I am a social anthropologist working at the intersection of religion, environment, and ethics. My research to date has examined how values become embodied through pedagogical, institutional, and state frameworks in Christian folk high school education in southeastern Norway. By taking the body as an analytic, I explore how global service projects, study trips to indigenous land, and Lutheran rituals inform perceptions of (in)equality in global relationships, environmental degradation, and social formations among Norwegian youth. My work employs multimodal ethnographic methods that include photography, creative writing, music, and film.
I received a PhD in Social Anthropology from The University of Edinburgh in 2025, a Master of Arts in Theological and Cultural Anthropology from Eastern University in 2018, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Temple University in 2011. I have taught in high schools, universities, and community learning programs in the US, the UK, Norway, China, and Thailand. Currently, I teach at Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science and Futures Institute. My teaching focuses on qualitative methods, development, environment, and religion, and uses online and in-person methods for undergraduate and master level students.
I also teach embodied and experimental ethnographic method workshops with Edinburgh’s Student Development Office and produce music, film, and photography in my own work, mostly for my band Cape Wrath.
If you’d like to get in touch please email me at: jamiglisson@gmail.com.
Portrait by Buddy Szczesniak. All other photographs by Jamie Glisson.