Symposium Theme

‘Lived experience’ has become a key concept in academia and public discourse, often used to highlight positionality, marginality, and personal knowledge in understanding social issues such as poverty, migration, crime, and inequality. However, questions remain about how it should be conceptualized and what kind of knowledge it produces. This symposium will critically examine these questions from various disciplinary perspectives, drawing on feminist, sociological, criminological, and political insights.

Abstracts available at:  Lived Experience Symposium - abstracts

Keynote speakers

Professor Jenny Pearce and Professor Sharon Wright are leading experts on lived experience in scholarship and policy, with significant contributions in both the Global North and Global South. They will each deliver a keynote address, which will serve as a catalyst for roundtable discussions. These discussions will provide an opportunity for further interdisciplinary engagement and debate around the theoretical, methodological, and practical applications of lived experience. 

Register for this event at: https://forms.office.com/e/L3egM7WYUk 

Symposium Schedule

9:00 AM – Arrival & Coffee

Tea, coffee, and pastries provided.

9:30 AM – Welcome & Introduction

The Organizing Committee introduces the symposium’s goals, structure, and format.

10:00 AM – Keynote Address 1

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Jenny Pearce
Duration: 1 hour (Including Q&A).

11:00 AM – Round Table (Session 1) – Presentations

Format: Presenters speak for 7-10 minutes each.

• Dr. Julius-Cezar MacQuarie – Lived Experiences through Structural Invisibility and Precarity Faced by Nightworkers
• Dr. Aoife Price & Dr. Calvin Swords – Making sense of ‘lived experience’ involvement in current mental health systems: shared lessons, learnings, and pitfalls from researchers in mental health and disability (School of Applied Social Studies, UCC)
• Dr. Lydia Sapouna – Learning from the lived experience of Madness and distress – towards epistemic justice? (School of Applied Social Studies, UCC)
• Amin Sharifi Isaloo - Fear and uncertainty in Direct Provision

Roundtable Discussions (Session 1) -Open discussion with participants.

12:30 PM – Lunch Break (12:30 – 1:30 PM)

Sandwiches and tea and coffee provided for all attendees.

Afternoon Session

1:30 PM – Keynote Address 2

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Sharon Wright
Duration: 1 hour (Including Q&A).

2:30 PM – Participant Presentations (Session 2)

Format: Presenters speak for 7-10 minutes each.

• Dr. Tom Boland – The Lived Experience of Being Right: Interviewing Critics
• Dr. Gema Kloppe-Santamaría – Lived Religion: Examining the Lived Experience of Some Faithful but Not Others? (Department of Sociology and Criminology, UCC)
• Dr. Ray Griffin (SETU) – Social Policy Kills: Or, How Lived Experience Fights Statistical Flattening – And Loses
• Jody Moore-Ponce (PhD Researcher, Sociology and Criminology Department) – Speaking Your Truth: Lived Experience, Values, and the Question of Legitimacy

Roundtable Discussions (Session 2) Open discussion with participants.

4:PM 4:15PM – Afternoon Tea & Coffee Break

Tea and coffee served.
Short break before the final discussions.

4:15 -4:45 PM – Closing Remarks & Next Steps

Reflection on key themes.
Opportunities for future collaboration & research.
Thanks & acknowledgments.

The following ISS21 research clusters are hosting this event: Crime and Social Harm; Genders, Sexualities and Families; Populism and the Rise of the Far-right; Research for Civil Society, Environment and Social Action (REACT) and Work, Organisations and Welfare.