Wearing ‘Two Hats’: Ethnography and clinical practice in northern Uganda
LSE Global Health Initiative is pleased to host Dr Sophie Mylan, an ESRC PostDoctoral Fellow based in the university's Department of International Development, for an on-campus seminar and discussion. Dr Mylan conducted 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork in and around a refugee settlement in northern Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research examined epidemic preparedness, with a particular focus on how refugee perspectives (dis)connected with biomedical and humanitarian approaches. She lived with a South Sudanese family and accompanied humanitarian actors in their daily work. Alongside her research, she also practiced as a family physician at a not-for-profit health centre in a nearby town. In this seminar, Sophie reflects on the complexities of ‘wearing two hats’—as both clinician and ethnographer— considering access, positionality, and methods.
About the Speaker
Dr Sophie Mylan has a combined clinical and academic career. She is a fully qualified GP and continues to practice in North East London. She completed her PhD in Medical Anthropology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, within the Department of Global Health and Development. Currently, she is an ESRC postdoctoral fellow in the Department of International Development at LSE. Her research sits at the intersection of medical anthropology, public health, and humanitarianism.
About the Discussant
Myfanwy James is an Assistant Professor in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work examines the politics of humanitarian intervention in contexts of conflict and displacement, with a regional focus on the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
About the Chair
Philipa Mladovsky is Associate Professor in International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work examines the politics of financing and providing health care for socially excluded populations in diverse contexts, ranging from community-based health insurance in Senegal, to mental health services for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
Photo Provided by Dr Sophie Mylan, in Northern Uganda (March 2022)
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