Melinda Vandenbeld Giles

Sessional or Contract
Lecturer

Email: 
mvanden1@lakeheadu.ca
Office Hours: 
Email to arrange a virtual appointment
Academic Qualifications: 
  • Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Toronto (ABD)
  • Ryerson Publishing Certificate, Ryerson University
  • MA, Social Anthropology, York University
  • BA, Anthropology, University of Calgary
Previous Teaching/Work: 

1st Year

  • ENGL 1015 Introduction to Academic Writing
  • ANTH 1034 World Cultures

 2nd Year

  • ENGL 2818 Writing Across Genres: Creative Writing
  • ANTH 2517 Exploring Ethnography
  • ANTH 2515 Key Concepts in Ethnography
  • ANTH 2332 Peoples and Cultures of Africa

 3rd Year

  • ANTH 3238 History of Ethnography
  • ANTH 3711 Kinship and Marriage
  • ENGL/WOME 3850 Queer Texts  
  • INTD 3012 Altruism
Research Interests: 

Research Interests: 

Melinda Vandenbeld Giles's research involves exploring ideas of home, belonging and identity in a neoliberal global context of precarity and migration. In particular, Melinda did her fieldwork with mothers living with their children in motel rooms in Toronto. She has published an edited volume titled Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism along with several book chapters and journal articles. Melinda’s graduate research was supported by SSHRC. Her MA research involved exploring identity within the context of African-derived religions in the Americas, specifically Candomblé and Rastafarianism. She has published a feminist novel based on her research in Brazil.

Selected Publications:

Forthcoming Co-Edited Book

2018         Companion to Motherhood. London, UK: Routledge.

Fiction Book (inspired by graduate research)

June 2017    Clara Awake. Toronto, ON: Inanna Publications and Education Inc.

Edited Book

May 2014      Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.

Refereed Journal Articles

2014    “Gender Inequality and Poverty under the Neoliberal State” In Development (Journal of the Society for International Development) Inequalities Vol 57 (3/4): 416-422.

2013    “Educating Our Children for the Future? The Shifting Tides of Maternal Pedagogy” In

Mothering, Education, Maternal Pedagogies and Motherhood Studies. JMI (Journal of the

Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement) Vol 4.1: 108-120.

2012    “From ‘Need’ to ‘Risk’: The Neoliberal Construction of the ‘Bad’ Mother” In Mothers and the Economy: The Economics of Mothering. JMI (Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement) Vol 3.1: 112-133.        

2011    “Living in Isolation: Motel Families in Ontario and the Neoliberal Social/Built/Physical Environment” In Mothering and the Environment. JMI (Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement) Vol 2.1: 194-212.

Book Chapters

2017    “The Fantasy of Capitalism and Romance: Consuming the Self” In After the Happily Ever After: Empowering Women and Mothers in Relationships. Ed. Linda Ennis. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.

2014    “Introduction: An Alternative Mother-Centred Economic Paradigm.” In Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism. Ed. Melinda Vandenbeld Giles. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.

             "Making Invisible: The Eradication of ‘Homeless Mothers’ from Public Policy in Ontario.” In Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism. Ed. Melinda Vandenbeld Giles. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.

2013      “Feminism as Practice. Valuing a Feminist Motherline in the Age of Innovation.” In Mother of Invention: How Our Mothers Influenced Us As Feminist Academics and Activists. Eds. Vanessa Reimer and Sarah Sahagian. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.

2011       “Changing the World One Mother at a Time: The International Mothers and Mothering Network” In The 21st Century Motherhood Movement: Mothers Speak Out on Why We Need to Change the World and How To Do It. Ed. Andrea O’Reilly. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.