Scholars tell their stories

Four Scholars will talk about subjects ranging from life in Colombia to the history of Detroit at an event next week.

The history of Detroit, gender issues in poetry slams, trans identities and life in Colombia will form the basis of a Scholar Stories session next week.

The Scholar Stories event takes place in the Gates Cambridge Scholars Common Room on 1st December from 7-9:30pm.

The four speakers are:

Aya Waller-Bey [2015]  is doing an MPhil in Education on the ways Hip-Hop can be used to increase the pedagogical opportunities in education and how it might facilitate greater access to education for underrepresented communities. Her talk is entitled Detroit – A Tale of Two Cities. She will share a little unknown history about the city and speak about her experience of growing up in a city which is often the subject of negative media attention.

Afrodita Nikolova [2014] is doing a PhD in Education focusing on developing a poetry slam-influenced programme for enabling a more narrative identity for young people in a correctional facility in Macedonia. Her talk is entitled Anti-Princess Education, Poetry slams and Vulnerability. She will speak about vulnerability in spoken word performances, about her personal experiences of taking part in slams and the gender issues that arise from these and from growing up in a patriarchal society. There will be poetry performance in her presentation.

Nikolas Oktaba [2015] is doing an MPhil in Classics, focusing on ancient Greek sex spells, particularly their intersection with medicine, torture and BDSM. His talk, A Brooklyn Life, will address his experience growing up in working-class Brooklyn. He has experienced death threats and homelessness among other challenges.

Nicolas Paez [2014] is doing a PhD in Economics looking at how to build theory, based on network models, to understand how the development of a region cannot be studied alone, but it should be embedded within its geographical context. His talk will be a trip through the magic, colours and music of Colombia.

Picture credit of the Carnaval de Negros y Blancos in Colombia: Wikipedia.