Academic Projects

Negotiating Urban Life

This research grew out of an internship with Cascoland, a placemaking organisation active in the Van Deysselbuurt, a culturally diverse neighbourhood in Amsterdam New West undergoing urban renewal. Combining participant observation, participatory mapping and interviews, the study examines how placemaking practices contribute to the neighbourhood's social and spatial activation, and argues that creative citizen engagement, while powerful, does not automatically translate into more inclusive urban life.

When Feminist Punk Defies Patriarchy

This thesis examines the role music plays in defending gender equality in different political regimes, focusing on the feminist punk bands Pussy Riot in Russia and Les Vulves Assassines in France. By analysing nineteen interviews of the bands' members, the research investigates how music enables marginalised groups to amplify their voices to challenge gender norms and criticise unjust societies. Building on Fraser's theory of 'subaltern counterpublics' (1990), the findings reveal that both bands use music to attract public attention, foster a sense of community and promote women's empowerment.

Addressing Ragging Among Sri Lankan Students

During a semester, as part of the "21st Century Learning" course, we had the opportunity to work in groups in collaboration with a challenge owner to discover the backstage of intervention mapping. My group collaborated with Rage.lk, a non-profit organization that aims to mitigate ragging (hazing), which is omnipresent in Sri Lankan universities. The challenge owners explained to us the root causes of the problem, which turned out to be multifaceted and complex, and guided us to create an appropriate intervention.

Field Study in Montevideo

This one-month field study in Montevideo, Uruguay, explored the links between food security and human rights, in partnership with the Universidad de la República. Professors from neuroscience, psychology, and human rights contributed to the program, giving the project an interdisciplinary approach. Together with three classmates, I focused on fruit and vegetable waste in supermarkets and designed an innovative intervention: the "Save me!" bags.

Women in the Hungarian Parliament

After learning how tolerance and beliefs shape global challenges by applying concepts from disciplines like psychology, cultural studies, and anthropology, we had to conduct a stakeholder analysis of the case study of our choice. With my group, we decided to focus on the underrepresentation of women in politics. In Hungary, women make up half of the population but only hold 14.6% of parliamentary seats. This underrepresentation is rooted in patriarchal norms, discriminatory political structures, and implicit bias. We applied the socio-ecological model to analyze the issue and create a three-stage intervention: raising public awareness, introducing candidate quotas, and supporting women MPs.

France's Intergenerational Divide on Climate Change

Climate change affects environment and people. Paradoxically, the ones who bear the brunt of energy-intensive human activities are people with practically no responsibility, including the young. Nevertheless, there seems to be a generational conflict about climate change in France as the concerns and expectations are different among younger and older populations.