Dr. Marta Wallace

Biography

Marta Magalhães Wallace is a social anthropologist with a broad interest in understanding the ways kinds of crises are politically, socially, and intimately lived, imagined, and articulated in the contexts of rapid political and economic transformation. Her written work addresses urban transformation, violence, and subjectivity in Brazil, as well as the themes of imperialism and subjectivity in postcolonial Europe, and mental health in contemporary Portugal. Currently, her research focuses on mental health amid political, economic, and environmental uncertainty in Europe, with particular interests in Latin America, especially Brazil, and Western Europe, including Portugal and the UK. She holds both an MPhil and PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and has previously studied History (BA Hons) at Lancaster University. Her MPhil research examined how race, gender, and sexuality intersected to produce distinct political subjects and exclusions in major cities of contemporary Northeast Brazil, while her PhD research investigated transformations in Salvador, Brazil’s colonial capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over her career, she has convened and taught courses on Anthropology in Latin America, undertaken extensive graduate supervision, and contributed articles stemming from her doctoral and postdoctoral research, particularly examining the growth of drug consumption and its impact on public life and vulnerable communities. Advancing her research interests, Wallace now explores the complex relationship between mental health care and political, economic, and environmental changes in contemporary Europe.

Research Interests

Courses