Chijoke Obasi

Chijioke is Course Leader for the MA in Promoting Equality and Managing Diversity and is Programme Leader for all equality and diversity courses in the School. Chijioke has worked for the university in different roles since 2004. Her professional background was in Social Work with Deaf People. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in BSL/English Interpreting and Translation and is now a fully qualified Member of the Register of Sign Language Interpreters.

Chijioke has been a member of the Equality and Diversity working groups in a number of organisations she has worked for both in London and in Lancashire. She also set up the first Black Workers Development Group for Lancashire Social Services which she chaired before moving to the university in 2004.

Chijioke’s recent sabbatical leave enabled her to do primary research, looking at the experiences and perspectives of black sign language interpreters working in the UK.

Chijioke’s research interests lie in the wider field of equality and diversity. She is currently engaged in her PhD study looking at attitudes and approaches to equality and diversity from the perspectives of black women and deaf women working in the Northwest Public sector.

Publications

Obasi, S. (2007) “Sign language interpreting in Higher Education – a period of progress?” in Barnes, L. Harrington, F.  Williams, J. Atherton, M. (eds.) Deaf students in Higher Education: current research and practice.  Coleford, Douglas McLean Publishing, pp.202-215.

Obasi, C. (2008) Seeing The Deaf In ‘Deafness’. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Vol 13 (4)