Chloe Nahum-Claudel

Chloe Nahum-Claudel is a Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. Her work focuses on ritualized political innovation in Indigenous communities, particularly in Brazil’s Amazon and Papua New Guinea. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge (2012) and has held roles at LSE, Cambridge, and EHESS (Paris). Her research explores themes like environmental anthropology, human-animal relations, Indigenous diplomacy, and feminist critiques of patriarchy. She is author of Vital Diplomacy: the ritual everyday on a dammed river in Amazonia (2018) and co-editor of a special issue on Feminist Perspectives in Indigenous Amazonia (2021). Her recent projects include a study of witch hunts in PNG through a post-#MeToo lens and interdisciplinary work on menstrual studies.

Education:

• PhD in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge (2012)
• MPhil in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge (2009)
• Bachelor’s Degree (not specified)

Research Interests: She examines how Indigenous communities navigate colonial and postcolonial disruptions through ritual practices, food systems, and gender dynamics. Key areas include: Amazonian cosmologies, hydropower conflicts, PNG witch hunts, and feminist anthropology’s intersection with Indigenous knowledge systems. Her work bridges semiotic analysis with political-economy critiques.

Recent Articles Overview: Her publications integrate Amazonian studies with global themes, such as the political efficacy of ritual, gendered violence in PNG, and critical engagements with Lévi-Strauss. Recent work emphasizes Indigenous agency in resisting neo-colonial resource extraction and redefining patriarchal frameworks.

Teaching & Grants: Teaches courses on Cultural Diversity, Witchcraft/Feminism, and Amazonian Anthropology. Currently supervises PhD students researching Amazonia/PNG. Recent grants include Leverhulme Trust funding (2017–2021).

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Brazilian anthropologists (e.g., Aline Regitano) on Amazonian feminist issues and PNG National Research Agency on witch hunt oral histories.