9 July 2021 (12.30–4.30pm BST) Online
About the Event
This one-day online workshop will explore how we can decolonize the sociology of religion and think with an ‘intersectional eye’ about our work. The workshop will then reflect on post-PhD careers outside of a Higher Education setting. This is particularly pertinent in current times when, statistically, there is a very limited percentage of PhD researchers successfully pursuing academia, and most importantly, a growing movement of PhD’s choosing not to pursue this career path because of its precarious nature. This will be followed by an interactive panel discussion with Dr Manoela Carpenedo, Dr Jo Bryant, and Dr Rachael Shillitoe who will discuss their differing paths within research. This will also be an opportunity for a Q&A session with the speakers and their (non)academic paths and careers.
Guest Speakers
- Dr Manoela Carpenedo, University of Groningen
- Dr Jo Bryant, NHS
- Dr Rachael Shillitoe, University of Birmingham
Dr Manoela Carpenedo - Exploring Decolonial and Intersectional Perspectives in the Study of Religion
While ethnicity, class, gender and geographic location strongly impact the way individuals interact with religious ideas; it can be very challenging incorporating an “intersectional eye” in sociological research on religion. In this session, we will debate how postcolonial and intersectional approaches can benefit your research project. By exploring theoretical and methodological considerations, we will also establish practical steps that you can take to adopt an intersectional eye in your research.
Bio: Manoela Carpenedo is a Brazilian social scientist and ethnographer and holds a Mphil and PhD from the University of Cambridge. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen and a fellow at Centre of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London. Manoela has also taught courses on the Anthropology and Sociology of Religion at King’s College London and the University of Kent. Her research interests focus on topics related to religions in the global South, the Anthropology of Christianity, Sociology of Religion, Geopolitics of Faith and Gender Studies.
Manoela has recently published her first monograph Becoming Jewish believing in Jesus: Judaising Evangelicals in Brazil (04/2021) with Oxford University Press (New York). Recently, Manoela was awarded a three-year Marie Curie Individual Fellowship to research the political and cultural underpinnings of Zionist and Judaizing expressions in Christianities across the Lusophone Atlantic (Angola, Brazil and Portugal).
Dr Jo Bryant - Post-PhD Pathways Beyond Academia: From Doing to Supporting Research
As a bright-eyed and optimistic first year PhD student, I was 100% confident that sheer grit, passion, and hard work would translate into a distinguished academic career. By the final year, I told my supervisors that I was 95% sure that an academic career was no longer a viable option. For some, leaving academia is a no-brainer, but for me it was a tough choice to make which required me to re-evaluate my priorities, my goals, and my identity.
In this workshop, I will highlight some of the factors that led to my decision to leave, my subsequent career pathway, and the practical and emotional implications of the journey. I will reflect on my experience as a research coordinator and administrator, at first in Higher Education and now in the NHS, and how this has re-affirmed my decision to leave, while showing that I still haven’t quite left academia behind. Mindful that this will be a highly personal and particular account of post-academic pathways, I hope to offer some reassurance and solidarity but also some practical guidance to help you navigate the decisions you must make as humanities/soc-sci PhD candidates or early career researchers.
Bio: Jo Bryant completed her PhD in Sociology of Religion in 2018 and has since moved on from academia to support research in the NHS.
Dr Rachael Shillitoe
Dr Rachael Shillitoe is a research Associate at the University of Birmingham. Her research is primarily in the sociology of religion and sits in conversation with childhood studies, edu
cation, and the anthropology of religion and ethics.
Programme
12:30–12:45 – Welcome
12:45–13.45 – Dr Manoela Carpenedo - Exploring Decolonial and Intersectional Perspectives in the Study of Religion
13:45–14:15 – Coffee break
14:15–15:15 – Dr Jo Bryant - Post-PhD Pathways Beyond Academia: From Doing to Supporting Research
15:15–16:30 – Panel discussion with Dr Manoela Carpenedo, Dr Jo Bryant, and Dr Rachael Shillitoe
Registration
- BSA Members/SocRel Members: FREE
- Non-Members: £10