The EDGES Research Collaborative is very pleased to welcome a new member, Melissa Plisic (she/they), who has just begun their Master of Arts degree working under the supervision of Prof. Leila Harris at Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice! More about Melissa below:
Melissa (she/they) is a zine-making, plant-loving, trail running, druid-adjacent urbanite. They hold a Diploma of Motion Picture Arts from Capilano University, and a BA majoring in Cultural Studies and minoring in Sociology from UBC Okanagan. They are now after their MA in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at UBC Vancouver.
Melissa is a second-generation, mixed-race Filipinx immigrant. She, as a settler, grew up in “North Vancouver” – the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Squamish, Tsleil- Waututh, and Musqueam nations. Melissa is grateful for every day she experiences these lush forests of the Pacific Northwest and recognizes that she can do so because of Indigenous land and water protectors. Melissa strives to work/ live in solidarity with the original caretakers of this land. She is most passionate about environmental justice and the decolonial social transformation that accompanies it.
In the spirit of Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Aph Ko, one of Melissa’s goals is to challenge the colonial pedagogical tradition that separates knowledge into discrete disciplines and erases the continuity between them. Melissa desires to be part of the movement that brings nonhumans, and environmental and food justice into discussions about social justice more broadly. In their experience, the perceived gaps between these issues are present in mainstream climate change and social justice discourses.
Through creative media, Melissa aims to bridge the gap between everyday activists and academics. She wants to make knowledge accessible to communities that may not be able to access academia and bring community knowledges forth. Zine-making is one of her critical interventions into white supremacy.
Featured Publications
Plisic, Melissa. Black Luminosity in the Age of Social Media, UBCO, 2021. https://fccs.ok.ubc.ca/degrees-programs/undergraduate-programs/cultural-studies/student-projects/?fbclid=IwAR2SsJXwu1eiqYH4xzCcxs8bVvBEC7w_Kl- V1MaoXOz3k7uNNkJ5oAz1Uno
Plisic, Melissa. Who Are You and Why Are You Here?, UBCO, 2021. https://fccs.ok.ubc.ca/degrees-programs/undergraduate-programs/cultural-studies/student-projects/?fbclid=IwAR2SsJXwu1eiqYH4xzCcxs8bVvBEC7w_Kl-V1MaoXOz3k7uNNkJ5oAz1Uno
Contact
Instagram @greenfilipinx
Email melissa.plisic@ubc.ca
