Department of Management, Society and Communication

I am a social anthropologist focusing broadly on processes of political and economic transformation, in particular in eastern Africa where I have been conducting research since 2009. My research has explored the sociality of markets and money; land and property; migration; and the temporal politics of development and planning. My current postdoctoral research focuses on tea production in Kenya as part of the SUSTEIN project, which examines how certified sustainability standards shape global supply chains. Here, I examine how ideas and practices of sustainability enacted through standards play out in sites of tea production, in particular plantations and their associated factories and outgrower farms. I hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Anthropology from the University of Manchester and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London) and a PhD in African Studies from the University of Copenhagen.