The Roey Grad Podcast

This week, we revisit the conversation Charles and Will had with Sandra, Charlie and James from the University of Roehampton’s Library team. This longer edit includes considerations on privacy and data protection, which turns out to be a theme dear to both James and Will.   We also discuss whether every library remembers their first shushing, the intricacies of the inter-library loan system, and eldritch texts on loan from Miskatonic University...  Chapters   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

The wait is officially over, with the registration for the Roehampton Research & Innovation Summit now open!   This year’s programme brings together an inspiring mix of internal and external experts, each week will be giving you a snapshot of who will be presenting on the day.   You’ll also find two dedicated sessions crafted especially for researchers at pivotal career moments: one on career pathways beyond the PhD, and another on building the foundations of a successful post‑doctoral journey.  As places are limited secure yours before they’re gone!   Event Management | LinkedIn The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

As an expert in the field, Dr Lisa Sainsbury says that “children’s literature is far more complex than a lot of people give it credit for”. In this week’s podcast, Dr Sainsbury talks about her passion for her subject and her roles in the university – as Research Programme Leader for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Associate Professor of English Literature. She offers some advice to post-graduate students on managing their supervisory relationships and talks about Roehampton’s unique approach to children’s literature.   Links mentioned  National Year of Reading MA in Children’s Literature at Roehampton   Chapters   1.00 The job of Research Programme Leader 2.07 Contacts before arriving at Roehampton 3.32 The advantage of ‘milestones’ (RDComms) in post-graduate studies 5.23 How students have changed over the years at Roehampton 6.58 From Masters to PhD studies 8.08 Importance of community in academic life 9.11 Lisa’s PhD in children’s literature 10.44 History of Roehampton’s approach to children’s literature  12.04 Children’s literature today 14.51 Influence of Watership Down 16.30 What makes a good supervisory relationship? 19.02 Research students should make use of the wider university network  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

This week features a longer version of Will’s conversation with Dr Joshua Sadler, who recently defended his Techne-funded thesis, “41 Minutes West: A Passage Towards the ‘Non-Man’, Through Learning Disability, Impossible Epistemes, and Unreal Ontologies”.  Sitting at the intersection of performance studies, critical disability studies, and epistemology, Josh’s work argue that people with severe learning disabilities are not just the victims of epistemic injustice, but of epistemic exclusion, in that the knowledge they produce cannot be expressed in the dominant epistemology of the academy.   Josh has done all his studies at Roehampton, he also works as a carer, now at the Grange Centre for people with learning disabilities in Bookham; in addition to this, he his lead facilitator Freewheelers , a youth theatre company of people with disabilities.  Josh is the Curator of the ‘Us and Them’ project, recreating Victorian photographs of people with disabilities with era-accurate equipment, in partnership with King’s College and On the Record was recently featured on BBC News.   Chapters 00:09 Introduction 01:16 Josh’s thesis 03:13 Josh’s participants 08:39 How did the thesis develop? 10:27 An epistemological challenge to Academia 16:01 Josh’s positionality 19:20 Josh’s journey to doctoral research 22:35 What’s next for Dr Sadler? 24:59 Finding moments of joy through the journey 26:58 Wrap-up   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Our guest this week make no apology for spending his study hours watching television – often Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Ben Keightley’s PhD subject is the representation of women during what’sknown as the second Golden Age of Television. He’s challenging the conventional view of that period, which is often characterised by series featuring male anti-heroes – think Breaking Bad – with evidence that ensemble series featuring women were just as important and innovative.    Links:  Joel R. Campbell. Television’s Second Golden Age: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/televisions-second-golden-age-9781666947120/  Mick B. Brewer. And Just Like That … misogyny reigns supreme: disciplining womanhood in the critical framings of Sex and the City’s new chapter https://www-tandfonline-com.roe.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/15295036.2023.2249541#abstract  Bill Mesce Jr. Inside the Rise of HBO: A Personal History of the Company That Transformed Televisionhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Rise-HBO-Transformed-Television/dp/0786497866   Chapters  1.00 Television’s Golden Ages 2.40 Women in the third Golden Age 5.40 Advertisers’ influence and subscription models 9.10 Do you just watch TV all day? 10.15 Male anti-heroes 11.30 TV as an academic subject 12.34 Impact of the streaming services 14.00 Challenging norms vs simple representation       The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

This week, we revisit, in a longer form, Will’s conversation with Sanjini Kedia, a Dance Therapy student in the School of Arts, who has submitted her thesis, for defence in 2026. Sanjini takes an intersectional feminist lens to the study of transmen’s emotional expression in the context of dance/movement therapy in India.  Sanjini’s research profile Sanjini’s latest publication (out since the recording) Zotero, a free, open-source, multi-platform software for bibilography management  Chapters  00:09 Introduction 02:00 Sanjini’s research 03:30 Sanjini’s journey to her Doctorate 07:42 Doing research on sensitive topics in different cultural contexts. 08:45 (post-)qualitative methodology 11:45 Co-creating an embodied film 15:32 A complex positionality 22:24 Epistemological considerations 25:45 The shift in the politics of gender 28:35 What’s next for Sanjini and her work 32:20 Sanjini’s #PhdGlow 33:00 Managing information in research 37:11 Wellness tips!  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

Charles, Aaliyah, and Will talk with Benoît André, PhD student in Roehampton’s School of Arts. Benoît is a composer and sound-designer, researching flooding in Gloucestershire and West London, through the medium of sound. Specifically, electro-acoustic composition - less music than sonic art.   We discuss this little-known art form, what it brings to an eco-sociological thesis, the impact of flooding on communities (which is not solely negative), and why, in these circumstances, it pays to have your mum own one of the few SUVs in the village.   Find more of Benoît’s work at  https://www.benoitandre.co.uk/electro-acoustic  Chapters 00:09 Introductions 00:57 Studying flooding through sound? 02:08 Electroacoustic composition 04:23 What does a thesis in Electroacoustic music look like? 07:00 An excerpt from Skein #7 (HEADPHONES RECOMMENDED!) 09:00 The Electroacoustic ‘scene’ (such as it is) 13:33 Benoît’s other work, his background 15:52 What does data collection look like in such a project? 19:06 Implications for governance 21:10 Unexpected positives of flooding 23:58 Flooding and community impact 28:12 Wrap-up, and Benoît’s Forest Frivolity  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

This week, we’re revisiting the conversation Aaliyah, Charles and Will had with Kaylianna Christian, a PhD (Prof.) student in the School of Education, which we recorded in July. Apt timing, as this cut features some considerations on Jacob Elordi in Wuthering Heights 😏  Hailing from Florida, Kaylianna chose Roehampton with great care to study the impact of children’s literature in the moral education of early years learners. Kaylianna is a Christian minister, currently Young Life and Families Pastor at St Peter’s, in Notting Hill, and, whilst her doctoral journey is moved by a profound Faith, her research also includes secular texts, from Peter Rabbit to Frozen. We discuss the challenge of data collection involving young children, her background in Theology and nurseries in the US, the joys and challenges of doctoral study, and why it’s good practice to throw in a fiction book once a month in the middle of all that literature.  If you are a grad student at Roehampton’s School of Education, Kaylianna is your rep, and if you have ideas, complaints, suggestions, or anything else, do send her an email!   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

When thinking about a PhD, it’s easy to focus on the D(octorate), but some will truly honour the Ph(ilosophy). In this episode, Will sits down with Dr Joshua Sadler, who recently defended his Techne-funded thesis, “41 Minutes West: A Passage Towards the ‘Non-Man’, Through Learning Disability, Impossible Epistemes, and Unreal Ontologies”.  Sitting at the intersection of performance studies, critical disability studies, and epistemology, Josh’s work argue that people with severe learning disabilities are not just the victims of epistemic injustice, but of epistemic exclusion, in that the knowledge they produce cannot be expressed in the dominant epistemology of the academy.   Josh has done all his studies at Roehampton, he also works as a carer, now at the Grange Centre for people with learning disabilities in Bookham; in addition to this, he his lead facilitator Freewheelers , a youth theatre company of people with disabilities.  Josh is the Curator of the ‘Us and Them’ project, recreating Victorian photographs of people with disabilities with era-accurate equipment, in partnership with King’s College and On the Record was recently featured on BBC News.  Chapters 00:09 – Introduction 01:04 - Josh’s Thesis 02:55 – Data collection 04:14 – The participants (Jack and Ray) 06:40 – Was this  a work of epistemology from the start? 08:19 – The tension at the core of the work 09:24 – ‘Man’ / ‘Sub-human’ /’ Non-Man' 10:35 – Setting up a double-bind 11:11 -  Lucy (participant) 12:25 – Josh's positionality 14:40 – His journey to the PhD 16:07 – What comes next?  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

This bonus episode features a longer cut of Will's conversation with Sripadma Ganapathi, a third-year Dance PhD student of Roehampton's School of Arts. A dancer, and teacher, of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form, Sripadma shares details of her  interdisciplinary research, which aims to create a dance-based warm-up routine for Bharatanatyam dancers to help reduce the form's high injury rates.   Her multidisciplinary mixed-method approach involves ethnographic sourcing movements from an ancient Hindu text, the Nāṭya Shāstra, and validating their effectiveness using motion capture technology, in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences.   We chat about the personal and academic journey to her doctorates, joys and pains, support and recommendations.  Mentioned: PhD Help on Instagram   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

In her PhD in Philosophy, Claire Hamlett explores the idea of animal homes. As a freelance journalist, Claire had been interested to read Wildlife as Property Owners (2020) by Karen Bradshaw, which discussed how animal habitats could be protected in law. Claire decided to take the subject further by embarking on a PhD to see how far those ideas could be extended by thinking of animals as living not simply on territories or building shelters but creating homes. Animals don’t need to be able to explain their reasons for what they are doing, Claire says, but they clearly have agency. In this show, Charles enjoys a wide-ranging discussion with Claire about animal rights, human responsibilities and the pair of jackdaws in her neighbour’s chimney.     Chapters  00.50 Claire’s work in journalism 03.10 The difference between ‘where animals live’ and ‘animal homes’ 05.43 What would be the effect of thinking of ‘homes’ for animals? 07.56 Animal agency 10.58 How to avoid anthropomorphising animals 13.09 Should all animals be treated with equal respect?  15.58 Implications for zoos 18.02 Claire’s practical investigations of animal homes 19.20 The jackdaws next door  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

A longer cut of Will’s interview with Jian Bakir, a third year Education PhD student. Jian’s thesis explores the experience of primary school teachers in active war zones – in this instance Aleppo, Syria. They discuss the very personal path to Jian’s research, the difficulties of collecting data from a war zone, her likes, dislikes and recommendations when it comes to doctoral life.   Recommendations: AI for literature: - https://elicit.com - https://scite.ai The PhD Life Raft podcast The Grad Coach YouTube channel  Chapters  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Will interviews Sanjini Kedia, a Dance Therapy student in the School of Arts, who has submitted her thesis, for defence in 2026.  Sanjini’s research profile Sanjini’s latest publication (out since the recording) Zotero, a free, open-source, multi-platform software for bibilography management Chapters  00:08 Introduction 02:30 The core research question 03:36 Following on from the Masters 05:30 Post-qualitative methodology 07:14 The embodied film 09:13 Positionality, in the UK and India 13:23 Epistemology and epistemic injustice 16:30 After the PhD 18:55 Managing information in doctoral research 20:55 Wellness and mental health tips for PhD study     The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

A longer version of Charles’ Interview with Catherine Archer-Richards, who is in the final months of her PhD in History. Catherine’s thesis, “Shakespeare as the ‘girl’s friend’” investigates the way girls in the Victorian era encountered the works of Shakespeare, at home and at school. She situates the influence of these early literary encounters on the evolving conceptions of girlhood, and the emancipation of women over the Victorian period.  We also hear about Catherine’s path to a PhD, the practicalities of archive research, relationships with supervisor, and the crucial tip to always note down the page number of quotes!   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Himan Heidari’s PhD research was inspired by reading a nineteenth century account by a Westerner who visited his home town in Iran. That led to his interest in women travel writers of that period and their reports of interactions with those they encountered, including the Kurds. In this show, Himan talks about what he’s learnt from the three writers his work is focussed on and how he reads their story through his own history.- The National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) Billy Waters Project - Selena Scott (Art) and Dr Ben Marsh (Words)’s Graphic Novel on Billy WatersChapters2.00 Encounters between Kurds and Western women3.15 Isabella Bird8.25 Research processes10.00 Women vs male travel writers11.05 Letter-writing as the source of travel texts14.22 Gertrude Bell’s prolific writing15.00 Special access enjoyed by women travellers16.23 Taking Mary Shannon’s Billy Waters book to schools19.30 Graphic novels of women travel writers20.38 Himan’s next steps after his PhDThe Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School. Our theme music is by DiamondTunes Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan.Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]

A longer version of Will’s interview with Natalie Cairns-Ratter, which aired earlier this year. Natalie is a musician, music teacher, and mother of an Autistic son, which all led her, first to a Master of Education at the Royal College of Music, then to her doctorate. Natalie’s research investigates experiences of flow  - full immersion and intense focus on a task – during music practice, with the view of reconceptualising ‘repetitive behaviours’ of Autistic children as flow experiences. Her work is part of a broader movement for Autistic-led research (a particular aspect of the “nothing about us without us” movement in disability studies) and Critical Autism Studies.  She is also full of useful recommendations for scholarship and wellbeing.  Natalie’s LinkedIn page. Natalie’s research profile. Books mentioned: The Routledge handbook of Critical Autism Studies (D Milton, S Ryan editors) Ginny Russell’s The Rise of Autism Prof. Ockelford’s Comparing Notes  If you are a Roehampton student, these are all available at our excellent Library page! Podcasts: BBC Radio 4’s The Autism Curve The PhD LifeRaft Also, Connected Papers, a tool mapping the connections within the literature, and  Attention Restoration Theory (incl. ‘soft fascination’) on the benefits of Nature for attention and cognitive health.   Links mentionned:  Chapters   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Today books for children are a lucrative part of the publishing business. Juliet Harrison is studying how they emerged in the first half of the nineteenth century through the work of a number of women writers, including the extraordinarily prolific Harriet Martineau. In the show, Juliet explains how she came to her thesis through related previous work and talks about how she hopes to build on the work she is studying with her own writing   Chapters  01.30 Books that were considered safe for children to read. 03.32 Authorial responsibility for child readers. 05.25 Examples of children’s writers.  08.17 Strategies used to make children’s books educational.  11.11 Moral and commercial pressures to make books educational.  14.28 Women writers of children’s books. 17.50 Market segmentation in publishing. 19.30 Juliet’s PhD journey  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

An extended version of Will’s interview with Hana, whose episode aired earlier this year. Hana Iqtait, third year doctoral candidate at the University of Roehampton’s School of Business and Law, is its academic representative for graduate students. In their conversation, we learn about her very personal journey to a PhD topic, the challenges of isolation in the first year of one’s PhD and how Hana overcame it, with some bonus content on the enduring popularity of a certain cult 90s sitcom.  About Hana: Hana is a PhD candidate at Roehampton University, working under the guidance of esteemed supervisors, Dr. Irma Malafronte, Dr. Mamata Parhi, and Dr. Rodrigo Souza, from 2022 to 2026. Her academic journey includes a Master's in Project Management from the University of Bedfrodshire, UK, and a Bachelor's in Contemporary Business Administration from Palestine Polytechnic University. With seven years of university teaching experience in project management and business models, along with a year as a project coordinator with NGOs, Hana combines academic rigor with practical expertise. Her current research focuses on infrastructure project resilience in Palestine, reflecting her passion for bridging theory and real-world application. Hana’s LinkedIn page Hana’s research profile    The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Like a lot of other English words, you can’t spell Christmas without A.I. Charles has crafted a surprise for the team, which we share with you.  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

We patched in a fifth microphone in Sound Studio One so Charles and Will could sit down with Sandra Celada, Charley Clayton and James Powell from the University's Library and Digital Services Team. We discuss the many services their team offer students, the lifecycle and management of resources, the persistence of the physical, heavy-metal-on-dead-tree-pulp book in spite of the ascendency of everything digital, and the inevitable question of AI.  Links: The Library’s Web Home Contacting the team The Library’s excellent FAQ, LibAnswers The new Jessica Kingsley Autism and Neurodiversity Collection (Institution access only!)  Chapters 00:08 Introduction 00:12 Overview of the teams and their roles 03:25 Resources lifecycle: acquisitions, weeding 04:13 How is the paper book faring? 05:41 “The architectural and social arrangement” 06:25 Use of the Library space for other things... 09:27 Recent Library initiatives and wins 10:20 The Library’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives 11:20 The team’s take on AI 15:57 What are your reading at the moment?          The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Aaliyah, Charles and Will sit down for a chat with Kaylianna Christian. Hailing from Florida, Kaylianna chose Roehampton with great care to study the impact of children’s literature in the moral education of early years learners. Kaylianna is a Christian minister, currently Young Life and Families Pastor at St Peter’s, in Notting Hill, and her doctoral journey is moved by a profound Faith, but her research includes secular texts, from Peter Rabbit to Frozen. We discuss the challenge of data collection involving young children, her background in Theology and nurseries in the US, the joys and challenges of doctoral study, and why it’s good practice to throw in a fiction book once a month in the middle of all that literature.  If you are a grad student at Roehampton’s School of Education, Kaylianna is 🫵 your rep, and if you have ideas, complaints, suggestions, or anything else, do send her an email!  Chapters 00:08 Introduction 00:30 Kaylianna and her research 01:52 Kaylianna’s academic route to the PhD 02:56 Choosing London, Choosing Roehampton 03:57 Professional PhD and Professional life 05:23 Data collection with Early Years children 08:04 Being an Academic Rep for SofE 09:01 Building an academic network 10:07 Favourite part of doctoral studies 11:12 Challenges of doctoral studies 11:58 Getting support 12:32 Differences with undergrad and Masters 14:10 Suggestions for improvement? 14:44 Tips for current and future Phd candidates 15:46 Managing information 16:35 Tips for well-being? 18:03 Something unrelated 19:08 #PhDGlow 20:24 Final words  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Will and Charles speak to Sara Houston, Professor of Dance and Director for the Centre for Research in Arts and Creative Exchange at the University of Roehampton’s School of Arts. Since the late 2000s, Sara’s research has focused on the benefits of dance for people with Parkinson’s, starting from a small project with the English National Ballet, then growing into a decades-long project, culminating in her 2019 Book, Dancing with Parkinson’s.  Sara’s own PhD was at Roehampton, we discuss her personal route to it, what has changed, and what has stayed the same. She is also co-director of the Consortium for Researching Inclusive Culture and Arts (CRICA,) a research programme in partnership with the London School of Economics – which amongst other things offers funded PhD studentships... 😉  Chapters 00:08 Introduction 01:04 Dancing with Parkinson’s: the origin story 02:58 The role of the English National Ballet 04:31 The current landscape 05:15 Different methods for different evidence 09:46 Sara’s own PhD at Roehampton 11:21 Dance as an academic discipline 12:37 The PhD, then and now 14:56 CRICA: the Consortium for Researching Inclusive Culture and Arts 16:12 Do you have to be a dancer to research Dance? 17:00 Sara’s tips for grad students   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Earlier this year Jake Elliot was awarded his PhD at Roehampton. He returned to the university for this show, to tell us about his thesis - about William Blake and London - and offer some insights into how to complete a PhD successfully - he passed his viva in May with no corrections. Jake has already published an article about his work (see below) and is teaching in Oxford while preparing a proposal for a book.  We discussed the role of the police in London, Blake as a visual artist and a writer, and how Jake’s studies enrich his enjoyment of a walk down Regent Street.   Links:  Blake’s “Watchman”: Los and the London Police EUROPEAN ROMANTIC REVIEW 2024, VOL. 35, NO. 3, 545–561  London (Blake, 1794)  Chapters  01:00 The London watchmen and the police 03:05 Blake the traditionalist? 05:13 Defining the subject of the thesis 08:28 Claims to ‘advance knowledge’ through the thesis 13:12 The use of (French!) critics in Jake’s thesis 16:34 How London was changing in Blake’s time 19:02 Completing your thesis is ‘only a milestone’  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  The ambience for the reading of London is courtesy of the BBC’s sound archive, BBC Rewind - it was recorded in... Bratislava Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

Charles and Will sit down for an inspiring chat with Louis Wright, head of Sustainability, and Amelia Iswariah, Sustainability and Energy Officer. They discuss the work of the sustainability team, and sustainability efforts in the HE sector more broadly; the importance of awareness-raising, communication, storytelling; and balancing these qualitative aspects of their impact with the quantitative accounting, in carbon or currency. There is, of course, a mention of the hidden – and dire – environmental impact of AI and cloud computing; also, sustainability events past and future, including the 2026 London Student Sustainability Conference, and the crucial roles of free pastries in student engagement.  Feedback, ideas, suggestions for events,  want to get involved? Get in touch at [email protected]. The team is keen to hear from you 🫵  Links: Sustainability events 2008-2022 Carbon Management Progress Report  Chapters 00:08 Introductions 00:28 What is Roehampton’s sustainability strategy? 03:03 Decarbonisation plan and net zero target 03:24 Emission categorisation (scopes 1, 2, and 3) 04:24 Quantifying the university’s carbon footprint 05:13 Evaluating the impact of the team’s work 07:46 Attitude to sustainability in the HE sector 08:28 Roehampton’s new School of Sustainable Engineering and Technology 09:30 Student-led sustainability initiatives 10:15 Communicating and convincing across the institution 12:23 Working with students 14:28 Reconciling the university’s attitude to AI with its sustainability goals 17:51 Working with non-profits, charities and cross- sector groups 20:54 The London Student Sustainability Conference 22:12 What can grad students do for Sustainability at Roe? 24:22 Upcoming events 26:34 Wrap-up, credits (no bloopers this week)  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Will speaks to Jian Bakir, a third year Education PhD student. Jian’s thesis explores the experience of primary school teachers in active war zones – in this instance Aleppo, Syria. They discuss the very personal path to Jian’s research, the difficulties of collecting data from a war zone, her likes, dislikes and recommendations when it comes to doctoral life.   Recommendations: AI for literature: - https://elicit.com - https://scite.ai The PhD Life Raft podcast The Grad Coach YouTube channel  Chapters 00:08 Introduction 00:41 Jian and her research 01:18 The road to her PhD 02:45 The challenge of data collection 04:58 Jian’s professional journey 08:06 Her favourite aspect of the doctorate 09:36 Challenges and pain points 11:37 Support through the PhD 13:28 The support she wishes she got 15:20 Recommendations 18:45 Health and wellbeing 20:10 Advice for doctoral students 22:52 Studio wrap-up  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]   

Charles sits down for a chat both broad and deep with John Moxon, interim deputy dean, educational partnerships lead and academic discipline officer in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. John has an impressive range of professional expertise – from software to religious studies. With doctorates in both physics and theology, he currently publishes papers about the Acts of the Apostles whilst teaching Discrete Maths at Roehampton. On this week’s show, he talks about his academic career, explaining why he made the move from science to the humanities, why he thinks theology still has a bright future, and why we should be more worried about society’s dwindling faith in science.    John’s theology paper mentioned on the show:   ‘An Unnoticed Jacob–Esau Allusion in Acts’ Religions 2022, 13(5), 434. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/5/434   Chapters 00:08 Introduction 00:55 John’s research on the book of Acts 03:31 On the’ nerdy aspect’ of biblical studies 06:00 John’s original background 09:19 Trips to South America 11:56 Changing academic fields 17:25 Is faith a prerequisite to theological studies? 18:27 The state of Theology as an academic field 22:38 Reflections on Artificial Intelligence 25:30 Wrap-up   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhD students at Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Will sits down with Sripadma Ganapathi, a third-year Dance PhD student of Roehampton's School of Arts. A dancer, and teacher, of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form, Sripadma shares details of her  interdisciplinary research, which aims to create a dance-based warm-up routine for Bharatanatyam dancers to help reduce the form's high injury rates.   Her multidisciplinary mixed-method approach involves ethnographic sourcing movements from an ancient Hindu text, the Nāṭya Shāstra, and validating their effectiveness using motion capture technology, in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences.   We chat about the personal and academic journey to her doctorates, joys and pains, support and recommendations  Mentioned: PhD Help on Instagram   Chapters 00:08 Introduction 00:39 Sripadma's research 01:52 Collecting the data 03:05 Sripadma's journey to her PhD 05:22 Life beyond the PhD 06:27 Her favourite parts of the PhD 08:54 The most difficult parts 10:20 The support she got 11:23 The support she wish she got 12:30 Recommendations 13:15 Tips for health and wellbeing 14:18 Final words 15:18 Studio recap   The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In the very first episode recorded for the podcast, in somewhat DIY conditions, Will sits down with Mairead Watson and Jane Pollard from the Disability and Dyslexia department, who outline all the support the University offers to students who need it. We cover the disabilities and learning needs supported, the types of support, accessing the DSA, and, relevant to grad students, a new initiative to make Vivas and other milestones more accessible.  Get in touch with the D&D service at [email protected], 0208 392 3636, or in the Richardson Building (Digby Stuart College) Chapters: 00:09 Introduction 00:32 Mairead, disability advisor and Jane, Dyslexia (and neurodiversity) coordinator. 01:20 What qualifies as a disability? 01:55 Getting support 02:38 Summaries of adjustments 03:46 The Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) 04:50 DSA for international students, and research students\ 06:30 A hidden gem 07:13 Support for vivas and other milestones 09:25 Getting in touch 10:19 the Beautifully Neurodiverse student group  12:04 Wrap-up  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

In this episode, Charles speaks to Catherine Archer-Richards, who is in the final months of her PhD in Children's Literature. Catherine’s thesis, “Shakespeare as the ‘girl’s friend’” investigates the way girls in the Victorian era encountered the works of Shakespeare, at home and at school. She situates the influence of these early literary encounters on the evolving conceptions of girlhood, and the emancipation of women over the Victorian period.  We also hear about Catherine’s path to a PhD, the practicalities of archive research, relationships with supervisor, and the crucial tip to always note down the page number of quotes!  Chapters: 00:09 Introduction 00:55 Shakespeare as the ‘girl’s friend’ ?? 02:24 Catherine’s path to her PhD 04:37 Victorian literature, then and now 05:42 Bowlder and the Lambs: Shakespeare at home 07:31 Archive research 10:03 Organising research materials 12:46 Why no research is wasted effort 14:46 Writing up 16:39 Working with supervisors 17:27 Finding your argument, finding your voice 18:20 Academic writing 19:25 Finishing the PhD, considering the after 20:15 Wrapping up  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Will sits down with Natalie and Hana, (whom you have heard in episodes 2, and 4), to talk about their roles as student representatives, the RSDP and RSDF, and Pecha Kucha presentations, to propagate your research to a broader audience. Chapters 00:09 Introduction 00:39 Different kinds of reps 01:30 Natalie, Grad School Rep for Ethics 05:35 Hana, PhD rep for the Business School 07:41 The Research Student Development Fund (RSDF) 10:50 The Research Student Development Programme (RSDP) 14:31 Pecha Kucha presentations 17:45 Recap and Outro  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Will sits down with fellow Autistic Education PhD Natalie Cairns-Ratter. Natalie is a musician, music teacher, and mother of an Autistic son, which all led her, first to a Master of Education at the Royal College of Music, then to her doctorate. Natalie’s research investigates experiences of flow  - full immersion and intense focus on a task – during music practice, with the view of reconceptualising ‘repetitive behaviours’ of Autistic children as flow experiences. Her work is part of a broader movement for Autistic-led research (a particular aspect of the “nothing about us without us” movement in disability studies) and Critical Autism Studies.  She is also full of useful recommendations for scholarship and wellbeing.  Natalie’s LinkedIn page. Natalie’s research profile. Books mentioned: The Routledge handbook of Critical Autism Studies (D Milton, S Ryan editors) Ginny Russell’s The Rise of Autism Prof. Ockelford’s Comparing Notes  If you are a Roehampton student, these are all available at our excellent Library page! Podcasts: BBC Radio 4’s The Autism Curve The PhD LifeRaft Also, Connected Papers, a tool mapping the connections within the literature, and  Attention Restoration Theory (incl. ‘soft fascination’) on the benefits of Nature for attention and cognitive health. Chapters: 00:09 Introduction 00:43 Natalie and her research 02:11 Progress and method 03:23 Natalie’s route to her doctorate 04:55 Juggling the PhD with the rest 06:08 Natalie’s other academic pursuits 06:32 Her favourite part of the PhD... 07:50 ... and her least favourite! 08:45 Accessibility of the milestones 10:30 Resources and recommendations  14:57 Health and wellbeing 19:08 Goodbyes and recap  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

Professor Ted Vallance, Dean of the Graduate School, explains the milestones of doctoral research. Research degrees handbook Graduate School Home Page Chapters: 00:07 Introduction  00:43 Overview of the milestones  01:03 The application (RDCOM1) 04:21 What's an 'RDCOM'? 06:01 Project Confirmation (RDCOM2) 08:48 RDCOM3 10:11 Milestones as support, not constraints  11:29 The completion review 12:20 Conclusion  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

In this episode, Will speaks to Hana Iqtait, third year doctoral candidate at the University of Roehampton’s School of Business and Law, and its academic representative for graduate students. In their conversation, we learn about her very personal journey to a PhD topic, the challenges of isolation in the first year of one’s PhD and how Hana overcame it, with some bonus content on the enduring popularity of a certain cult 90s sitcom.  About Hana: Hana is a PhD candidate at Roehampton University, working under the guidance of esteemed supervisors, Dr. Irma Malafronte, Dr. Mamata Parhi, and Dr. Rodrigo Souza, from 2022 to 2026. Her academic journey includes a Master's in Project Management from the University of Bedfrodshire, UK, and a Bachelor's in Contemporary Business Administration from Palestine Polytechnic University. With seven years of university teaching experience in project management and business models, along with a year as a project coordinator with NGOs, Hana combines academic rigor with practical expertise. Her current research focuses on infrastructure project resilience in Palestine, reflecting her passion for bridging theory and real-world application. Hana’s LinkedIn page Hana’s research profile  Chapters: 00:10 Introduction  00:40 Hana and her research  03:35 Hana's academic background  04:05 Data collection and analysis 05:06 Hana's other interests  06:15 Hana's other roles at Roehampton  07:20 Favourite part of the PhD Journey 08:27 Challenges of the PhD 10:04 Support in the PhD 12:12 Resilience as a topic 13:10 The Q method  14:12 PhD Resources 15:10 AI for proofreading  16:24 Recommendations for wellbeing  17:54 Recap and outro -- The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  Our theme music is by DiamondTunes  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. Comments, questions, want to appear on the show? Get in touch at [email protected]  

On this first episode of the Roey Grad Podcast, our host Charles speaks to Prof. Ted Vallance, Dean of Research and Doctoral Study at the University of Roehampton. Ted is also an historian, expert on Charles I and the English Civil War, although as we find out, these days he does this on his spare time. Ted’s PURE profile  The Roehampton Graduate School  The Grad School and Research Office LinkedIn  The Inclusive Histories Project Ted’s Podcast: Charles I – The road to execution  Chapters: 00:05 Introduction 00:40 What is a Dean? 01:20 Research and Doctoral Studies 03:15 Grad school Vs Academic supervisors  03:54 Grad school and Academic Judgement  05:20 Finding the time for academic work 06:48 Finding satisfaction in the role 08:10 Opportunities for grad students  12:32 Conferences and seminars  14:31 The etiquette of Academia 16:26 Role of grad students in a university  17:46 Role of research 19:04 What makes Roehampton different? 20:22 Academic specialisations 22:29 A word on Charles I  The Roey Grad Podcast is a presentation of the University of Roehampton’s Graduate School.  https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/academic-areas/graduate-school Our theme music is by DiamondTunes.  https://pixabay.com/users/diamond_tunes-25553362  Our hosts are two PhDs of Roehampton, Charles Miller and Will Berard, who also edits and mixes the podcast. It was produced by Aaliyah Hassan. 

As we wrap up on the recordings for the upcoming series, here is a sneak peak into what is to come :)

If you would like to feature in future episodes, get in touch with the Graduate school at [email protected]!

What is the Grad School, and what do they do?

In this trailer we go over who the podcast has been set up for :)

What should you expect from this podcast?