Juli Huang

Dr. Juli Huang is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science. She serves as Founding Programme co-Director of the MSc Data, Inequality & Society at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and holds a British Academy/Wolfson Foundation Fellowship (2022-2025).

Research Focus

Her research examines social enterprise through the lens of economic anthropology, focusing on:

• Technology and data practices in development contexts
• Moral logics of money circulation and alternative currencies
• Gendered dimensions of entrepreneurship in South Asia
• Digital transformation of social welfare systems
• Circular economy models in creative industries

Her fieldwork spans Bangladesh and Iran, employing ethnographic methods to study development interventions.

Publication Trends

Recent publications demonstrate strong focus on social enterprise dynamics, digital transformation in Global South contexts, and critical examinations of development paradigms. Her work consistently employs ethnographic methodologies to analyze power relations in economic systems, with regional specialization in South Asia.

Awards and Recognition

• Latifeh Yarshater Award for best book on women in Iran (2009)
• British Academy / Wolfson Foundation Fellowship (2022-2025)

Research Leadership

Currently supervising PhD candidates researching:

• AI training and data annotation labor in China
• Data journalism development narratives in Malaysia
• Energy access for displaced populations in Northeast India

Secured significant funding including:

• British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship for comparative study of social enterprise data practices in Bangladesh/Scotland
• Creative Horizons (AHRC) grant for 'Creative Coin' alternative currency project

Collaborative Projects

Leads interdisciplinary teams including the 'Creative Coin' initiative with Edinburgh Napier University, designing special-purpose currencies to measure environmental/societal value in creative industries. Her work bridges anthropology with data science through the Edinburgh Futures Institute.