Persistent myths of the homogenous nation continue to dominate contemporary discourse and sit uneasily alongside demographic realities that reveal societies as fundamentally diverse. This seminar engages with these tensions by drawing on the book Erased Voices, Unspoken Heritage, which documents how exclusion operates through both overt macro-aggressions and the subtle, cumulative weight of everyday micro-aggressions. Emerging from this research is Say Our Names, an initiative designed to translate scholarly insight into tangible micro-practices that foster recognition and enact everyday forms of decolonisation. Central to the event will be a screening of the short documentary which exemplifies how academic work can be reimagined as accessible, socially impactful output. The seminar will conclude with an interactive workshop, inviting participants to critically reflect on the public purpose of scholarship and to develop strategies for extending the social impact of their own research across disciplinary and civic contexts.
Dr Zozan Balci is an award-winning academic, sociolinguist, and social justice advocate at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Born in Germany to immigrant parents, her lived experience of navigating multiple cultural and linguistic worlds informs much of her scholarly work on language and identity.
Zozan’s academic practice is grounded in the belief that research should generate social impact in and with communities. This commitment underpins her roles with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and the UTS Multicultural Women’s Network, where she works to bridge scholarship and everyday social change. An expert in life history interviewing, Zozan excels at transforming research into powerful storytelling, exemplified in her 2025 book Erased Voices and Unspoken Heritage and in Say Our Names—a cross-faculty project that challenges how we navigate perceived “tricky” or “foreign” names in Anglocentric contexts.
For further information please contact u.bavendiek@liverpool.ac.uk. You can register
