PhD students within the GENHDI Graduate School

Garima Shrivastava, Uppsala University

I am a PhD candidate at the Centre for Gender Research. My educational foundation includes a robust background in political science and gender studies, which has significantly informed and enriched my research endeavors.

My research project, titled "Understanding Digitally Mediated Information Seeking Practices for Self-Managed Abortions,” will investigate social media campaigns launched by civil society organizations for information dissemination about safe access to self-managed abortions with pills.

Supervisors: Jenny Björklund and Suruchi Thapar-Björkert (both Uppsala University)

Jules Han Amm, Uppsala University

I obtained my Bachelor in development studies with a special focus on sociology and social movement theory from Lund University in 2020. I then did my Master's in gender studies at Lund University, my thesis project focusing on transmedicalism, transnormativity and internal boundary constructions around the category of trans as negotiated on Reddit.

In my PhD project I explore how transmasculine people negotiate both transnormative conceptions and hegemonic norms of masculinity on Reddit. A digital ethnography of various transmasculine subreddits, this project draws on both transnormativity and trans masculinities as theoretical backdrops, wishing to map the emergent articulations of trans(masculine) subjectivities and their accompanying digital affordances and constraints that Reddit as an online platform provides.

Supervisors: Helena Wahlström Henriksson (Uppsala University), Sam Holmqvist (Södertörn University)

Jelena Savic, Uppsala University

As a PhD candidate at the Centre for Gender Research, I bring a diverse academic background and over twenty years of practical experience within Roma and feminist movements. I have a background in Philosophy and Adult Education, with a specific research interest in epistemic injustices and knowledge production.

My research centers on digital inequality through gender and race perspective, with a particular interest in the marginalized and racialized subjectivity of Roma women. In my PhD project I explore the intersection of Digital Humanities and Roma Theory by drawing on feminist, Critical Race Theory, and the Theory of Whiteness in order to understand aspects of digital inequalities from a Roma perspective.

Supervisors: Cecilia Rodéhn, Helena Wahlström Henriksson, and Ana Chiritoiu (all Uppsala University)

Josefins Wall Scherer, Stockholm University

I am a PhD student in the VR-funded Graduate School “Gender, humanities and digital culture”. I have a background in diversity studies, gender studies and media and communication studies.

My PhD research project is based on my theoretical interest in gender studies, critical whiteness studies and the desire for the past. To connect this into a digital culture I investigate the concept of the digital housewife as a cultural phenomenon in a retrotopic era and through a post-feminist sensibility. The digital housewife is a term for influencers who allude to a housewife archetype from the past. In contrast to the idea of an historical housewife, the digital housewife is to be understood as self-chosen, which places her in a post-feminist position. I examine how concepts of white melancholia, white femininity, queer temporality and post-feminism interact with this new type of digital identity.

Supervisors: Kristina Fjelkestam and Maria Margareta Österholm (both Stockholm University)

Zara Luna Hjelm, Stockholm University

Zara Luna Hjelm (she/her) is a PhD student in Gender Studies at Stockholm University. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in Visual Culture and Art History, a MSc in Gender Studies with a specialization in intersectionality and change an additional M.A. in Theological Studies. Her research interests encompass Film and Film Theory, Critical Race Studies, and Decoloniality.

In her PhD project she explores the representation and intersections of transnational and transracial adoption in narrative film challenging the hegemonic understanding of adoption. Thus, she examines various forms of adoption narrative in relation to colonialism, identity formation and trauma.

Supervisors: Lena Gemzöe and Johanna Gondouin (both Stockholm University)

Linnéa Saaranen, Stockholm University

My name is Linnéa Saaranen and I am from Gothenburg, Sweden. I have a background in Cultural Studies and Film Studies, and specialise in feminist film theory and cultural analysis. In my previous research, the main focus has often been the representation of the body in visual culture. As an example, I have written about the figuration of artificial women in science fiction films.

My PhD project will focus on contemporary Japanese female film directors and artists, both in terms of analysing their cinematic/visual work and its reception. Specifically, I am interested in the potential of using film/visual art as a digital medium to challenge gender norms in contemporary society.

Supervisors: Lisa Käll and Malena Gustavsson (both Stockholm University).

Mateusz Miesiac, Södertörn University

I am a PhD student based at Södertörn University. My main scholarly interests lie in aesthetics, embodiment, materiality, and mediation.

My PhD project studies digital life writing by masculine-identified subjects in the context of mental health. It examines how sharing one’s lived experience via specific digital mediums and media technologies supports one in exploring one’s gendered self and coping with mental health issues.

Supervisor: Linn Sandberg (Södertörn University)

Robert Jacobsson, Södertörn University

PhD in Gender Studies at Södertörns Högskola, sexologist & a social worker.

My PhD project is entitled "(Anal) sex as practice and taboo in digital environments: Desire, stigma and sexual health". The focus is on queer men’s anal sexuality and cultural aspects of digital intimacies and masculinity.

@jacobssonrobert on Instagram & X/Twitter.

Supervisor: Jenny Sundén (Södertörn University)