Laura Coppens

Laura Coppens, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern, where she has worked since 2014. She teaches courses in ethnographic documentary practice, digital labor, and anthropology of hope while serving as film review editor for the Visual Anthropology Journal. Her dual career bridges academic research and documentary filmmaking.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Social Anthropology from University of Zurich (2014)
• Master’s degree in Social Anthropology, Sociology, and Latin American Studies from Free University of Berlin

Dr. Coppens specializes in media anthropology with focus on film activism, queer studies, and Indonesian democratization processes. Her research examines how marginalized communities use film for political resistance, particularly LGBT cultural producers in Indonesia. Current projects explore anthropology of hope, digital labor dynamics, and indigenous futurisms in science-fiction narratives through interdisciplinary visual methodologies.

Her publications demonstrate strong connections between visual anthropology, film studies, and political activism. Recent work analyzes camera work in artistic-ethnographic research and develops frameworks for visual research methods within contemporary anthropological practice.

Scientific recognition includes:

• PhD finishing grant from Swiss Science Foundation and Foundation Stiefel-Zangger

She has secured research funding for doctoral completion and ongoing projects, taught diverse courses on documentary practice and digital labor, and served as visiting scholar at New York University's Center for Media, Culture, and History. Her grant portfolio supports collaborative research at the art-ethnography interface.

Dr. Coppens actively develops research-film synergies through her Srikandi Films collective, having co-produced the anthology 'Anak-Anak Srikandi' and the documentary 'Taste of Hope' about worker self-management. She currently prepares new film-based research projects exploring kinship through indigenous futurisms.