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About
Kaia's work explores how rural communities navigate economic and social transition, driven by changes in local industry and shifting migration patterns. Based on 22 months of fieldwork in the Andalusian Sierra, the village at the heart of the thesis was uniquely successful in that it had a thriving leather industry - defying the prognosis of ageing and emptying rural communities in Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the rapid economic growth seen in the last decade also brought local tensions to a head, between artisan craft and industrial work, continuity and change, and modernity and tradition. The project is funded by UK Research and Innovation through the London Arts and Humanities Partnership.
Kaia is a 4th-year PhD candidate in the Anthropology Department at the London School of Economics. She also holds a Bsc in Social Anthropology with Spanish from the LSE.
Supervisors: Professor Alpa Shah (Oxford) and Professor Deborah James (LSE)
Expertise
Economic anthropology, industry, craftmanship, labour migration, Spain and the Mediterranean, Europe and the EU.
Selected publications
Scandinavian seafarers in the Prize Papers - The National Archives