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About
Sera is an anthropologist working at the intersection of the moral, affective, and the political dimensions of social life. Her PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge investigated the collective mourning and activism led by the bereaved of the Sewol Ferry Disaster (2014) and their allied citizens, who have been campaigning for investigation, accountability, and memorialization. Her doctoral research and her published and forthcoming writing examine what makes people activists and stand in solidarity with the affliction of a purportedly ‘distant’ other; how political communities coalesce without a previously established common denominator; and how activist movements draw upon histories of mobilizations and engage with the broader political milieu in which they arise.
Prior to joining the Anthropology department at the LSE, Sera taught as Associate Lecturer at the University of St Andrews, and as Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Associate at the University of Cambridge.
Publications
2026. Sewŏl Activism and the Changing Tenors and Tactics of Political Action in South Korea. Journal of Korean Studies.
2026. Engelke, Matthew. How to Think Like an Anthropologist [인류학자처럼 생각하는 법]. May Books (Owŏrŭibom). Co-translated with Jaewan Kim.
2025. An Ethics of Duty in the Absence of Hope: Bereaved Family Activism in the Aftermath of the Sewol Ferry Disaster. Ethnos.
2024. How the Sewol Sinking Changed South Korea, The Diplomat. April 16.
2022. Crafting Solidarity after the Sewol Disaster, Anthropology News website, July 5.
Expertise
South Korea; activism and social movements; emotions and affect; ethics and morality