معرفی
Melania Calestani is a Senior Lecturer and Department Lead for Research in the Department of Midwifery at Kingston University's School of Education, Midwifery and Social Work. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she leads the 'Ways of Knowing' curriculum thread across all midwifery programs while serving as Chair of the Midwifery Tackling Racism Working Group and leader of the Inequalities and Critical Midwifery Studies Special Interest Group.
- PgCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
- PhD, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MRes, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MSc, Anthropology and Ecology of Development, UCL
- MSc (3 years + 1), Geography, University of Genoa
Her research centers on critical medical anthropology, with emphasis on health inequalities, race/ethnicity frameworks, and biosocial perspectives connecting macro-level structures to individual experiences. She employs qualitative/ethnographic methodologies across diverse contexts including the UK, Bolivia, Mexico, and Europe, consistently prioritizing marginalized perspectives through critical theory and social justice lenses. Her work challenges conventional paradigms in well-being studies, environmental health, and maternity care systems.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals three dominant trajectories: (1) Critical examinations of structural racism in healthcare (weight stigma, indigenous pandemic responses); (2) Innovative methodologies for addressing health inequities (renal decision-making, neuroethics); and (3) Decolonial approaches to well-being and environmental health (Buen vivir, toxic legacies). These strands consistently integrate critical medical anthropology with actionable frameworks for clinical practice.
- 2017 Jim Lewis Prize for 'Doing the dirty work of the green economy'
- 2010 Ashby Prize for 'Inextinguishable Fibres: Demolition and the Vital Materialism of Asbestos'
- 2009 Best Dissertation Award from International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies
Dr. Calestani actively supervises 9 doctoral students across PhD and EdD programs, with research spanning maternity care justice, refugee education, and clinical decision-making. Her leadership extends to the Inequalities and Critical Midwifery Studies Special Interest Group and the Midwifery Tackling Racism Working Group, where she develops anti-racist frameworks for clinical practice. Current projects include EU-funded studies on indigenous health sovereignty and NHS decision-making processes.
Her research operates through international collaborations including the ATTOM transplant study consortium and EU environmental health initiatives, with fieldwork spanning Bolivia, Mexico, and UK healthcare settings. The Inequalities and Critical Midwifery Studies SIG serves as her primary platform for translating critical theory into clinical practice improvements.
