“Change by Participatory Action Research: Chances and Challenges” – Jaswina Elahi (UU)

For the last seminar of this year’s series “Matters of Concern,” we shall be joined by Dr. Jaswina Elahi who will speak to us about Participatory Action Research, an approach which was introduced in 1944 by Kurt Lewin. This approach seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, linked together by critical reflection. One of the primary goals of PAR is to contribute to social change by addressing real issues that affect the community involved in the research. As a researcher, Jaswina Elahi applies this approach to contemporary societal issues that are often also politically charged, such as poverty and multiculturalism in society. Using some concrete examples from her work, in this presentation she will show where some of the greatest opportunities and challenges lie when working through Participatory Action Research as a means to bring about change in contemporary contexts. This session will be interactive, so please bring along your questions!

Jaswina Elahi (1979) is an assistant professor at the department of Media and Culture at the UU. She studied Arts and Culture at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and received her doctorate from the University of Tilburg. Her dissertation dealt with the creation of networks through the use of ethnic websites by different ethnic groups of young people. Meanwhile, she has made a name for herself in conducting community-based research in which she applies Participatory Action Research. Her research on Resilience in the Labor Market was awarded with the Pim Breebaart research prize. Other research she has worked on: Poverty and dignity, health technology and women, political participation of MBO youth in education, collaboration between governments, citizen welfare, indentured labour of the Hindustani’s in Dutch colonial history.

Among her publications are: Verandering door Actie Onderzoek. In stadslabs werken aan nieuwe sociale praktijken (2020), Against better judgement. Rethinking Multicultural society (2022), Ongezien, Ongehoord. Hindostanen in de Nederlandse koloniale geschiedenis (2023).

You can register by sending an email to tim@uu.nl, or via Eventbrite.

This session is part of the Transmission in Motion seminar series (2023-2024): “Matters of Concern.” To stay updated with more seminar sessions, please subscribe to our newsletter.