Out of a large number of Sylff Research Grant (SRG) applications, one proposal from Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory researchers was supported this year:
Sara Nikolić
Interiors of Inequality: Ethnographic Exploration of Social Housing in Serbia
A grant of up to $5,000 was open to eligible fellows (i.e., those currently enrolled in a doctoral program or early in their career within three years of receiving their doctorate) from all 69 Sylff Association institutions. The Sylff Research Grant (SRG) aims to encourage Sylff fellows to engage in rigorous academic research that will become valuable assets for their future career development.
The research project “Interiors of Inequality: Ethnographic Exploration of Social Housing in Serbia“ resides at the intersection of multiple disciplines, including sociology, cultural anthropology, architecture, and housing studies. It draws upon sociological housing theories, cultural anthropology’s insights into the materiality of architecture, and previous research on housing and welfare systems. This research project probes the concept of homemaking and its boundaries within the challenging context of poverty and extreme housing precarity. The primary objective of this research project is to conduct a comprehensive architectural and visual ethnography of social housing complexes in Serbia to explore the relationship between social housing beneficiaries and their apartments. The research relies on an argument that material reality, together with tenure laws, housing, and welfare policies make an essential contribution to shaping how we understand, experience, and make a home.