The series is organised by Dr. Simona Cantarella (s.cantarella@kingston.ac.uk) and Dr. Goffredina Spano (g.spano@kingston.ac.uk) from the Psychology Department. If you would like more information about the event, please feel free to email either of them. 

All events in this series

Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Matteo De Marco, 31 Jan 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Amanda Rotella, 23 Feb 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Lucy Cragg, 28 Feb 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Melania Calestani, 13 March 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Joanne Bower, 22 March 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Jayne Morriss, 24 April 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Professor Marie Juanchich, 15 May 2024
Psychology Colloquia Series: Dr Anne Van Hoogmoed, 21 May 2024

For further information about this event:

Contact: Lucy Raymond (Events Officer - please email for any logistical enquiries)
Email: lucy.raymond@kingston.ac.uk