Laura Mafizzoli
I am a social anthropologist with an interest in memory activism, social and political change, commemorations, and the politics of difficult heritages. Studying anthropology during my BA led me to my first ethnographic fieldwork in Sarajevo, where I learned Bosnian-Croatian languages and researched the role of humour during the Sarajevo Siege. For my MA, I extended my research interests to the Caucasus, learning Georgian and Russian and researching memory and nostalgia in a small village of Georgian IDPs.
I hold a PhD from the University of Manchester (2023), and for my PhD research I explored the contestations surrounding Gulag memorialisation practices in Tbilisi. For the MEMPOP project, I will examine the connections between memory and populism in Istria through the lenses of memory activism and humour, also using visual anthropology methods. I am an affiliate researcher at Ilia State University in Tbilisi and a member of ASIAC (Italian Association for the Study of Central Asia and the Caucasus). When I’m not working, I like to draw, take long walks, and crochet little blue whales.