Meg Stalcup

Meg Stalcup is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociological and Anthropological Studies at the University of Ottawa, with faculty affiliations at the Institute of the Environment and the Research Centre on the Future of Cities. Her work bridges anthropology, visual studies, and technology studies, with a particular focus on Brazil and Latin America.

Dr. Stalcup earned her educational credentials from several prestigious institutions: a Postdoctorate in Basic Sciences from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco; an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley; an M.Sc. in Biological Sciences (Botany) from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Museu Nacional); a B.Sc. in Biology (Ecology, behavior and evolution) from the University of California, San Diego; and a Certificate in Science Communication (Art/Illustration) from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Trained in medical and visual anthropology, Professor Stalcup works at the intersection of science, technology, and ethics. Her research examines movement between online and offline spaces in three contentious domains—health, environment, and security—that shape contemporary life, primarily in Brazil. She investigates how digital technologies mediate social and political processes, with particular attention to security practices, media activism, and public health interventions. Her work often explores questions of marginality, care practices, and the politics of visibility in urban settings.

Professor Stalcup's scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with the anthropology of security, visual and digital anthropology, and Brazilian studies. Her research increasingly examines the role of digital platforms in contemporary social movements, the ethics of care in harm reduction contexts, and the politics of information in security practices. A recurring theme across her work is how technologies mediate social relations and power dynamics, particularly in contexts of inequality and marginalization.

Professor Stalcup currently supervises multiple graduate students including Max Robenson Vilaire Dortilus, Zoé Dontigny-Charette, Tara Tikuisis, Marwa Sadat, Angelica Casarella, Piero Amand, Biserka Veloso, and Nathan Pécout--Le Bras. She has secured significant research funding including an SSHRC Insight Grant (2023-2028) for "Topography of Change: The Politics of Place in Southern Bahia, Brazil," an SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2018-2022) for "Viral Conspiracies: An Anthropology of Rumour and Media in Brazil," and a uOttawa Research Development Grant (2014-2017) for "A Visual Anthropology of Climate Politics and Crisis in Brazil."

Since 2016, Professor Stalcup has directed the Collaboratoire d'anthropologie multimédia / Multimedia Anthropology Collaboratory (cammac.space), which serves as a hub for research, events, and student work focused on visual and digital anthropology. She conducts research in multiple locations including Rio de Janeiro, Seattle, Ottawa, Ilhéus (Bahia, Brazil), and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil).