I am delighted to be joining the ANTHUSIA project with the University of Oslo and Aarhus University. From a Master’s in Environmental Humanities at the University of Cape Town along with policy research on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, I have become interested in the social dynamics of toxicity in their material, somatic, and political flows. Specifically, my focus is on pesticides exposure and the regulatory, political, and labour dynamics that exist around their use in commercial agricultural settings in South Africa.

My PhD project is titled: Compounded health effects of pesticide exposure and intersecting structural inequalities affecting farmworkers in the Western Cape, South Africa

Coming from South Africa, my research will be based in the country’s south-western agricultural regions to explore intersections of pesticide exposure and the structural inequalities that persist in the country. As chronic exposure continues to be prevalent, particularly among black and brown people in the country, I hope to contribute ethnographic work on the layered effects of South Africa’s still-prevalent apartheid legacy and routine pesticide exposure.

I will be largely based at the Sosialantropologisk institutt (SAI) in Oslo, while also having the privilege of spending time at Moesgård Campus in Aarhus.

Personally, having always lived in warm regions, I am very excited for this change of landscape and climate. While not doing academic work, I enjoy trail and adventure running and look forward to learning to ski and explore Scandinavia’s beautiful landscapes.