Jo Scofield

UBCO GRADUATE RESEARCHER (2020-2022)

INTERDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE STUDIES (COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SOCIAL CHANGE, AND EQUITY)

University of British Columbia | Okanagan Campus | Sylix Okanagan Nation Territory

Affiliations: Senior Writing Consultant (Student Learning Hub)

Email: jo.scofield@ubc.ca

Research interests: Abortion access, reproductive justice, activist anthropology, pro-choice activism, inclusive language, Canadian imperialism, critical development, social movements, anti-capitalism.

Jo Scofield (they/them) is an anthropologist and reproductive rights activist working and studying on unceded Syilx territory at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (UBCO). Jo received their Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from UBCO in 2020 and is now pursuing a Master of Arts in the CESCE program supervised by Dr. Susan Frohlick. Jo's graduate research Inclusive Activism: The Shift to Gender Inclusive Language in Canadian Pro-Choice Communities uses a reproductive justice approach to reproductive healthcare and abortion access. Their project is looking at how gender inclusive language is, or is not, being adopted in abortion related activism in Canada. Using gender inclusive language in conversations around abortion access would allow people of all gender identities who can be pregnant, and are pregnant, to participate in abortion related activism and access abortion care in a respectful and affirming setting. Assessing the current language usage will assist in understanding how language change is moving in Canada while also providing tools to improve the use of inclusive language in conversations around abortion access.

Jo is the 2021 recipient of a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's Award and the 2021 UBCO Provost Award for Teaching Assistants and Tutors.

Education

College Reading and Learning Association, Master Tutor, 2021

University of British Columbia, Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology), 2020

University of British Columbia, Teaching Assistant Certification, 2018

Okanagan College, Associate of Arts, 2017