Tara McWhinney
PhD Student
| Degrees: | MA, BSW (Carleton) |
About Me:
I began in the PhD program at The School of Social Work in 2016 after completing a Masters in Geography at Carleton University. As a social worker in the Ottawa community for many years, I have front line experience assisting individuals with accessing social assistance programs and working with those who have come into contact with the law. At Carleton, I have worked as a Research Assistant for the Centre for Studies of Poverty and Social Citizenship and the Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement project.
Why Carleton:
With a structural approach and a collaborative program in Political Economy Carleton’s professors and the courses, they offer to provide me with the opportunity to study how economic and political structures affect the formation and administration of social policies and consequently the lives of individuals living in Canada.
Research:
I approach social justice issues from a unique perspective that utilizes online participatory mapping platforms to create spaces for the sharing of experiences and information. My doctoral research, Revisiting Domestic Labour in the Context of Austerity and New Household Formations: Examining Women’s Provisioning Work and Freedom, explores the unpaid housework and childcare experiences of women in Ontario. In my research design, I make use of online communication technologies to help facilitate engagement and connection amongst women participants across Ontario in ways that support and advance social change, equity and social justice.
Research Interests:
Women and social policy, feminist participatory mapping, caregiving, the political economy of the welfare state, feminist care ethics, community-academic research partnerships, community-based participatory action research, domestic labour and child care.