Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor
Find a member of staff
Job title: Project Researcher - Religion and Society
Email: s.contractor@derby.ac.uk
Room: N304b
I'm a media friendly expert
Recent publications
2012. Muslim Women in Britain: Demystifying the Muslimah. London & New York: Routledge
2012. Learning from Experience Leading to Engagement: For a Europe of Religion and Belief Diversity. A Policy Brief Document for the European Institutions and Civil Society Groups (with Weller P)
http://www.ceji.org/belieforama-learning-from-experience-leading-to-engagement-policy-documents
2012. Research Report: Arabic language and Islamic Studies: who studies Arabic and how can these skills be used at university and beyond? (with Scott-Baumann A)
2012. 'How to build bridges between universities and Muslim colleges in Britain with partnerships and curricula' in Perspectives: Teaching Islamic Studies in Higher Education. Issue 4 July 2012 (with Scott-Baumann A)
2011. 'Marginalisation or an Opportunity for Dialogue: exploring the Hijab as a Discursive Symbol of the Identity of Young Muslim Women' in Gabriel, T & Hanan, R (Eds) Islam and Veil. London: Continuum
2011. 'Enhancing the visibility of Muslim women in Islamic Studies - Opportunities and More' in Perspectives: Teaching Islamic Studies in Higher Education. Issue 2, June 2011(with Scott-Baumann A)
2011. Research Report: Encouraging Muslim women into higher education through partnerships and collaborative pathways. Southampton: HEA Islamic Studies Network (with Scott-Baumann A)
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/detail/islamicstudies/Aug_2010_Alison_Scott_Baumann
2010. Research Report:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6155/1734121.pdf
Forthcoming
2013. 'Researching the Non-religious: Methods and Methodological Issues, Challenges and Controversies' in Day, A & Cotter, C (eds.) Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular. Aldershot: Ashgate (with Hooley T; Moore N; Purdam K and Weller P)
2013. Religion or Belief, Discrimination and Equality: Britain in Global Contexts. London: Continuum (with Weller P; Purdam K and Ghanea N)
2013. Encyclopaedia Articles - 'Qur'anic Schools for Girls'; 'Sunni Islam and Women'; 'Women of the Prophet's Household - Interpretation' and 'Da'wah, Women's Activities in' in Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women. New York: Oxford University Press
2013. 'Online Sufism - Young British Muslims, their internet 'selves' and virtual reality' in Gabriel, T & Geaves, R (Eds) British Sufism. London: Continuum
Experience in Industry
During the period May 2002 to May 2006 in line with my postgraduate qualifications, I worked as a Human Resources Executive/Consultant with various organisations in Mumbai, India. As part of my job roles I was usually responsible for end-to-end resourcing: recruitment and training; facilitation of goal setting exercises and performance appraisals; employee relations activities; and quality initiatives.
Faculty: Education, Health and Sciences
Subject Area: Centre for Society, Religion and Belief
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Society, Religion or Belief
I am an early career academic with expertise in interdisciplinary studies within Religious Studies and the Sociology of Religion. I work within a feminist-pragmatist epistemological stance, am passionate about 'religion and belief' diversity Britain and beyond, and undertake research from an inclusive paradigm and with a constant strand of promoting inter-faith dialogue, cohesion and pluralism. I specialise in research about Muslim women, Islamic feminism and education studies within British Islam, social policy with regard to discrimination and equality in the basis of religion or belief and the experiences and opinions of the 'non-religious' in the UK. My research aims to have a 'real' influence on social policy, local and international communities and wider academic communities.
Current Research
I. Collaborative Partnerships Project: I am currently Principal Investigator on an ESRC funded project entitled 'Collaborative Partnerships between UK Universities and Muslim institutions: Dismantling the Roadblocks. As part of this research my co-investigator Prof Alison Scott-Baumann, the project investigator Ms Michelle Wood and I are running a series of Knowledge Exchange Events that are free for all interested individuals to attend. For further details of these events please visit the project webpages - http://www.derby.ac.uk/collaborative-partnerships-project.
II. Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality Project: I am currently with Prof. Paul Weller, Dr. Kingsley Purdam and Dr. Nazila Ghanea writing up the findings of our AHRC / ESRC Religion & Society funded project on 'Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010)'. We are writing a monograph entitled, Religion or Belief, Discrimination and Equality: Britain in Global Contexts which will be published in Autumn 2013 by Bloomsbury. To know more about this project please visit http://www.derby.ac.uk/religion-and-society
III. Digital Methodologies in the Sociology of Religion: I am Principal Investigator on this DSR funded project. As part of this project we ran a national conference bringing together scholars to critically evaluate the uses, impacts, challenges and future of digital methodologies in the sociology of religion. For more details please visit http://www.derby.ac.uk/digital-methodologies-in-the-sociology-of-religion.
Teaching responsibilities
5SL505 Qualitative Research is Sociology
I also teach sessions on Sociology of Islam, Religion, politics and human rights in a global society, British Islam and Feminist methods
Research interests
Sociology or Religion
Sociology of Islam
Muslims in Britain
Muslim women / Islamic Feminism
Islam and Education
Discrimination and Equality on the basis of Religion or Belief
The experiences of the Non-religious in Britain
Membership of professional bodies and advisory committees
Web Officer - British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS)
Recent Conferences
Plenary Panellist 'Religious Women working for Justice and Peace', at International Conference on Women, Authority and Leadership in Christianity and Islam, University of Roehampton, 10th - 12th September 2012
'Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales', (with Weller, P) at AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme conference: New Forms of Public Religion
5th - 7th September 2012
'Discrimination, Equality and the 'Non-Religious'' (with Hooley, T) AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme conference: Non-Religious Identities in Policy and Practice, 20 April 2012
'Women-led Curriculum Development for Modern British Islam', (with Scott-Baumann, A) at BSA SOCREL symposium: Teaching and Studying Religion: choices and challenges, 15th December 2011
'My Research Journey and its Contributions to Inter-community Dialogue', Montagu Barker lecture at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, 19th April 2011
'Personal Narratives and their Potential for Dialogue', seminar at Oxford Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, 15th February 2011
'British Muslim Women's Narratives of Rights and Social Change', presentation for International Interdisciplinary Conference: Women Universities as Agents of Change, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan, 26th - 27th November 2010
'De-mystifying the Muslimah: Using Muslim women's digital stories to develop notions of women's solidarity and shared femininity', seminar for Warwick University Centre for the Study of Women and Gender (CSWG) Graduate Seminar Series 2010-2011, 20th October 2010
Media experience
Radio interviews on BBC Gloucestershire, BBC Derby, Unity FM BirminghamÂ
Undergraduate qualifications
- BSc Physics, Mumbai University
- PGDBM, Rizvi Academy of Management, Mumbai
Research qualifications
- MRes (Masters by Research), University of Gloucestershire
- PhD on Muslim women in Britain and inter-community dialogue , University of Gloucestershire
Research posts
| Institution | Project | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| University of Derby | Collaborative Partnerships Project | August 2012 - ongoing |
| University of Derby | Digital Methodologies in the Sociology of Religion | August 2012 - ongoing |
| University of Derby | Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales | January 2010 - ongoing |
| University of Gloucestershire | Muslim Faith Leader Training in Britain | July 2008 - March 2010 |
