Urban Brain Lab

Specializing in the anthropology of contemporary urban China, Dr. Lisa Richaud works as a post-doctoral researcher between King’s College and Shanghai Fudan University’s School of Public Health in the Sino-British interdisciplinary research project ‘Mental health, migration and the Chinese mega-city’. Her doctoral thesis (Université Libre de Bruxelles, 2016) explored the social life and place-making practices of retirees in Beijing’s public parks, with particular attention to re-deployments, in other time-spaces, of « red culture » performances that can be traced back to the Mao era. She has also developed interests in the anthropology of friendship and sociality in urban contexts.

In the project ‘Mental Health, Migration, and the Chinese Mega-City’, Lisa Richaud will work in close collaboration with Profs. Dominique Béhague (King’s College) and Ash Amin (University of Cambridge) to produce fine-grained ethnographic data on the everyday experience of migrants in Shanghai’s inner city and suburban areas, with specific focus on affective and sensory aspects, along with the role of the built environment.

Affiliations:
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Mondes Contemporains (LAMC)

Projects & Grants:
Mental Health, Migration and the Megacity, £650,000 approx. ESRC Newton Fund

Publications:
2014, (with Astrid Nordin), Subverting official language and discourse in China? Type river crab for harmony. China Information, vol. 28, no 1, p. 47-67.

2015, Mise en scène de l’innocence et jeux d’attention : Autographie d’un terrain sous surveillance dans un parc public pékinois. Civilisations, vol. 64, no. 1&2, pp. 23-34. Special issue article: Enquêter en terrains difficiles.

2016, Between “face” and “faceless” relationships in China’s public places : Ludic encounters and activity-oriented friendships among middle and old aged urbanites in Beijing public parks. Urban Studies, Special issue article: Urban friendship networks : Affective negotiations in the city. Pre-published 2 March 2016, DOI : 10.1177/0042098016633609.

Forthcoming, Au parc par temps de fête. Fêtes étatiques et performances publiques à Pékin aujourd’hui. L’Espace politique, Special Issue article: Géographie politique des temps urbains.

Links: Academia

Email: lisa.richaud@kcl.ac.uk