The Phd-student of the month, January 2012

Monika Wilinska

PhD student in Social Work

Who are you and where are you from?

I am a doctoral student in Social Work at the Research School of Health and Welfare. I come from Poland.

How did you end up at HHJ?

When I was a student in Olsztyn, Poland, I had an opportunity to spend one semester abroad. I could choose between UK, Spain and Sweden.  For some reasons (definitely, not the weather), I decided to go to Sweden, and this how I came to HHJ the first time. I very much enjoyed that time and I wished to come back. Such an opportunity occurred when I got to know about the opening for PhD positions. I decided to grab it.

What is your research about?

My research is about inequalities: how we make them, how we live by them, and how we are shaped by them. It concerns things we do, think, and feel everyday about ourselves and our surroundings. In my PhD thesis, I try to show that inequalities are not done by some evil people who want to hurt innocent victim. Just the opposite, we all take part in (re)producing different forms of discrimination and stereotypes, and this is how inequalities thrive in our lives.

What is the best thing with working at the School of Health Sciences?

There are many things that make the School of Health Sciences attractive. I like it most for its working environment that makes everyone feel as a member of one big family. The sense of togetherness and community is very strong here.