Jana Uhmeier M.A.

As a PhD candidate in Sociology and a research fellow in the RTG 2987, I am interested in the relation between the welfare state and migration, with a particular focus on reproduction. With an academic background in social work and gender studies, my previous research has centered on questions of reproductive justice in social work. Previously, I have also worked as a research assistant in the interdisciplinary EU-funded project “Smartup- Smart(ening up the modern) home: Redesigning power dynamics through domestic space digitalization”, as well as a student research in the DFG-funded project "It's your own fault.. right? A comparative, urban sociological explanation of homelessness in the interplay of individual, institutional, and structural factors". Building on these experiences and my expertise in intersectional and interdisciplinary research, in my dissertation, I now want to focus on the role of welfare institutions in negotiating reproductive justice for refugees.

Working Title: The Role of Welfare Institutions in Negotiating Reproductive Justice for Refugees

My project examines how welfare institutions in the German context contribute to the negotiation of reproductive rights for refugees. The focus is on the question of how institutional actors influence access to reproductive rights in the context of societal prejudice, precarious living conditions and institutional practices. From an intersectional, socio-legal perspective, the project analyzes the de facto accessibility of reproductive rights given the way these rights are shaped, denied or enabled by institutional actors. It further explores the connection of reproductive rights and refugees’ mobility rights. Drawing on Foucaults concept of biopolitics and adding a reproductive justice perspective, the project examines the institutional practices in the welfare system and the power relations between different actors. Methodologically, building on the Reflexive Grounded Theory, qualitative approaches such as participant observation, group discussions and interviews are employed.