in/fertile territories project - current status
Shantel is developing an interdisciplinary project about women’s experiences of infertility and fertility-related problems. The research is centred on the question: How do women facing an infertility or related diagnosis negotiate their emotional and bodily experiences against the ‘hard evidence’ presented to them in medical contexts? The project’s broad aim is to raise greater awareness and understanding about infertility and fertility related issues at a time when Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are advancing quickly, women are prioritising careers over having a family, and globalisation is changing the way that we relate to each other, build families, and engage with a sense of community. Shantel's expertise will be to utilise performance, choreography, and arts practices based in the academy to increase this understanding among society-at-large, including medical professionals, women going through fertility issues, and loved ones and carers. She is developing a performance lecture as a part of the research, to distinctly foreground the bodily and emotional aspects of women's experiences and instigate further conversation and engagement (please see Choreography page for imagery and performances to-date). Shantel is interested in working in collaboration with women experiencing fertility issues and experts working in the field of infertility.
The project is currently funded by a University of Surrey Pump-Priming Award (funded through July 2017) to run a pilot qualitative focus group with a small group of women diagnosed with infertility, conduct a ‘structured critical discussion group’ with 5 specialists working in the area of infertility and medical performance, and to develop the performance lecture. Thereafter Shantel will be on sabbatical (through February 2018) to focus on the research.
The project is currently funded by a University of Surrey Pump-Priming Award (funded through July 2017) to run a pilot qualitative focus group with a small group of women diagnosed with infertility, conduct a ‘structured critical discussion group’ with 5 specialists working in the area of infertility and medical performance, and to develop the performance lecture. Thereafter Shantel will be on sabbatical (through February 2018) to focus on the research.