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Nadya Burton

Nadya Burton

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Students and Pedagogy, Faculty of Community Services and Associate Professor, Midwifery Education Program
OfficeRoom SHE-696, Sally Horsfall Eaton Centre for Studies in Community Health
Areas of ExpertiseTeaching for social justice in the academy; Anti-oppressive teaching and pedagogy; Equity and social justice in health care; Midwifery education; Cultural representations of pregnancy and birth; Equity studies

Nadya Burton, PhD, is a sociologist and associate dean, undergraduate studies, students and pedagogy, in the Faculty of Community Services (FCS) and associate professor in the Midwifery Education Program.

In her current position as associate dean, Nadya’s work focuses on enhancing the academic experience, student support and pedagogical practices within FCS. Nadya works with students to support success and retention, and with faculty colleagues to foster rigorous, innovative and equity-focused learning environments and curriculum.

Nadya chairs the FCS Learning and Teaching Committee and runs the FCS Teaching Talks series, bringing reflection on teaching and pedagogy to colleagues across the faculty in both public events and collegial discussion gatherings. She works closely with Dr. Grace-Camille Munro (acting director, Black Scholarship Institute) and Dr. Annette Bailey (associate dean, graduate studies and internationalization) to support the newly established Black Scholarship Institute, including its ongoing Anti-Black Racism and Teaching Forum. She works closely with Dr. Lynn Lavallee, strategic lead, Indigenous resurgence, and Dr. Bailey, to develop and administer the FCS Anti-Black Racism Curriculum Development Fund.

As an advocate for equity and justice, Nadya’s teaching and research focus on supporting thinking and action around reproductive justice, and on the opportunities and constraints of teaching for social justice within the academy. As a sociologist privileged to work in a clinical education program, Nadya has taught issues of justice and equity to future midwives for over 25 years.

Nadya’s commitments in teaching, research and administration are grounded in an understanding of universities as potential sites for social change and the importance of education for critical citizenship. She supports teaching and learning within FCS to deepen commitment to working with communities to bring about change in the service of creating more just and equitable worlds.

Teaching

  • MWF 11A/B Social Justice in Midwifery
  • MWF 325 Birth and its Meanings
  • MWF 150 Introduction to Midwifery
  • Social Aspects of Reproduction
  • Health, Science and Society
  • Health Education and Health Promotion

Editorial Positions:

  • Editor. (2015). Natal Signs: Cultural Representations of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Parenting. Toronto: Demeter Press. 
  • Associate Editor. (2013). International Journal of Organizational Diversity. Volume 12. 
  • Guest Editor. (1993). Special Issue on Violence Prevention and Education: Women's Education des femmes (Journal of the Canadian Congress of Learning Opportunities of Women).

Journal Articles:

  • Darling, Elizabeth, Nicole Bennett, Nadya Burton and Olivia Marquez (submitted 2019). Outcomes of Uninsured Midwifery Clients in Ontario, Canada: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Midwifery. 
  • Burton, Nadya and Rachel Ariss (2014). Diversity in Midwifery Care: Working Towards Social Change. Canadian Review of Sociology 51(3): 262-287. 
  • Dixon, Vanessa and Nadya Burton (2014). Are Midwifery Clients in Ontario Making Informed choices About Prenatal Screening? Women and Birth 27(2): 86-90. 
  • Burton, Nadya (2013). Limited and Limiting Knowledges: Talking to Clients about Prenatal Screening. International Journal of Communication and Health. 2013 (2): 12-19. 
  • Burton, Nadya and Nicole Bennett (2013). Meeting the Needs of Uninsured Women: Informed Choice, Choice of Birthplace and the Work of Midwives in Ontario. Women’s Health & Urban Life. 12 (2):23-44. 
  • Ariss, Rachel and Nadya Burton (2013). The Midwifery Model of Care: Structural Support for Diversity in Health Care. International Journal of Organizational Diversity. 12 (4): 15-23. 
  • Bennett, Nicole and Nadya Burton (2012). Midwives Responding to the Needs of Uninsured Clients: Old Order and New Immigrant Women in Midwifery Care. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. 11 (3): 8-17. 
  • Burton, Nadya and Rachel Ariss (2009). The Critical Social Voice of Midwifery: Midwives in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice 8(1), Winter 2009: 7-22. 

Book Chapters:

  • Burton, Nadya and Andrea Robertson. The Midwifery Client: Working Across Difference. In Comprehensive Midwifery: An Interactive Approach to the Theory and Evidence of Practice. Murray-Davis B, Hutton EK, Carty EC, Wainman B, Eds. Hamilton ON: The e-Book Foundry @ McMaster University. 2018. 
  • Burton, Nadya. Choosing to Know: Prenatal Testing and Informed Choice in Midwifery Care. Fecundity and Beginnings. Grenzer, Elke and Jan Plecash, Eds. London: Intellect Press. Forthcoming 2017.
  • Burton, Nadya. Resistance to Prevention: Reconsidering Feminist Antiviolence Rhetoric. Violence Against Women: Philosophical Perspectives. French, Stanley, Wanda Teays, and Laura Purdy, Eds. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998: 182-200. 

Book Reviews:

  • Book Review: Pushing for Midwives: Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement (Christa Craven). American Ethnologist 39 (2), May 2012: 441-442. 
  • Book Review: At Work on the Field of Birth: Midwifery Narratives of Nature, Tradition and Home (Margaret MacDonald). Anthropologica 52 (2), 2010: 406-408. 

Exhibition Catalogues:

  • Birth and its Meanings: Creative Works from the Ryerson Midwifery Program. Exhibition Catalogue. April 18-21, 2013. Beit Zatoun, Toronto. 
  • Birth and its Meanings. Exhibition Catalogue. June 16-23, 2017. Milk Glass Gallery. Toronto. 

Conference Presentations:

  • Teaching for Social Justice and Equity in the University. Ryerson University Teaching and Learning Conference. Toronto. May 2018. 
  • Teaching for Social Justice and Equity in Midwifery Education. Ontario Midwifery Conference. Association of Ontario Midwives Annual Conference. Muskoka, ON. May 2018. 
  • Teaching for Social Justice and Equity in Midwifery Curriculum. Midwives Making a Difference in the World. 31st International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress. Toronto. June 2017. 
  • Teaching Midwifery Through the Eyes of Art: Creative Works in the Field of Birth. Midwives Making a Difference in the World. 31st International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress. Toronto. June 2017. 
  • Refusing Delinquency, Reclaiming Power: Indigenous Motherhood and Midwifery Education. With Claire Dion Fletcher RM. Midwives Making a Difference in the World. 31st International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress. Toronto. June 2017. 
  • Peeking Over the Precipice: The Imperative to Reflect Critically on Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing. (Plenary) Midwifery Transforming Health. Association of Ontario Midwives Annual Conference. Toronto. May 2015. 
  • Diversity in Midwifery Care: Working Towards Social Justice. (Plenary) With Rachel Ariss, SJD. Celebrating Twenty Years of Regulated Midwifery in Ontario. Association of Ontario Midwives Annual Conference. Toronto. May 2014. 
  • Birth and its Meanings: Collaborations in the Creation of Indigenous Curriculum in Midwifery Education. (Plenary). With Cheryllee Bourgeois, RM and Claire Dion Fletcher, RM. Canadian Association of Midwives Annual Conference. Ottawa. November 2013.
  • Choosing to Know: Prenatal Screening and Informed Choice. Canadian Association of Midwives Annual Conference. St. John’s NFLD. October 2012. 
  • Recognition, Equity and Difference in the Practice of Midwifery in Ontario. With Rachel Ariss, SJD. Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations. Vancouver, British Columbia. June 2012. 
  • Caring for Women on the Margins: Supporting Undocumented and Uninsured Birthing Women. With Nicole Bennett, RM. Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences Congress: Canadian Women’s Studies Association. Waterloo, ON. May 2012. 
  • Midwives Reflections on Providing Care for Women from Old Order Mennonite and Old Oder Amish Communities. With Nicole Bennett, RM. Association of Ontario Midwives Annual Conference. Toronto, ON. May 2012. 
  • Health Care for Vulnerable Populations: Midwifery Care to Uninsured Women. With Nicole Bennett, RM. Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences Congress: Canadian Sociological Association. Fredericton, New Brunswick. June 2011. 
  • How Is Choice of Birthplace a Different Decision without Health Care Insurance? Midwives Providing Informed Choice. With Nicole Bennett, RM. Association of Ontario Midwives 27th AGM and Conference. Hamilton, ON. May 2011. 
  • What Does Choice of Birthplace Mean When There is No Choice? Homebirth and Uninsured Clients in Midwifery Care. With Nicole Bennett, RM. The Place of Birth. Canadian Association of Midwives. Edmonton, Alberta. October 2010. 
  • Using “Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Writings on Queer Parenting” in the Classroom. LGBTQ Parenting Network: Sherbourne Community Health Centre: Toronto, ON, March 2010. 
  • Midwifery Care for Undocumented and Uninsured Women in Ontario. With Nicole Bennett, RM. Research on Healthcare for the Undocumented and Uninsured: Systems, Policies, Practices and their Consequences. Wellesley Institute and Women’s College Hospital. Toronto, ON, February 2010. 
  • The Critical Social Voice of Midwifery. With Rachel Ariss, SJD (Lakehead University). The Spirit of Midwifery. Canadian Association of Midwives. Vancouver, B.C., November 2007.
  • Redefining the Clinical: Social Science Learning in Clinical Education. The Midwifery Way: A National Forum on Reflecting on Midwifery Regulation in Canada. Atlantic Centre for Excellence in Women’s Health. Dalhousie University. Halifax, NS, July 2004.

  • Career Midwifery Research Grant, Association of Ontario Midwives, 2018
  • Teaching about Diversity Fund, Learning and Teaching Office, 2016
  • Aboriginal Curriculum Development Fund, Aboriginal Education Council, 2016
  • Teaching about Diversity Fund, Learning and Teaching Office, 2013
  • Midwifery Education Program Research Grant, 2012
  • SRC Travel Grant, 2012
  • Deans’ Teaching Award, Faculty of Community Services, 2011
  • New Faculty SRC Development Award, 2010
  • SRC Travel Grant, 2010
  • Summer Research Assistant Award, 2010
  • Fall/Winter Research Assistant Award, 2009/10
  • Summer Research Assistant Award, 2009
  • Fall/Winter Research Assistant Award, 2005/6
  • CIHR Summer Research Assistant, 2005
  • SRC Travel Grant, 2004
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship, 1993-97