Dr Rachel Smith

Biography

I am a Lecturer in Anthropology and Museum Studies. I have a background in economic anthropology, and anthropology of religion, and long-standing interests in material and visual culture, and museums.

My core research focuses on local perspectives on development and social change in Vanuatu, in the Western Pacific. My doctoral project (2011-2016) focused on the ‘domestic moral economy’ in a rural Vanuatu community undergoing economic transformation due to a high degree of engagement in a labour mobility programme, touted as a ‘triple win’, ‘pro-poor’ alternative to development aid.

My most recent research project (since 2018) extends my interest in work, consumption, moral economy, development, and value by focusing on the ethics and economy of kava, a crop traditionally grown and consumed as a relaxant beverage across the Pacific. International demand for this commodity has soared, and kava is widely spoken of as ‘green gold’ by rural farmers in Vanuatu and Fiji, where it has become the main export commodity. In both the labour migration and kava projects I am interested in how socio-economic change is mediated by semiotic, material, and ritual processes.

In addition to my work in economic anthropology, I continue to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team, including from Psychology and Neuroscience, formed at Stanford for the Templeton-funded ‘Mind and Spirit’ project (2016-2018). Through interdisciplinary and mixed method research, we examined the relation between understandings of mind and self, and religious experience. This has led to a range of workshops and publications, including scientific articles in PNAS and Nature Human Behavior.

I have also published from archival research on land and labour in Vanuatu, and am developing research interests based on ethnobotanical and Scottish Pacific collections. 

If you are a prospective PhD students interested in any of the above areas/themes- please contact me via the 'Accepting PhDs' link above/on the Research tab.

Collaborations

I continue to collaborate with colleagues on the interdisciplinary project, “Mind and Spirit” (2016-2018), funded by Templeton Foundation. PI: T.M Luhrmann (Stanford). Comparative interdisciplinary (Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience) research project on the relationship between representations of mind and spiritual experience, cross-culturally. Includes co-authored articles in leading scientific journals PNAS and Nature Human Behavior

Since 2023, i have been an associate researcher on the 5 year ERC funded project, "Properties of Units and Standards" [Units] project (PI: Matti Erasaari, University of Helsinki)- see https://blogs.helsinki.fi/units-and-standards/ for more information on this project.