Dr Melania Calestani
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
- Department of Midwifery
- School of Education, Midwifery and Social Work
- Kingston Hill
Senior Lecturer and Director of Postgraduate Studies
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am an anthropologist with postdoctoral experience in health services research/social sciences and I have been the Director of Postgraduate Studies (School of Education, Midwifery and Social Work, and School of Nursing, Allied and Public Health) since September 2025.
I teach on undergraduate/postgraduate degrees in Midwifery, contributing to the social and political context of birth modules (Year 1, 2 and 3). As department lead for research, I am in charge of the Ways of Knowing thread, which is integrated into all modules to ensure the assimilation of research knowledge and its application to clinical practice. I have been supervising PhD students and Masters students researching different topics. I am an active member of the Midwifery Tackling Racism Working Group and have been acting as the chair of the Group since September 2023. I also lead the new Inequalities and Critical Midwifery Studies Special Interest Group.
I have experience of carrying out research in Europe, the UK, Bolivia and Mexico. My main research interests include critical understandings of race and ethnicity, health inequalities and perspectives from critical medical anthropology. Throughout my studies and professional work, I have had a personal and passionate engagement with biosocial research concerning health, disease and well-being and, theoretically, I have engaged with perspectives form critical medical anthropology and epidemiology, linking the macro with the micro level. I am interested in perspectives from the margins, critical theory and social justice.
Qualifications
- PgCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
- PhD, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MRes, Anthropology, Goldsmiths (University of London)
- MSc, Anthropology and Ecology of Development, UCL (University of London)
- MSc (3 years + 1) , Geography, University of Genoa (Italy)
Domains
I teach on undergraduate/postgraduate degrees in Midwifery.
Teaching
Module leader
- Ways of Knowing Threat (1st, 2nd and 3rd year Midwifery)
Contribute to
- Social and Political Context of Birth 1 (1st year Midwifery)
- Social and Political Context of Birth 2 (2nd year Midwifery)
- Social and Political Context of Birth 3 (3rd year Midwifery)
Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- PgCert, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
Courses taught
My work in Bolivia for my PhD (2009) in anthropology has focused on individual and collective definitions of 'the good life', exploring religious and medical pluralism among Aymara people. In the UK, I carried out research on processes of decision-making and person-centred care in the NHS. My research interests also include critical understandings of race and ethnicity, health inequalities and perspectives from critical medical anthropology. Throughout my studies and professional work, I have had a personal and passionate engagement with biosocial research concerning health, disease and well-being and, theoretically, I have engaged with perspectives form critical medical anthropology and epidemiology, linking the macro with the micro level. I am interested in perspectives from the margins, critical theory and social justice.
Projects
Exploring your Experience of Term Induction of Labour (EYEIoL study). Research with ethnically minoritised women.
Exploring the Impact of Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment on Fertility Preservation and Pregnancy Outcomes in the UK: An Intersectional Approach.
Awards
- 2017 Jim Lewis Prize for the most innovative article in the journal European Urban and Regional Studies: Gregson, N., Crang, M., Botticello, J., Calestani, M. and Krzywoszynska, A. "Doing the 'dirty work' of the green economy: Resource recovery and migrant labour in the EU" in European Urban and Regional Studies 23.4 (2016): 541-555.
- 2010 Ashby Prize for the most innovative article in the journal Environment and Planning A: Gregson, N., Watkins, H. and Calestani, M. ‘Inextinguishable Fibres: Demolition and the Vital Materialism of Asbestos' in Environment and Planning A, 2010, Volume 42 (5), pages: 1065-1083.
- 2009 Best dissertation award granted by the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) PhD Thesis with fieldwork in Bolivia.
PhD/EdD (Doctor of Education) students
Completed
PhD
- Dr Brian Lally, Syrian refugee experiences of education in Lebanon: voices from the margins (KU studentship).
Current Students
PhD
- Paula Cummins, Understanding the Lived Experiences of Black Midwives in England: Racialisation, Racism, and the Impact on Professional Development (SEDarc funding).
- Lauren James, Managing uncertainty in maternity care (KU studentship).
- Grace Whordley, Birth choice; power and inequality in women’s expectations and experiences of childbirth (KU studentship).
- Jenny Cunningham, How experiences of weight stigma impact higher-weight women during their maternity care (KU studentship).
- Eva Said, Improving practice through the collaborative development of a clinical nursing education model within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
- Anna Hockley, UCL, Speech and language therapists' decision-making for communication support in dementia (ESRC studentship).
EdD
- Agnieszka Buckley, Through Their Eyes: Compassion Fatigue among NQSWs.
- David Gumbrell, Role models for newly qualified teachers: a phenomenological study.
- Claire Mckellow, Students’ experiences of gamification techniques in midwifery education.
- Helen Potkin, Ecologies of theory and practice: enquiring into everyday practices, events and relations in the contemporary art school.
Publications
How experiences of weight stigma impact higher-weight women during their maternity care: a meta-ethnography.
Cunningham, Jenny, Calestani, Dr. Melania and Coxon, Dr. Kirstie, 2024, Midwifery, E-pub ahead of print
Experiencias y significación de la pandemia de Covid-19 en población indígena en situación de vulnerabilidad estructural: un estudio cualitativo en el estado de Oaxaca
Montesi, Laura, Calestani, Melania and Ortega Zavala, Nadia, 2023, Región y sociedad (35), Published
The circular paradox of including people with severe brain injuries and reduced decisional capacity in research: a feasibility study exploring randomised research, consent-based recruitment biases, and the resultant health inequities
Clark, Teresa, Lewko, Agnieszka and Calestani, Melania, 2023, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, E-pub ahead of print
Managing uncertainty in multidisciplinary renal team meetings: decision-making processes and complex challenges in kidney transplant listing
Calestani, Melania, Roderick, Paul, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Ravanan, Rommel and Leydon, Geraldine M., 2023, Health, Risk & Society, E-pub ahead of print
Toxic legacies and health inequalities of the Anthropocene: perspectives from the margins
Calestani, Melania, 2023, Medicine Anthropology Theory (10), 2, Published
Family carers' experiences of dysphagia after a stroke: an exploratory study of spouses living in a large metropolitan city
Robinson, Anna, Coxon, Kirstie, McRae, Jackie and Calestani, Melania, 2022, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders (57), 5pp 924-936, Published
Supporting girls and young women victims of sexual harassment in schools: "me and you and everyone we know"
Goodman, Anthony and Calestani, Melania, 2022, Safer Communities (21), 1pp 1-18, Published
Post-neoliberal development paths in Latin America
Scott, Alex, Artaraz, Kepa and Calestani, Melania, 2021, Sage Political Science & International Relations, Published
Introduction. Vivir bien / Buen vivir and post-neoliberal development paths in Latin America: scope, strategies and the realities of implementation
Artaraz, Kepa, Calestani, Melania and Trueba, Mei, 2021, Latin American Perspectives (48), 3pp 4-16, Published
Integration and retention of American physician assistants/associates working in English hospitals: a qualitative study
Taylor, Francesca, Drennan, Vari M., Halter, Mary and Calestani, Melania, 2020, Health Policy (124), 5pp 525-530, Published
Perceived impact on efficiency and safety of experienced American physician assistants / associates in acute hospital care in England: findings from a multi-site case organisational study
Drennan, Vari M, Calestani, Melania, Taylor, Francesca, Halter, Mary and Levenson, Ros, 2020, JRSM Open (11), 10, Published
Book Review of: 'The quest for the good life in precarious times : ethnographic perspectives in the domestic moral economy' edited by Chris Gregory and Jon Altman
Calestani, Melania, 2019, The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology (20), 1pp 105-107, Published
Caring for nature matters: a relational approach for understanding nature's contributions to human well-being
Jax, Kurt, Calestani, Melania, Chan, Kai MA, Eser, Uta, Keune, Hans, Muraca, Barbara, O'Brien, Liz, Potthast, Thomas, Voget-Kleschin, Lieske and Wittmer, Heidi, 2018, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (35)pp 22-29, Published
Learning from an early pilot of the Dutch Buurtzorg model of district nursing in England
Drennan, Vari, Ross, Fiona, Calestani, Melania, Saunders, Mary and West, Peter, 2018, Primary Health Care (28), 6pp 23-25, E-pub ahead of print
Variation in practice patterns for listing patients for renal transplantation in the United Kingdom: a national survey
Pruthi, Rishi, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Calestani, Melania, Leydon, Geraldine, Eyles, Caroline, Oniscu, Gabriel C., Tomson, Charles, Bradley, Andrew, Forsythe, John L., Bradley, Clare, Cairns, John, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher, Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel, Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian, Ravanan, Rommel and Roderick, Paul J., 2018, Transplantation (102), 6pp 961-968, Published
Tackling the workforce crisis in district nursing: can the Dutch Buurtzorg model offer a solution and a better patient experience? A mixed methods case study
Drennan, Vari M., Calestani, Melania, Ross, Fiona, Saunders, Mary and West, Peter, 2018, BMJ Open (8), 6, Published
Assessing consensus between UK renal clinicians on listing for kidney transplantation: a modified Delphi Study
Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Taylor, Dominic M., Leydon, Geraldine M., Calestani, Melania, Oniscu, Gabriel C., Bradley, J. Andrew, Tomson, Charles R., Bradley, Clare, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher J.E., Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel J., Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian G., Ravanan, Rommel and Roderick, Paul, 2018, Transplantation Direct (4), 5, Published
Book Review of: 'Gender, globalisation, and health in a Latin America context' by Jasmine Gideon
Calestani, Melania, 2017, Bulletin of Latin American Research (36), 2pp 266-267, Published
Doing the 'dirty work' of the green economy: resource recovery and migrant labour in the EU
Gregson, Nicky, Crang, Mike, Botticello, Julie, Calestani, Melania and Krzywoszynska, Anna, 2016, European Urban and Regional Studies (23), 4pp 541-555, Published
Suma qamana in Bolivia: indigenous understandings of well-being and their contribution to a post-neoliberal paradigm
Artaraz, Kepa and Calestani, Melania, 2015, Latin American Perspectives (42), 5pp 216-233, Published
Patient attitudes towards kidney transplant listing: qualitative findings from the ATTOM study
Calestani, Melania, Tonkin-Crine, Sarah, Pruthi, Rishi, Leydon, Geraldine, Ravanan, Rommel, Bradley, J. Andrew, Tomson, Charles R., Forsythe, John L., Oniscu, Gabriel C., Bradley, Clare, Cairns, John, Dudley, Christopher, Watson, Christopher, Draper, Heather, Johnson, Rachel J., Metcalfe, Wendy, Fogarty, Damian G. and Roderick, Paul, 2014, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (29), 11pp 2144-2150, Published
Book Review: Evo Morales and the Movimiento al Socialismo in Bolivia - edited by Pearce, Adrian J
Calestani, Melania, 2013, Bulletin of Latin American Research (32), 4pp 512-513, Published
Vivir bien, entre utopía y realidad [Living well, between utopia and reality]
Artaraz, Kepa and Calestani, Melania, 2013, Cell Proliferation (18)pp 105-123, Published
Using computer decision support systems in NHS emergency and urgent care: ethnographic study using normalisation process theory
Pope, Catherine, Halford, Susan, Turnbull, Joanne, Prichard, Jane, Calestani, Melania and May, Carl, 2013, BMC Health Services Research (13), 111pp 1-13, Published
Political markets: recycling, economization and marketization
Gregson, Nicky, Watkins, Helen and Calestani, Melania, 2013, Economy and Society (42), 1pp 1-25, Published
Being 'an authentic alte├▒o': young people in a Bolivian Andean city
Calestani, Melania, 2012, Journal of Youth Studies (15), 4pp 541-555, Published
Inextinguishable fibres: demolition and the vital materialism of asbestos
Gregson, Nicky, Watkins, Helen and Calestani, Melania, 2010, Environment and Planning A (42), 5pp 1065-1083, Published
'Suerte' (Luck): spirituality and well-being in El Alto, Bolivia
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Applied Research in Quality of Life (4), 1pp 47-75, Published
Book review: Alberto Corsín Jiménez (ed.), Culture and Well-being: Anthropological Approaches to Freedom and Political Ethics. London: Pluto Press, 2008.
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Critique of Anthropology (29), 1pp 125-126, Published
Book Review: Sian Lazar, El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia. London: Duke University Press, 2008.
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Critique of Anthropology (29), 4pp 471-472, Published
An anthropology of 'The Good Life' in the Bolivian Plateau
Calestani, Melania, 2009, Social Indicators Research (90), 1pp 141-153, Published
Three narratives of anthropological engagement
Calestani, Melania, Kyriakakis, Ioannis and Tassi, Nico, 2007, Anthropology Matters (9), 2, Published
Managing chronicity in unequal states: ethnographic perspectives on caring
(2021). London, U.K.: (UCL Press) [Published]
Vivir bien/Buen vivir and post-neoliberal development paths in Latin America: scope, strategies, and the realities of implementation
Artaraz, Kepa, Calestani, Melania and Trueba, Mei L. (2021). (SAGE Publications) [Published]
Prayer as transgression? The social relations of prayer in healthcare settings
Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl, Sharma, Sonya, Brown, Rachel and Calestani, Melania (2020). Montreal, Quebec: (McGill-Queen's University Press) [Published]
South London Community Education Provider Networks: evaluation report
Calestani, M, Drennan, VM and Littlejohns, P (2017). London, U.K.: [Published]
An anthropological journey into well-being: insights from Bolivia
Calestani, Melania (2013). Dordrecht, Netherlands: (Springer Netherlands) [Published]
Youth on religion: the development, negotiation and impact of faith and non-faith identity
Madge, Nicola, Hemming, Peter J., Stenson, Kevin, Allum, Nick, Calestani, Melania, Goodman, Anthony, King, Katherine, Kingston, Sarah and Webster, Colin (2013). London, U.K.: [Published]
Ethnography and survey analysis of a computer decision support system in urgent out-of-hours, single point of access and emergency (999) care
Pope, Catherine, Turnbull, Joanne, Halford, Susan, Prichard, Jane, Salisbury, Chris, May, Carl, Barrett, Christine, Lattimer, Valerie and Calestani, Melania (2011). London, U.K.: [Published]
The racialisation of risk
Calestani, Melania and Miller, Jaime (2026). In: Scamell, Mandie, Coxon, Kirstie, De Vries, Raymond, (eds.), Cham, Switzerland:pp 55-73 [Published]
The biopolitics of COVID-19 in the UK: racism, nationalism and the afterlife of colonialism
Gamlin, Jennie, Gibbon, Sahra and Calestani, Melania (2021). In: Manderson, Lenore, Burke, Nancy J., Wahlberg, Ayo, (eds.), London, U.K.:pp 108-127 [Published]
The ethno-racial basis of chronic diseases: rethinking race and ethnicity from a critical epidemiological perspective
Montesi, Laura and Calestani, Melania (2020). In: Gibbon, Sahra, Sesia, Paola, Berrio, Lina, Gamlin, Jennie, (eds.), London, U.K.: UCL Presspp 170-192 [Published]
Mario Lodi's educational approach: is this relevant for anthropology in the twenty-first century?
Calestani, Melania (2018). In: Paganopoulos, Michelangelo, (eds.), Newcastle, U.K.:pp 130-143 [Published]
Spirituality, luck and well-being
Calestani, Melania (2014). In: Michalos, Alex C., (eds.), Dordrecht, Netherlands:pp 6285-6289 [Published]
Wellbeing in El Alto, Bolivia
Calestani, Melania (2012). In: Atkinson, Sarah, Fuller, Sarah, Painter, Joe, (eds.), Farnham, U.K.:pp 171-183 [Published]
Religions of native peoples and nursing
Calestani, Melania, White, Nereda, Hendricks, Auntie Joan and Scemons, Donna (2012). In: Fowler, Marsha D., Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl, Sawatzky, Richard, Johnston-Taylor, Elizabeth, (eds.), New York, U.S.A.:pp 267-294 [Published]
Well-being in El Alto, Bolivia
Calestani, Melania (2012). In: Atkinson, Sarah, Fuller, Sara, Painter, Joe, (eds.), London, U.K.:pp 171-184 [Published]
When Heidegger meets Freire
Buckley, Aga, Calestani, Melania and Curtis, Katherine(2023). [Published]
An anthropology of well-being: Local perspectives and cultural constructions in the Bolivian Altiplano
Calestani, Melania (2009), PhD thesis [Accepted/In press]