Chiara Calzolaio

Chiara Calzolaio is a researcher and lecturer at Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès, affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Solidarity, Societies, Territories (LISST). She specializes in anthropology, with a focus on violence, gender studies, and the Mexican-US border region. Her work combines ethnographic research with critical analysis of social phenomena in contexts of extreme violence, particularly examining how individuals experience and navigate everyday life in violent settings.

Education:

• 2022: Doctorate in Social Anthropology and Ethnology (EHESS)
• 2009: Master's in Ethnology and Social Anthropology (EHESS)
• 2006: Bachelor's in Anthropological Sciences, University of Bologna

Dr. Calzolaio's research centers on the anthropology of violence, particularly in Mexican border cities like Ciudad Juárez. She examines how violence shapes subjectivities, bodily experiences, and social relations, with special attention to gender dynamics and health. Her methodological approach emphasizes reflexive ethnography, exploring how researchers navigate ethical and practical challenges when studying violence. She has developed significant expertise in understanding the intersection of state policies, criminal organizations, and everyday life in contexts of extreme insecurity.

Her publication record reveals a consistent focus on violence in Mexican border contexts, with evolving attention to gender-based violence, state violence, and urban marginality. Recent work shows increasing engagement with intersectional approaches that connect gender, class, and migration status in understanding violence. She has contributed to methodological discussions about conducting ethical research in dangerous contexts and has explored how violence becomes normalized in everyday life.

Scientific Recognition:

• Prix de publication de l'Institut des Amériques 2023 for her thesis "Vivre dans une ville où l'on tue. Expériences et politiques de la violence à Ciudad Juárez, Mexique"

Dr. Calzolaio has participated in multiple collaborative research projects examining violence, drug policies, and border studies. Her work demonstrates strong engagement with interdisciplinary teams focused on complex social phenomena in Latin America. As a member of LISST, she contributes her expertise on Latin American contexts, particularly regarding violence, gender, and border dynamics, to this interdisciplinary research laboratory focused on solidarity, societies, and territories.

Her research has significant implications for understanding how communities navigate and resist violence, how gender shapes experiences of insecurity, and how public policies address (or fail to address) systemic violence in border regions. She continues to be an active contributor to anthropological discussions about methodology, ethics, and theoretical frameworks for studying violence.