Hannah McGurk

Hannah is a PhD candidate in Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, specialising in heritage studies, Caribbean history and the environmental humanities. Her dissertation project is based on the Caribbean collections of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and University Herbarium and asks about the significance of such objects for Caribbean communities today. Through ethnographic, archival and participatory research methods, she aims to explore the enduring role of herbal medicine in practices of care and community-building in the Caribbean and its diaspora. Her CDP studentship is co-funded by AHRC, the University and MAA. Hannah received her MA in Cultural History from the University of Liverpool and BA in English Literature and German from the University of Edinburgh. A scholar-activist of British Jamaican heritage, Hannah has worked with various initiatives led by communities, students and institutions concerned with legacies of British colonialism and colonialism. She has most recently worked with the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.