Congratulations to Alyssa A. James, the 2023 recipient of the Setha M. Low Engaged Anthropology Award!
This award recognizes the work of individual anthropologists or projects with a demonstrable commitment to social justice and community engagement by applying anthropology to effectively address a pressing issue facing people and the planet.
Alyssa A. James is a first-generation Jamaican-Canadian scholar and writer from Toronto, Canada. After recieving her Hons. BSc with Distinction in Psychology and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in Social Anthropology from York University, she is now a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University. James’ studies focus on the ways in which discourses of possibility shape the nascent coffee industry in Martinique and shed light on Caribbean futures. Her scholarship is generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
James co-hosts the Zora’s Daughters Podcast, a Black feminist anthropological take on popular culture and issues concerning Black women. In 2022, the program was the recipient of a Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities and Humanities New York Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship.
Outside of the world of academia, you can find Alyssa dancing, travelling, and writing about it.
