Helena

My lessons are structured yet flexible, designed to meet students where they are while steadily building confidence and clarity. Each session usually begins with open, dialogue-led discussion, where we talk through key concepts, theories, or readings together. This conversational format allows me to identify individual pain points, such as difficulty digesting dense theory, feeling overwhelmed by academic language, or struggling to translate ideas into written work. From there, I adapt the lesson to make the material more accessible, breaking concepts down and reconnecting them to lived experience, examples, and the student’s own interests.

A central part of my teaching is helping students learn to appreciate the process of thinking and knowledge creation. I place strong emphasis on cultivating curiosity, patience, and a willingness to grow within the discipline. Students are encouraged to develop their own analytical voice, rather than mechanically reproducing ethnographic ideas and theory. I work with a diverse range of anthropologists and perspectives, gradually building a robust system of theorists that students can draw on to create meaning, comparisons, and strong arguments.

Lessons then move toward structure and application. I guide students in creating clear essay plans, conceptual visual maps, and writing templates, showing how ideas can be organised into coherent academic arguments. Accessibility is key throughout: I prioritise clear explanations, paced learning, and supportive feedback, particularly for students who feel intimidated by theory or academic writing.

My experience includes three degrees in anthropology, and I will be beginning a PhD in Social Anthropology this year. My research and fieldwork focus on urbanism, sound/memory, affect, and emotions, which informs my teaching and allows me to bring theory into conversation with real-world contexts.