Elise MARCIA

Elise MARCIA is an Associate Researcher at the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Solidarity, Societies, Territories (LISST) at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès. She holds part-time teaching positions in the Anthropology Department at the same university (2022-2024) and previously served as a part-time lecturer there (2017-2022) and at the Catholic Institute of Arts and Crafts (Icam) in Toulouse (2019-2021). With over 550 hours of teaching experience, she coordinates the Master 2 Ethnological Expertise of Intangible Heritage (EEPI) program.

Her doctoral research focused on traditional Provençal costumes, specifically examining how women recreate 'heritage aesthetics' through historical investigation and revival of obsolete techniques. Her thesis, 'Faire son costume, devenir « l'Arlésienne » : esthétique patrimoniale et circulation des savoirs en pays d'Arles,' was defended on December 18, 2024, under the supervision of Jérôme Courduriès.

Marcia's research explores the intersection of heritage, gender, and knowledge transmission, with particular attention to regional traditions in the Arles region. She investigates how women's collectives form around heritage objects, examining both how heritage designation affects representations of femininity and how claims of feminine specificity influence heritage qualification. Her work combines ethnographic fieldwork with theoretical analysis of cultural preservation practices.

Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the relationship between traditional costumes, authenticity, and knowledge transmission in Provençal culture. She has contributed significantly to understanding how women navigate historical norms while expressing personal identity through costume creation, particularly examining the 'sabrage' technique for headdress ribbons.

As a dedicated educator, Marcia teaches courses on Intangible Cultural Heritage, anthropology of knowledge, history of anthropology, and ethnographic research methodology. Her practical experience includes conducting 8 months of continuous fieldwork from March to November 2018, followed by 5 months from August to December 2019, during which she personally created her own traditional costume to understand the nuances of this singular creation.