Maëlle Calandra
Status: postdoctoral fellow Labex Corail (from February 2018 to January 31, 2019)
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I’m currently a postdoctoral fellow at EPHE (Labex Corail/PSL), a research associate at the CREDO (UMR 7308 AMU-CNRS- EHESS), and a lecturer in the University of Paris Sciences & Lettres for the summer class on “Coral Reefs” at the CRIOBE research station (Mo’orea Island, French Polynesia). I specialise in Pacific societies, particularly in rural Vanuatu. My work sits at the nexus of theorisations of disaster and anthropology of nature; more specifically I am investigating how the notion of catastrophe is closely intertwined with relationships between people and their environment. My postdoctoral fellowship focuses on sea tenure, coastal fisheries resources management and perceptions of climate change in Vanuatu. I have previously worked on several related projects: ANR 2010-STRA-011-05: “Ecosystèmes, territoires, ressources vivantes et agricultures au Vanuatu [Végé-Culture]”, with the European Consortium for Pacific Studies (ECOPAS) and for the French Foundation/Collège de France on a project entitled “Une étude comparative des savoirs et perceptions locales des zones coralliennes incluses dans les territoires maritimes français”. I have published peer-reviewed articles and I am currently completing a book based on my PhD dissertation, and co-editing a double special issue on natural disasters in Oceania for the journal Anthropological Forum. Recently, I have been awarded the best doctoral dissertation for the year 2018 by the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (France) and by THESE-PAC for the best thesis on the South Pacific.
EMPLOYMENT
2018-2019 Postdoctoral fellow Labex Corail-PSL
2012-2015: Teaching Assistant, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Marseille, France.
Recipient of a 3-year State scholarship
2012-2015 Teaching Assistant, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Marseille, France.
Recipient of a 3-year State scholarship
DISTINCTIONS
2018: Best doctoral dissertation for the year 2018 by The Musée Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (France).
2018: Best doctoral dissertation for the year 2018 on the South Pacific by THESE-PAC (New Caledonia).
FIELDWORK IN VANUATU
21 months of fieldwork experience
2018 Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (2 months)
2015 Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (2 months)
2014 Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (3 months)
2013 Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (9 months)
2012 Tanna, Ambae, Pentecost, Malekula, Malo, Santo (3 months)
2011 Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (2 months)
PUBLICATION
EDITION
Calandra, M., Ballard, Ch., McDonnell, S. (eds.) [submitted in October 2018] "Naturalising Disaster in the Pacific", Anthropological Forum, Double special issue.
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
Calandra, M. [Accepted, fothcoming 2019] “Une histoire de l’appropriation des plantes alimentaires à Tongoa (Vanuatu)”, Les Cahiers du CIERA, n°18: 16 pages.
Calandra, M. [submitted in October 2018] "Disasta: Rethinking the Notion of Disaster in the Wake of Cyclone Pam", Anthropological Forum, Double numéro special: 12 pages.
Calandra, M., Ballard, Ch., McDonnell, S. [submitted in October 2018] "Introduction : Naturalising Disaster in the Pacific", Anthropological Forum, Double special issue: 15 pages.
Calandra, M. 2018 "Une horticulture maritime ? Pratiques et perceptions de la mer à Tongoa (Vanuatu)", Revue d’Ethnoécologie 13 : 23 pages.
Online : https://journals.openedition.org/ethnoecologie/3405
Calandra, M. 2013 "Faire dessiner le terrain. La nature à ‘risque’ et les jardins de subsistance de Tanna et Tongoa (Vanuatu)", Techniques & Culture 60 : 184-203.
Online: http://www.cairn.info/publications-de-Calandra-Ma%C3%ABlle--134174.htm
ENCYCLOPAEDIA ENTRY
Calandra, M. [to be published 2018] "Tropical cyclone (Vanuatu)", Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxford Brookes University : 917 words.
RESEARCH REPORTS
Calandra, M. 2017 « La littérature francophone sur les savoirs locaux et représentations de la mer dans le Pacifique français : singularité du rapport à la mer et des connaissances qui y sont associées », Annual report for the Collège de France and the Fondation de France entitled Une étude comparative des savoirs et perceptions locales des zones coralliennes incluses dans les territoires maritimes français, 24 pages.
Calandra, M. 2012 "La répartition des savoirs horticoles dans six îles et villages de l’archipel du Vanuatu", Rapport annuel pour la tâche 5.2, ANR Végé-Culture-2010-STRA-011-05, 67 p.
NON PUBLISHED DOCUMENT / COLLECT AND TRANSLATION
Calandra, M. 2014 Drawings about Tongoa’s environment produced by the inhabitants of Tongoa Island (2011 to 2013). The book has been given to Chief Taripoamata, Kurumampe village, Tongoa Island (Vanuatu).
Calandra, M. 2014 Histoire coutumière du Tompuku à Kurumampe (Tongoa, Vanuatu), collected and translated in nakanamanga with the collaboration of Ian Vakao, for the National Library and the National Archives of the Cultural Centre of Vanuatu, Port-Vila, Vanuatu. The story was given back to the village of Kurumampe, Tongoa Island (Vanuatu).
Calandra, M. 2011 Histoire coutumière du Tompuku à Kurumampe (Tongoa, Vanuatu), collected and translated in french and bislama with the collaboration of Myriam Abel, for the National Library and the National Archives of the Cultural Centre of Vanuatu, Port-Vila, Vanuatu. The story was given back to the village of Kurumampe, Tongoa Island (Vanuatu).
ACADEMIC THESIS
Calandra, M. 2012 An ethnography of Tanna’s subsistence gardens (Vanuatu): Horticulture and disasters, Master thesis, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), France.
Calandra, M. 2011 Underwater, a dormant volcano: The lizard’s fire and the risky nature of Tongoa Island (Vanuatu), Master thesis, Lyon II University, France.
Calandra, M. 2009 From an abandon to another: Rwanda in 1994. International actors’ and crisis management. April 6th to June 8th 1994, Thesis, IUT Bordeaux III, France.
COMMUNICATION
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS
2018
“Temporalités et mémoires d’une catastrophe : le cas du cyclone Pam (Vanuatu)”, Séminaire de recherche de la MSHP, Maison des Sciences de l’homme du Pacifique, 12 décembre 2018, Papeete (Polynésie française).
"Cyclone Pam : An anthropological perspectives on a long term disaster (Tongoa Island, Vanuatu)", in The 14th APRU Multi-Hazards Symposium: Risk, Resilience and Reconstruction: Science and Governance for Effective Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery in Australia, Asia and the Pacific, Panel 2: Pacific Disaster Risk, Resilience, Health and Management, Australian National University 21-23 Octobre 2018, Canberra (Australia).
"After the Storm: Studying the Reconstruction Management of Tongoa Island (Vanuatu)", Disaster Perception and Response in Times of Global Upheaval, School of Ethnological Studies, Panel 4: Risk Response and Post-Disaster Reconstruction, Southwest Minzu University, 7-18 Octobre 2018, Chengdu (China). Invited.
"Penser l’après-catastrophe. Une analyse de la reconstruction controversée de l’île de Tongoa (Vanuatu)", Research seminar of CRIOBE-IRCP, CRIOBE research station, May 3rd 2018, Mo’orea, (French Polynesia).
2017
“Disasta: rethinking the notion of disaster in the wake of cyclone Pam”, in European Society for Oceanists (ESfO) 2017 Conference, «Experiencing Pacific Environments» – Session 5 «Natural disasters in Oceania », Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany, June 29th - July 2nd 2017.
2016
“Cultiver la mer. Les jardins de mer de l’île de Tongoa (Vanuatu)”, Des mers : des lectures anthropologiques ? Vers un état des lieux de l’anthropologie maritime, Musée de l’Homme, June 8-9th 2016, Paris, France.
2015
“Ne pleurez pas, Dieu va descendre !” Regard anthropologique sur le cyclone Pam à Tongoa (Vanuatu), Public Lecture, University of New-Caledonia (UNC), Octobre 6th 2015, Noumea, New Caledonia.
“Cultivators as collectors: the influences of globalization on subsistence agriculture on Tongoa Island (Vanuatu)”, European Society for Oceanists (ESfO) Conference, “Europe and the Pacific” – Session 16 Relating subsistence agriculture with socio-environmental mutations in Oceania, June 24-27th 2015, Brussels, Belgium.
2014
“Sense of place and disasters: the case of Tongoa Island (Vanuatu)”, in Oceanians’ New Relationships with their Land and their Environment: Belonging versus Property, University of New-Caledonia (UNC), November 3-7th 2014, Noumea- Koohnê, New-Caledonia.
2013
“De la terre à la mer, les jardins nourriciers. Techniques horticoles et imaginaires écologiques à Kurumampe (Tongoa, Vanuatu) ”, in Séminaire des Sciences Sociales et Humaines de l’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), August 1st 2013, Noumea, New-Caledonia
“Subsistence gardens and women: perspectives on gender and anthropology of nature in Lamlu (Tanna, Vanuatu)”, in Austronesian Research Seminar, London School of Economics (LSE), January 29th 2013, London, UK.
2012
“Nourishing gardens facing catastrophe”, in Feast and Famine: Exploring Relationships with Food in the Pacific, PIRN Inaugural Conference, University College of London (UCL), Pacific Islands Research Network, 7-8 September 2012.
NATIONAL CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS
2018
"Le cyclone, un événement destructeur ambivalent. Étude de l’articulation entre horticulture et catastrophes à Tongoa (Vanuatu)", in Journée d’étude : (Re)bâtir jardins et foyers après la catastrophe, Sciences Po, The School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), January 29 th 2018, Paris (France).
2015
“Les natures des jardins à Tongoa (Vanuatu) », in Séminaire du CREDO : Actualités de la recherche en Océanie, CREDO, Université Aix-Marseille, March 27th 2015, Marseille, France.
2012
“Les jardins comme révélateurs de la vie sociale : analyses et interprétations du rôle des Tupunus dans le renouvellement de la nature à Lamlu (Tanna, Vanuatu) ”, in Journée d’étude : Espaces et Objets Politiques, EHESS-Marseille, April 11th 2012, Marseille, France.
ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC EVENTS
CONFERENCE PANNEL
2017
Panel “Natural Disasters in Oceania”, in European Society for Oceanists (ESfO) 2017 Conference, “Experiencing Pacific Environments”, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, June 29th- July 2nd 2017. With Chris Ballard, Siobhan McDonnell and Benedicta Rousseau.
2015
Co-organizer and discutant with Dr Sophie Caillon, “Relating subsistence agriculture with socio-environmental mutations in Oceania”, session 16. ESFO Conference, June 24-27th 2015, Brussels, Belgium.
2012
Co-organizer and discutant with Jocelyn Aznar of the seminar « Thinking and preparing the fieldwork: The tropical sicknesses», CREDO, February 12th 2013, Marseille, France.
PUBLIC DIFFUSION OF RESEARCH
2018
Talk report published online on the website of The Pacific Coral Reef Institute.
Link: http://www.ircp.pf/seminaire-criobe-ircp-penser-lapres-catastrophe-une-analyse-de-la reconstruction-controversee-de-lile-de-tongoa-vanuatu/
2017
Ehnographic exhibition Lokol stael : regards ethnographiques sur la vie quotidienne au Vanuatu (Malekula et Tongoa), 20-29 janvier 2017, Café Villageois, Lauris (84360), Lauris, France. With J. Aznar
Invited to discuss the movie Tanna, projections « Hors-Cadres » du festival de films ethnographiques Mondes en Images, Cinéma le Cigalon, Cucuron (84160), France, 5 janvier 2017.
2016
Co-Organiser with Jocelyn Aznar and Raphaël Gravagna of the exhibition Lokol stael : regards ethnographiques sur la vie quotidienne au Vanuatu (Malekula et Tongoa), June 3-10th 2016, Salle Fernand Pouillon, Campus Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
2015
Guest of the Radio Show ‘The Tea Time Club’ (France Inter – July 25th 2015) on the broad issue “Living with the elements”.
Podcast: https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/tea-time-club/tea-time-club-25-juillet-2015
2013
“Managing natural hazards in Vanuatu: a confrontation between local actors’ knowledge and NGO’s management” presented in collaboration with the Vanuatu Red Cross during the “Sciences Week” and the “Lunch Conference cycle of the French Embassy”, Alliance Française, Port-Vila, Vanuatu, October 29th 2013.
Intervention (with Jocelyn Aznar) in front of the Bougainville last degree high-school students, “what is the fieldwork? Anthropologic and linguistic experiences”, Port-Vila, Vanuatu, September 4th 2013.
Intervention (with Véronique André and Virginie Bernard) in front of the Thiers high-school students, Marseille, as part of a conference cycle dedicated to vocational guidance. Presentation of the CREDO (AMU, CNRS, EHESS), social sciences and anthropology, Marseille, France, January 10th 2013.
2012
“Science week”. The research laboratory, its activities and its library were presented to groups of high-school students, CREDO (AMU, CNRS, EHESS), Marseille, France, October 11th 2012.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
± 150 hours of University in-class teaching
2017-2018
"A definition of disaster througth the case study of Tongoa island", in The week of Anthropology of disasters, School of Ethnological Studies, Southwest Minzu University, Chengu, (China), (Lecture, 1h30, Master-PhD Students) – Invited lecture.
Lecturer and also responsible for the Social Sciences part of the Summer class PSL / Workshop Coral Reefs, CRIOBE Research station, Moorea, (French Polynesia), (Lecture, 10h, M2-PhD students).
"Reconstruire après la catastrophe du cyclone Pam. Une analyse critique de l’implication des ONG à Tongoa (Vanuatu)", (ETH T13-T8C)-Développement social et éducation en contexte post-catastrophes naturelle, Aix-Marseille University, MMSH, Aix-en-Provence, (France), (Lecture, 4,5h, M2) – Invited lecturer.
2016-2017
"Dans le sillage du cyclone Pam : Quand la catastrophe bouleverse l’enquête de terrain", in Faire de l'anthropologie en contexte postcolonial : le cas du Vanuatu, The School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris, (France), (Seminar, 2h, M1-M2) – Invited lecturer.
"Jardins de terre et de mer: éléments d'analyse de la socialisation de la nature à Tongoa (Vanuatu)", (EDTS 17) Anthropologie maritime, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Musée de l’Homme, (Paris), (Seminar, 2h, M1) – Invited lecturer.
2015-2016
(EthZ14) Anthropology of Asia and the Pacific, Department of Anthropology, Aix-Marseille University (AMU), Aix-en-Provence, (France), (Lecture, 4,5h, L1, 70 students) – Invited lecturer.
2015-2014
Lecturer on a temporary contract, The School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Marseille, (France).
Classes taught: “Writing the Social Sciences” and “An introduction to the writing in Social Sciences” (±100 hours, M2, M1).
(Ethl192M) Anthropology of Oceania, Department of Anthropology, Aix-Marseille University (AMU), Aix-en-Provence, (France), (Lecture, 4,5h, L2, L3,M1, 15 students) – Invited lecturer.
2014-2013
(EthZ14) Anthropology of Asia and the Pacific, Department of Anthropology, Aix-Marseille University (AMU), Aix-en-Provence, (France), (Lecture, 13,5h, L1, 90 students) – Invited lecturer.
Une autre façon de raconter: Objets, Techniques et Cultures, The School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Marseille, (France), (Seminar, 2h, M1-M2) – Invited lecturer.
2012-2013
Anthropology of Nature, Lyon II University, Lyon, France (Lecture, 4,5h, L2) – Invited lecturer.
An anthropology of representation (bodies, health, nature), Lyon II University, Lyon, France (Lecture, 4,5h, L2) – Invited lecturer.
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION
2018
March-October 2018: Visiting fellow at CRIOBE Research station, Moorea, (French Polynesia).
August 27th to September 6th 2018 : Educational responsible for the Summer class PSL / Workshop Coral Reefs, CRIOBE Research station, Moorea, (French Polynesia).
2017
May 2-11th 2017: Summer class PSL / Workshop Coral Reefs, CRIOBE Research station, Moorea, (French Polynesia).
January 2017: employee of the project entitled “Une étude comparative des savoirs et perceptions locales des zones coralliennes incluses dans les territoires maritimes français”, Laboratory of Social Anthropology - Collège de France, supervised by H. Artaud (MNHN) and A. Surralles (LAS/Collège de France).
2016-2017
Co-researcher of the transdisciplinary project Penser de bas en haut, quand le sol prend la parole, conducted by Aline Veillat and funded by Aix-Marseille-University and the IMERA.
2015
September 28th – October 26th: Employee of the European Consortium for Pacific Studies (ECOPAS), for a project research about the cyclone Pam and the Palolo warms on Tongoa Island (Vanuatu).
July – decembre : Visiting fellow at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 220 : Gouvernance, Risque, Environnement, Développement, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie.
April 27th – May 4th: Visiting fellow at the Department of Anthropology, School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen (UK).
2014
June – decembre : Visiting fellow at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 220 : Gouvernance, Risque, Environnement, Développement, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie.
2011-2012
Decembre- March : Employee of the ANR-2010-STRA-011-05 : « Ecosystèmes, territoires, ressources vivantes et agricultures au Vanuatu [Végé-Culture] », research realised for the task 5.2.
PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC BODIES
Since 2016: Member of the Oceanist's Society (SdO). http://www.oceanistes.org
Since 2015: Member of the European Society for Oceanists (ESFO). http://esfo-org.eu/
Since 2014 : Member of e-Toile Pacifique: pluridisciplinary network of exchange and information on francophone social sciences researches on Oceania. www.e-toilepacifique.fr
Member of the Pacific-studies.net: European-based network and platform on social sciences and humanities in and on the Pacific region. http://www.pacific-studies.net
Member of Minorités en Clichés, non-profit organisation, for the promotion of anthropoloy and the research in Oceania.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
December 2017
PHD in Social and Cultural Anthropology, School for Advanced Study in Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris, France
Supervision: Pierre Lemonnier (CNRS, CREDO) and Philippe Descola (Collège de France, LAS)
“Land gardens, sea gardens: an anthropology of nature and landscape in a ‘risky’ environment (Tongoa, Vanuatu)
2012
Master 2 in Comparative Studies in History, Anthropology and Sociology, EHESS, Marseille, FranceAdvisors: Frédéric Joulian (EHESS, CNE) and Marc Tabani (CNRS, CREDO)
Dissertation title: “An ethnography of Tanna’s subsistence gardens (Vanuatu): Horticulture and disasters”
With honours
2011
Master 1 in Social and Cultural Anthropology, University Lyon II, Lyon, FranceAdvisors : Michèle Cros (Lyon II, CREA), Paul Van der Grijp (Lyon II, CREA)
Dissertation title: “ Underwater, a dormant volcano: The lizard’s fire and the risky nature of Tongoa Island (Vanuatu)”
With honours
2010
Bachelor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University Lyon II, Lyon, France
With honours
2008-2009
DUT, 2 years University Degree in Technology “Social Careers”, Development and Management of Humanitarian Action, University Institute of Technology, University Bordeaux III, Bordeaux, France
Advisor: Pascal Tozzi (CNRS, ADESS)
Dissertation title: From an abandon to another: Rwanda in 1994. International actors’ and crisis management. April 6th to June 8th 1994”
With honours
2007
1st year of three-year Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
2006
Baccalauréat Littéraire (French high school degree), option Drama, Paul Cézanne High School, Aix-en-Provence (13), France.
LANGUES
According to the Common European framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR):
French: writing C2; speaking C2; listening C2 (mother tongue)
English: writing C1; speaking C1; listening C1
Italian: writing B2; speaking C1; listening C1
Bislama: writing C1; speaking C2; listening C2
Nakanamanga: speaking B1; listening B2