Alissa Overend

Dr. Overend approaches teaching and research as rare opportunities to engage in-depth with the social and structural forces that make up contemporary Canadian society. In a globalized, information age where knowledge is often disseminated in 140 characters or less, and where “abstracted empiricism” (i.e., easily-digestible fact-based information) tends to dominate the mediasphere, Alissa treats classrooms and research as places to think critically about social phenomena. With the help of critical social theories, she works to deepen awareness of the social, historical, legal and political structures that function to keep social marginalization in place. Using relevant cases of media and popular culture, she encourages an intellectual and contextual engagement with the social world. Alissa's teaching and research interests span health studies, food studies, food equity, medicalization, critical disability studies, social inequality, contemporary theory and critical pedagogies. | Food studies, food insecurity, social determinants of health, medicalization, intersectional social inequality, universal design for learning, discourse analysis, contemporary theory

Alissa Overend is Associate Professor | Research Institute for Urban Wellness Member at MacEwan University. Their stated interests include Dr. Overend approaches teaching and research as rare opportunities to engage in-depth with the social and structural forces that make up contemporary Canadian society. In a globalized, information age where knowledge is often disseminated in 140 characters or less, and where “abstracted empiricism” (i.e., easily-digestible fact-based information) tends to dominate the mediasphere, Alissa treats classrooms and research as places to think critically about social phenomena. With the help of critical social theories, she works to deepen awareness of the social, historical, legal and political structures that function to keep social marginalization in place. Using relevant cases of media and popu. This summary considered all 2 collected sources.