Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within the School of Society and Culture

EDI values are embedded within our school at all levels of activity, from our teaching and research and within our wider community engagement
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee oversees and guides the School of Society and Culture (SSC) to ensure that it provides an inclusive environment for all staff and students.
The Committee will discuss, implement, promote and monitor School level actions aimed at improving the working and learning environment for academics, professional services staff and students.
Members of the School of Society and Culture EDI committee can be found at the bottom of this page.
 
 
 

EDI in our teaching

Dr Ivan Tacey's research and teaching is committed to exploring the impacts of equality, diversity and inclusion on minority groups worldwide.
As a lecturer on the BA (Hons) Anthropology course, he currently leads the MX Module Decolonizing the Social Sciences which responds to contemporary calls to decolonise the social sciences. It reads the history of social science through the lens of post-colonial, black and indigenous intellectuals. The module draws upon Post-Colonial, Indigenous, Black, and Southern schools of Anthropology, Criminology and Sociology to critically rethink key issues in the social sciences. The module builds upon recent muti-modal approaches to examine how Black, Asian, and Indigenous movements in literature, art, cinematography and music have paved the way for new ways of thinking that challenge colonial science and thought. This opens pathways towards the democratisation and decolonisation of knowledge. Key topics of study on the module include Decolonizing Methods in the Social Sciences, the challenge of Afrofuturism and an Anthropology of the Otherwise to the Social Sciences, Decolonizing Place, Indigenous Criminology, Decolonizing Place, Post-Colonial Literature and Theory and Decolonizing our Relations with the Natural World.
Dr Tacey also brings in inclusive multi-modal approaches to ANT5002/ANT6002 Gifts, Crises and Commodities: A contemporary guide to Economic Anthropology a module he co-teaches with Dr Brian Campbell. Stated simply, multimodal approaches seek to communicate social science lessons through a range of exciting, interactive technologies. These include movies and various forms video, photography, illustrative artwork (including graphic novels), theatre and drama, music, fiction, interactive web apps and augmented reality technologies. As part of their assessment for ANT5002/ANT6002 students are asked to produce a boardgame that teaches players key anthropological insights on economic behaviour. Multi-modal coursework is great for students, because as graduates they are likely to be asked by employers to become creatively proficient with various kinds of media, and to share their expertise in attractive and engaging ways. More importantly, multimodality helps students who, due to various conditions, may struggle with conventional pedagogies but excel when permitted to explore a subject in alternative ways.
EDI in teaching
EDI in teaching
EDI in teaching
 
 
 

EDI in our research

Discover the breadth of research in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion within the School of Society and Culture:

Professor Zoë James, Professor of Criminology
Professor Zoe James has completed a number of projects over time that consider the impact of equality, diversity and inclusion on Gypsies, Travellers and Roma. Currently she is working on an Economic and Social Research Council funded study of Gypsies and Travellers’ Experiences of Crime and Justice: Realities Checked. This research has been completed in partnership with Professor Coretta Phillips at the London School of Economics and Professor Becky Taylor at the University of East Anglia. This multi-method research has garnered a comprehensive national dataset on the lived experiences of Gypsies and Travellers through oral histories, a survey and archive study. Professor James is also currently funded as part of the NETHATE European consortium completing research within hate studies. She sits of the Board of the International Network for Hate Studies and has a number of PhD students whose work critically examines issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Zoe James
Professor Zoë James

Dr. Suanne Gibson, Associate Professor in Education
Associate Professor, Dr Suanne Gibson, has over the past 10 years completed a number of UK and international projects that consider the impact of equality, diversity and inclusion on disabled students in HE and pupils with Special Educational Needs/Disability in mainstream education. 
Currently she is working on an interdisciplinary Royal Academy of Engineering funded study: Partnering for choice and change: Education for social inclusion. This research is being led in partnership with Associate Professor Aisya Khan, School of Engineering and the UK organisation Equal Engineers. Suanne’s regional leadership and development of the Are We Included? and Opportunity Plymouth school mentoring programmes, has resulted in her being invited as UK lead with 13 other countries on the global project: Exploring parents’ perceptions of inclusive education climates within school settings. This multi-method research will develop a significant international dataset on parental experiences and views of inclusive education- this is the first international study of its kind. 
Suanne works closely with significant national and international partners including Disability Rights UK, Disabled Students UK, National Association of Disability Practitioners and has established a productive network with Lord Chris Holmes resulting in changes to Education policy and policy briefings. She is a National Teaching Fellow and since 2014 has been an invited fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Suanne has a number of PhD students whose work critically examines issues of equality, diversity and inclusion in education.

Dr Suanne Gibson
Dr. Suanne Gibson

Dr Ivan Tacey, Lecturer in Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology
Since 2006, Dr Ivan Tacey has worked with the Orang Asli (indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia). His research among highly marginalised Batek hunter-gather and post-forager communities highlights how their religions, socio-economic practices, epistemologies, and ontologies are continually shaped through and contemporary and historical conditions of structural violence and modes of connectivity that pulsate through local, national, regional, and global networks. Alongside publishing academic papers and a monograph on Batek groups, he is currently working on a graphic novel about the Batek Maia people. This work aims to democratise knowledge about Malaysia’s indigenous peoples in a visually engaging format that engages both academic and non-academic audiences. His current research is exploring how Virtual Reality technologies can be used to communicate immersive experiences of shamanic journeys and altered states.

Dr Ivan Tacey square
Dr Ivan Tacey

Dr Katie McBride, Lecturer in Criminology
Dr Katie McBride joined the University of Plymouth after a career in equality and human rights. Dr McBride undertook support and policy roles in the public sector and within non-government organisations challenging discrimination and promoting equality. Dr McBride’s is a criminologist researching the impact of contemporary social, political and economic power structures on the lives of marginalised and excluded communities in the UK. In particular her work looks at trans individuals' experiences of hate, harm and trauma. Dr McBride uses in-depth ethnographic and participatory methods. This way of conducting research addresses historic power imbalances that exist in the research relationship between ‘researcher’ and ‘participant’ and creates opportunities for the co-production of knowledge and new ways to understand experiences of the contemporary world. She is Co-Director of the International Network for Hate Studies and has a number of PhD students whose work critically examines issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Katie McBride
Dr Katie McBride
 
 
 
 

EDI in our community engagement

The Law Clinic
University of Plymouth Law Clinic
The Law Clinic is a multi-award winning service run by staff, students and partners. Recognised by LawWorks and the Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards, The Law Clinic provides valuable legal guidance and advice to the public as well as valuable experiences for students. 
The Law Clinic offers a range of service that include family, welfare, employment, immigration and refugee, and environmental law clinics.
The Law Clinic is situated on our main city centre campus, offering a welcoming and professional space to meet with students and staff. There are sound proof booths, to allow for private discussions to take place in a confidential and safe environment, a large modern space for teaching, community events and workshops, and beautiful window designs created by artist Lembi Ilsjan – inspired by her time completing a BA in Illustration at the University of Plymouth.
 

EDI events

Upcoming and previous events related to equality, diversity and inclusion:

TALK: Hate in the UK | 21 March 2024
Speakers included:
Dr Ben Colliver (Birmingham City University) - The Role of (In)Visibility in Transphobic Hate Crime
Dr Jane Healy (Bournemouth University) - Developing a profile of disablist hate crime offenders
Dr Gina Gwenffrewi (University of Edinburgh) - Inflammatory media discourse in its coverage of trans issues in the UK in 2023: a talk

EVENT: Spring Equinox Culture Festival | 21 March 2024
This event celebrated heritage, culture, wellbeing and community in a creative space with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business.
It was a cross-cultural event on campus, at the time of Persian New Year, Nowruz, the Indian festival of Holi, and Easter. Enjoy Indian dancing, Chinese music, African cuisine, yoga and a host of other activities. Our evening film screen acknowledges the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

FILM: Red, White, and Blue and Lovers Rock (Black History Month) | 27 October 2023
To celebrate Black History Month, the school EDI committee invited Dr Sofia Chanda-Gool and Regis Ntavuka from the Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council to host a film showing of Red, White, and Blue and Lovers Rock, two critically acclaimed films from Steve McQueen’s Small Axe Anthology. The film showing at the Jill Craigie Cinema included a discussion led by Sofia and Regis on the films and their depictions of being black in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s. The film showing was also associated with the School of Society and Culture’s groups Culture and Heritage Exchange and Sustainable Social Justice.  

TALK: Dr Rashid Khalidi, ‘October 7th and the Re-writing of the Palestinian History’ | 14 December 2023
Students from the University of Plymouth, including Farah Amer (our school EDI student representative) organised a fantastic event that involved insightful talk by Dr. Rashid Khalidi (Columbia University). The talk on ‘October 7th and the Re-writing of the Palestinian History’ offered enlightening insights and perspectives as well as creating opportunity for discussion. The event also involved time to socialise, offer an opportunity for students and staff to meet new people, and enjoy a variety of snacks. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Further information about EDI

Links to University wide equality, diversity and inclusion information:

Women's safety resources: University of Plymouth and Plymouth City Council initiatives for people who identify as a woman
#ReclaimTheseStreets
The University of Plymouth Student Union and the Women’s Network support the #ReclaimTheseStreets movement in making Plymouth a safer place for all females.
The #ReclaimTheseStreets web page has important information relating to safety and support for women.
This includes: 
University Support
Support in Plymouth
Women’s Aid also offer free train travel for anyone travelling to refuge accommodation.
Online Support
Only download and install apps if it is safe to do so and you are sure your mobile phone is not being monitored. 
  • Bright Sky is a free-to-download mobile app, providing support and information to anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or those concerned about someone they know. 
  • Hollie Guard is a smartphone app which essentially transforms your smartphone into a personal safety device. All you need to do is shake your phone or tap the screen and you generate an alert, which automatically sends your location and audio/video evidence to your emergency contacts.
Safety in the City
Plymouth is consistently ranked in the top 10 safest cities in the UK.
We uphold a culture of safety on our campus through our supportive student services and fast-responding campus security teams. 
Our close cooperation with the police and local initiatives means you can feel comfortable when out in the day or at night, confident that the right person will be there in case of an emergency or something you want to report.
Join us in strengthening a friendly and respectful relationship between students and local residents, keeping Plymouth a real community to which everyone can belong.
For more information about staying safe on campus and in the city, visit our safety in the city page.
 
 
 
 
 

EDI Committee members