Michelle Engeler

Curriculum Vitae

Michelle Engeler is Assistant at the Institute for Social Anthropology, University of Basel, Switzerland (since spring term 2011). She studied Social Anthropology, History and Geography at the University of Basel, Switzerland (lic.phil; 2006) and the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. After her studies Michelle Engeler worked at the Museum der Kulturen, Basel (2006-2007), and as Assistant at the Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland (Political Geography) (2007-2009).

Michelle Engeler's research interests combine youth studies with the anthropology of the state and provide insights in current and past political transformation processes in West Africa, in particular Guinea.

Her PhD project focused on young people living in a Guinean border town. Key questions addressed young people's agency, different actors' life trajectories and the state in the making. More recent research projects deal with youth policies in Guinea and young African graduates, their future life plans and mobile life trajectories.

Schwerpunkte in Lehre und Forschung

Research Focus:
anthropology of the state, statehood, youth studies, mobility, borderland, methodology

Regional Focus:
West Africa, in particular Guinea

Teaching (both BA and MA level):
qualitative research methods, youth, economic and political anthropology

Feldforschungen

Guinea: 2008 (3 months), 2009 (5 months), 2010 (5 months), 2012 (2 months)
Shorter field trips to Mali (2012), Côte d'Ivoire (2010), Senegal (2004) and Cameroon (2003)

Forschungsprojekte

Construire son avenir

Youth policy review in Guinea

Youthful dreams: ‚State making’ at the margins of Guinea