Postdoctoral Affiliate
I am a social anthropologist interested in theorizing the intersection of religion (particularly Christianity), belonging, and temporality. Previously, I worked on local Protestant theology in French Polynesia (known as Māòhi Nui in its Indigenous name) to examine how people reconstruct Indigenous history through religion and explore their identity through this process. I am also broadly interested in issues surrounding Indigenous cultural revitalization and have worked on internal conflicts and challenges in transmitting intangible and uninstitutionalized knowledge, including language, traditional medicine, and dance practices. My current research concerns pro-independence, nationalist politics in French Polynesia and their use of extralegal, apolitical language in formulating models of Indigenous sovereignty.
Email: mai.misaki@anthro.ox.ac.uk
