Research By-Fellow
Dr Joana Nascimento holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester. Her research explores ethnographically the social, cultural and political-economic complexities of contemporary work and livelihood strategies, focusing on people’s everyday lived experiences and their relation to particular pasts and imagined futures. Her most recent research project involved 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and focused on the work, workers and workplaces involved in the production of Harris Tweed – a renowned woollen textile that has been trademark-protected since 1910 and can only be produced in these islands, but is exported to over 50 countries around the world. Joana is currently working on a book manuscript based on this research, focusing on industry workers’ lived experiences and contributing to anthropological debates on work and labour, cultural production, inclusive belonging and place-making in contemporary capitalism. Joana’s work is informed by her background in design and in social anthropology. She is currently based at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches and supervises postgraduate students in the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation.
