School of Social and Political Science

Background

I am a PhD researcher in social anthropology, researching coconut plantations in the dependent islands of Mauritius, with support from the AHRC DTP at the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH). My research interests include plantation labour, human/nonhuman relations, multispecies and creative research methods, migration and displacement, and the ethnography of the Republic of Mauritius and its dependent islands. My research proposal was also awarded a SGSSS ESRC DTP scholarship.

My MRes in anthropology explored native and older generation Chagossian perspectives on migration to the UK, through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, granting British citizenship for all Chagossian descendants. My MRes thesis and poetry was published in the edited volume, ‘Challenges and Prospects for the Chagos Archipelago’ (2024). My MRes academic performance earned a place on the Dean’s List (2023), and I was awarded the ‘Best Dissertation Award in Anthropology’ for my BSc thesis.

Prior to joining the UoE, I worked as a Project Curator for the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme (EMKP) at the British Museum. During my time at EMKP, I presented a paper for the Museum Ethnographer’s Group Annual Conference (2024), highlighting the plight of Chagossians, and the role of the museum in advocating for endangered indigenous material culture. Subsequently, I was invited to write for the Journal of Museum Ethnography (2025).

I am grateful to have been awarded a Stuart Hall Foundation Fellowship, and for the opportunity to learn and build solidarity with researchers of similar 'non-traditional' backgrounds, aiming to promote accessibility and inclusivity in academia. 

As a Kreol Mauritian/Chagossian researching 'home', I enjoy the practice of writing poetry, and I am interested in the ways in which poetry can explore, translate, and bring awareness to emotional/challenging ethnographic experiences.

Profile photo credits: Thasnim Hussein, 2025.