Giada Danesi
G. Danesi - Il potere trasformativo della ricerca sociale
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Giada Danesi, researcher at the DEASS Competence centre for care, health and society, recounts her academic and professional career in anthropology and ethnography, reflecting on the important role of social science research in exploring everyday practices and lived experiences, valuing otherness and promoting a critical understanding of reality. A dialogue that highlights the value of applied research and its transformative potential for society.
Can you tell us about your studies and what you do at SUPSI?
After completing my university studies in ethno-anthropological sciences and social anthropology in Italy (University of Bologna) and France (Université Lumière Lyon 2 and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris), I have been working as a researcher at the DEASS Competence centre for care, health and society since 2023. Over the past two years, I have worked on several projects, including “Re-Work: Returning to work after a cancer diagnosis” and the European research project “Quality of life of patients living with vascular LIVEr diseaseS. Developing research on the social impact of rare diseases”. I also collaborate on projects funded by the Swiss Confederation that aim to involve patient organisations in the implementation of care. Soon, I will begin a new collaboration with HESAV, HEdS-GE and ZHAW on a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) project that will study nutrition, body image and risks in the transition to motherhood.
How did you get involved in the world of research? What does it mean to be a researcher?
For me, getting into research was a natural process. During my studies in anthropology, I conducted several ethnographic studies on the eating habits and health of different populations. I then went on to do a PhD on the topic of commensality among young adults in different European countries, again using an ethnographic approach and a comparative perspective. After that, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on several research projects in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, which brought me closer and closer to science and technology studies, particularly thanks to a project on digital diabetes management tools (FNS, University of Lausanne) and a project on digital food monitoring (FNS, University of St. Gallen).
From a personal point of view, being a researcher means always discovering something new and having the opportunity to come into contact with experiences, ways of life and realities different from my own, from which I can learn different ways of thinking and relating to the world, as well as issues and difficulties related to personal, social and political situations that do not directly concern me. I believe, in fact, that it is important to be able to engage with and relate to otherness.
At the same time, from a professional point of view, it is natural that after studying social sciences, one wants to put one's skills of gathering and reflecting information and one's critical view of society and the world around us to good use. Being a researcher in social sciences allows me to give a voice to individuals, groups and realities that are sometimes opaque, silent or silenced, to bring to light and at the same time clarify phenomena, practices and experiences that not all of us have had the opportunity to experience and learn about, making them more visible and accessible to society. In my opinion, this has to do with research that is committed to shaking things up and transforming and shaping what surrounds us in relation to these phenomena.
What topics does your research focus on?
My research focuses on health and nutrition and their digitisation, as well as on the production and circulation of knowledge in these areas.
SUPSI's applied research activities are characterised by their strong practical application. Can you tell us about some of the projects you have carried out and their impact on the local area and society?
The Re-Work project has helped to highlight more clearly at local level the difficulties that women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer face in returning to work and regaining a sense of normality. This is often a task they have to undertake alone, relying solely on their personal, social and financial resources. Opportunities are not equal for all, as not everyone can count on the same resources. Just think of people in precarious professional and financial situations and/or with a limited social and family network.
Another project, relating to the quality of life of people with rare liver diseases, has undoubtedly given a voice to a reality that is hidden at national level and even more so at cantonal level. As these are rare diseases, only large-scale studies can involve a sufficiently large population to bring together those affected by the phenomenon, i.e. patients, family members, patient organisations, clinicians, researchers and political actors who must commit themselves to improving not only the expectations but also the quality of life of these people.
Other projects I am involved in provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the situation in our canton within the framework of national studies aimed at improving the Swiss healthcare system, taking into account cultural, regional and linguistic specificities.
What are your professional ambitions for the future?
I would like to remain a researcher and possibly a professor in the field of social sciences of health and further develop SUPSI's research on situated practices related to knowledge in the context of care, including the role of digital technologies, while continuing to collaborate on national and international projects.
Which project would you like to work on in the future?
I would like to work on a project that I strongly believe in, which analyses the phenomenon of legitimising patients' knowledge in the healthcare system.