Profile
Rose Capdevila
Birth:
1961
Training Location(s):
PhD, University of Reading (2000)
Diploma, University of Barcelona (1986)
BA, University of Toronto (1984)
Primary Affiliation(s):
The Open University (2009–Present)
University of Northampton (1998–1999)
Psychology’s Feminist Voices Oral History Interview:
Other Media:
Career Focus:
Single-issue social movements, social justice, methodology, mothering, gender in digital spaces, gender, history of feminist psychology
Biography
Rose Capdevila’s path into psychology was international and cross-disciplinary. Having initially been accepted to the University of Toronto into an undergraduate engineering degree, she soon switched to physics, then philosophy, before settling at to study Political Science and Psychology. Upon graduating, Capdevila relocated to Spain, where she immersed herself in Hispanic Studies, earning a diploma from the University of Barcelona. In 1994, Capdevila elected to move to the UK to pursue a PhD at the University of Reading. While she knew she wanted to study women, social movements, and politics, at this point, Capdevila says she “wasn’t all that attracted to psychology”. Her mind soon changed when she met Rex Stainton Rogers, a psychologist and talented supervisor who demonstrated the usefulness of psychology in exploring Capdevila’s research ideas. She soon fell in love with the subject and its broad applicability, declaring “I love the way psychology is relevant to everything”.
During her PhD, Capdevila was fascinated by women’s involvement in grassroots politics. To gain a deeper understanding, she spoke to a diverse mix of women, including those involved in Oxfam, environmental protests, the fox hunt lobby, and the Irish Republican movement; these discussions informed a thesis investigating women’s accounts of single-issue social movements. Prior to this, despite following left-wing discourse and being conscious of sexism, Capdevila had little involvement with feminist politics. But studying such gendered topics at the PhD level catalysed a shift: she fell in love with the writings of Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, and Valerie Walkerdine, with a particular passion for how feminist theory “conceptualised the similarities and differences… the way things belong and don’t belong”.
Spurred on by a newfound love for feminist discourse, Capdevila attended her first POWES conference as her first PhD year ended. Here, she was befriended by Geraldine Moane and encountered speakers including Celia Kitzinger, Sue Wilkinson, and Erica Burman, an experience she describes as “being in a room with your reading list”. Burman’s influence soon extended beyond POWES; in 1999, as Capdevila was finishing her dissertation, Rex Stainton Rogers sadly passed away, and Burman offered to step in as supervisor. These two “exceptional supervisors” deeply impacted Capdevila. Where Stainton Rogers introduced her to the inspiring Beryl Curt group (a pseudonym used by a variable group of primarily UK academics (critical psychologists) writing together in the 1990s), Burman introduced her to the Discourse Unit, and provided speaking opportunities and targeted support around feminist thought. Together, they pushed Capdevila to “move forward and consider things in different kinds of ways”.
Throughout her PhD, Capdevila recognised how the women she interviewed consistently used mothering discourses to explain their choices and position themselves socially. This sparked a new interest, and when she began working at the University of Northampton after obtaining her PhD, Capdevila began researching parenting. By this time, she was a mother of two and she began talking with colleagues Jane Callaghan and Sally Johnson about the complexity and changeability of the advice that was given to mothers. When Capdevila moved to the Open University in 2009, she continued to draw on mothering discourses and politics and published widely on the topic, including a 2014 article exploring mothering and choice around the MMR vaccination. More recently, Capdevila has brought a digital lens to this conversation, investigating, for example, how motherhood and femininity are constructed on social media.
When new ideas cross her mind, Capdevila looks to POWES as somewhere to share data and connect with others. She says POWES feels like her “academic home”, a place to return to when things feel challenging, but also notes that creating this atmosphere took work. Capdevila once witnessed a fierce onstage argument around British feminism in psychology and recognised there was a need to create a shared and inclusive space where “people behave with kindness, with respect”. To achieve this, Capdevila joined the POWES committee alongside Karen Ciclitira, rising to the position of chair in 2020-2021. Alongside other members, they drove focus on camaraderie and welcoming of differing perspectives, whilst remembering that POWES is a critical academic space with important agendas.
In 2006, Rhoda Unger, one of Capdevila’s mentors, invited her to co-chair a APA Division 35 task force on feminist and political psychology. It was through the task force that Capdevila eventually met colleagues such as Alexandra Rutherford and Eileen Zurbriggen with who she would eventually publish edited collections of feminist work in psychology.
The theme of inclusion and feminist solidarity extends across Capdevila’s professional life. She sat on the editorial board of the journal Feminism & Psychology for 20 years, working hard to move away from an Anglocentric view and reach individuals from other contexts, for example through special issues on sexuality and decolonisation. The effect was to provide an inclusive space, something Capdevila describes as “very much part of the community, not just a journal”. Capdevila believes strongly in the power of such community, speaking fondly of giving and receiving mentorship, and working with individuals at different stages in their careers. While she concedes that bossiness sometimes comes more naturally, Capdevila prioritises collaborative leadership and wants to push back on lone hero narratives, noting “I’ve done nothing on my own in my entire life, and I don’t want to”.
Today, as a Professor at the Open University, Capdevila’s research, together with Lisa Lazard, focuses on social media and gender in digital spaces, particularly the curation of on- and off-line identities by young women. Alongside this, she is fascinated by the UK history of feminist psychology and gave a keynote speech on this topic at the 2022 POWES Conference. As of 2023, she is also exploring this topic as part of a collaborative, long-term project with Katherine Hubbard and Lois Donnelly. Capdevila speaks to the importance of reflecting on our history to acknowledge forgotten academics and recognise the events that informed today’s climate. Pointing to recent mass firings, arrests, and gender studies department closures across Turkey and Hungary, she notes the importance of knowing which values you want to hold close, “finding your space, building your corner in the world, and using POWES as a step”.
By Siobhan Collman (2023)
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
Zurbriggen, E.L. & Capdevila, R. (eds.) (in press). Palgrave Handbook of Power, Gender, & Psychology. Palgrave/Springer.
Donnelly, L. C., Hubbard, K., & Capdevila, R. (2022). “POWES is pronounced ‘feminist’: Negotiating academic and activist boundaries in the talk of UK feminist psychologists.” Feminism & Psychology, 32(4), 520–539.
Capdevila, R., Dann, C., Lazard, L., Roper, S., & Locke, A. (2022). “#mothersday: Constructions of motherhood and femininity in social media posts.” Feminism & Psychology, 32(3), 336–356.
Johnson, S. & Capdevila, R. (2014) “‘That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers’ discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination.” Psychology & Health, 29(8), 861–876.
Rutherford, A., Capdevila, R., Undurti, V. & Palmary, I. (eds.) (2011). Handbook of International Feminisms: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights. Springer.
Capdevila, R. & Callaghan, J. E. M. (2008). “‘It’s not racist. It’s common sense’. A critical analysis of political discourse around asylum and immigration in the UK. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 1–16.
Jordan, K., Capdevila, R. & Johnson, S. (2005) “Baby or beauty: a Q study into post pregnancy body image.” Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(1), 19–31.
Photo Gallery
Rose Capdevila
Birth:
1961
Training Location(s):
PhD, University of Reading (2000)
Diploma, University of Barcelona (1986)
BA, University of Toronto (1984)
Primary Affiliation(s):
The Open University (2009–Present)
University of Northampton (1998–1999)
Psychology’s Feminist Voices Oral History Interview:
Other Media:
Career Focus:
Single-issue social movements, social justice, methodology, mothering, gender in digital spaces, gender, history of feminist psychology
Biography
Rose Capdevila’s path into psychology was international and cross-disciplinary. Having initially been accepted to the University of Toronto into an undergraduate engineering degree, she soon switched to physics, then philosophy, before settling at to study Political Science and Psychology. Upon graduating, Capdevila relocated to Spain, where she immersed herself in Hispanic Studies, earning a diploma from the University of Barcelona. In 1994, Capdevila elected to move to the UK to pursue a PhD at the University of Reading. While she knew she wanted to study women, social movements, and politics, at this point, Capdevila says she “wasn’t all that attracted to psychology”. Her mind soon changed when she met Rex Stainton Rogers, a psychologist and talented supervisor who demonstrated the usefulness of psychology in exploring Capdevila’s research ideas. She soon fell in love with the subject and its broad applicability, declaring “I love the way psychology is relevant to everything”.
During her PhD, Capdevila was fascinated by women’s involvement in grassroots politics. To gain a deeper understanding, she spoke to a diverse mix of women, including those involved in Oxfam, environmental protests, the fox hunt lobby, and the Irish Republican movement; these discussions informed a thesis investigating women’s accounts of single-issue social movements. Prior to this, despite following left-wing discourse and being conscious of sexism, Capdevila had little involvement with feminist politics. But studying such gendered topics at the PhD level catalysed a shift: she fell in love with the writings of Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, and Valerie Walkerdine, with a particular passion for how feminist theory “conceptualised the similarities and differences… the way things belong and don’t belong”.
Spurred on by a newfound love for feminist discourse, Capdevila attended her first POWES conference as her first PhD year ended. Here, she was befriended by Geraldine Moane and encountered speakers including Celia Kitzinger, Sue Wilkinson, and Erica Burman, an experience she describes as “being in a room with your reading list”. Burman’s influence soon extended beyond POWES; in 1999, as Capdevila was finishing her dissertation, Rex Stainton Rogers sadly passed away, and Burman offered to step in as supervisor. These two “exceptional supervisors” deeply impacted Capdevila. Where Stainton Rogers introduced her to the inspiring Beryl Curt group (a pseudonym used by a variable group of primarily UK academics (critical psychologists) writing together in the 1990s), Burman introduced her to the Discourse Unit, and provided speaking opportunities and targeted support around feminist thought. Together, they pushed Capdevila to “move forward and consider things in different kinds of ways”.
Throughout her PhD, Capdevila recognised how the women she interviewed consistently used mothering discourses to explain their choices and position themselves socially. This sparked a new interest, and when she began working at the University of Northampton after obtaining her PhD, Capdevila began researching parenting. By this time, she was a mother of two and she began talking with colleagues Jane Callaghan and Sally Johnson about the complexity and changeability of the advice that was given to mothers. When Capdevila moved to the Open University in 2009, she continued to draw on mothering discourses and politics and published widely on the topic, including a 2014 article exploring mothering and choice around the MMR vaccination. More recently, Capdevila has brought a digital lens to this conversation, investigating, for example, how motherhood and femininity are constructed on social media.
When new ideas cross her mind, Capdevila looks to POWES as somewhere to share data and connect with others. She says POWES feels like her “academic home”, a place to return to when things feel challenging, but also notes that creating this atmosphere took work. Capdevila once witnessed a fierce onstage argument around British feminism in psychology and recognised there was a need to create a shared and inclusive space where “people behave with kindness, with respect”. To achieve this, Capdevila joined the POWES committee alongside Karen Ciclitira, rising to the position of chair in 2020-2021. Alongside other members, they drove focus on camaraderie and welcoming of differing perspectives, whilst remembering that POWES is a critical academic space with important agendas.
In 2006, Rhoda Unger, one of Capdevila’s mentors, invited her to co-chair a APA Division 35 task force on feminist and political psychology. It was through the task force that Capdevila eventually met colleagues such as Alexandra Rutherford and Eileen Zurbriggen with who she would eventually publish edited collections of feminist work in psychology.
The theme of inclusion and feminist solidarity extends across Capdevila’s professional life. She sat on the editorial board of the journal Feminism & Psychology for 20 years, working hard to move away from an Anglocentric view and reach individuals from other contexts, for example through special issues on sexuality and decolonisation. The effect was to provide an inclusive space, something Capdevila describes as “very much part of the community, not just a journal”. Capdevila believes strongly in the power of such community, speaking fondly of giving and receiving mentorship, and working with individuals at different stages in their careers. While she concedes that bossiness sometimes comes more naturally, Capdevila prioritises collaborative leadership and wants to push back on lone hero narratives, noting “I’ve done nothing on my own in my entire life, and I don’t want to”.
Today, as a Professor at the Open University, Capdevila’s research, together with Lisa Lazard, focuses on social media and gender in digital spaces, particularly the curation of on- and off-line identities by young women. Alongside this, she is fascinated by the UK history of feminist psychology and gave a keynote speech on this topic at the 2022 POWES Conference. As of 2023, she is also exploring this topic as part of a collaborative, long-term project with Katherine Hubbard and Lois Donnelly. Capdevila speaks to the importance of reflecting on our history to acknowledge forgotten academics and recognise the events that informed today’s climate. Pointing to recent mass firings, arrests, and gender studies department closures across Turkey and Hungary, she notes the importance of knowing which values you want to hold close, “finding your space, building your corner in the world, and using POWES as a step”.
By Siobhan Collman (2023)
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
Zurbriggen, E.L. & Capdevila, R. (eds.) (in press). Palgrave Handbook of Power, Gender, & Psychology. Palgrave/Springer.
Donnelly, L. C., Hubbard, K., & Capdevila, R. (2022). “POWES is pronounced ‘feminist’: Negotiating academic and activist boundaries in the talk of UK feminist psychologists.” Feminism & Psychology, 32(4), 520–539.
Capdevila, R., Dann, C., Lazard, L., Roper, S., & Locke, A. (2022). “#mothersday: Constructions of motherhood and femininity in social media posts.” Feminism & Psychology, 32(3), 336–356.
Johnson, S. & Capdevila, R. (2014) “‘That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers’ discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination.” Psychology & Health, 29(8), 861–876.
Rutherford, A., Capdevila, R., Undurti, V. & Palmary, I. (eds.) (2011). Handbook of International Feminisms: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights. Springer.
Capdevila, R. & Callaghan, J. E. M. (2008). “‘It’s not racist. It’s common sense’. A critical analysis of political discourse around asylum and immigration in the UK. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 1–16.
Jordan, K., Capdevila, R. & Johnson, S. (2005) “Baby or beauty: a Q study into post pregnancy body image.” Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(1), 19–31.