Dr. Maria Prates

Biography

Maria Paula Prates is a social anthropologist specializing in Medical Anthropology, with a focus on Indigenous Peoples in Lowland South America, particularly the Guarani-Mbyá collectives in the southern regions of Brazil and Argentina. She began her academic career as an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Health at UFCSPA in Brazil before relocating to the UK, where she was awarded the Newton International Fellowship by the Newton Fund and the British Academy in 2018. She continues to be associated with the Postgraduate Programme in Social Anthropology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (PPGAS/UFRGS) in Brazil as a Collaborating Professor. Her research emphasizes in-depth, ethnographic fieldwork and the importance of grounding anthropological theories in real-world social relations. Prates is particularly interested in issues surrounding conceptions of personhood, body, health, life, kinship, and care relations from a cross-cultural perspective. Her recent projects examine the intersections of environmental degradation and health inequalities, focusing on Indigenous conceptions of reproduction and kinship influenced by toxic substances like pesticides and mercury. Through collaborative research methods, she aims to highlight the complex relationships between environmental factors and health outcomes across various contexts.

Research Interests