Anthropology beyond the Academy: A conversation with Xara Zabihi Dutton (Gemic)

Anthropology beyond the Academy: A conversation with Xara Zabihi Dutton (Gemic)

In recent years, companies, NGOs and other organisations have increasingly turned to ethnographic and other qualitative methods to shape their policy and strategic decisions. What is it like to work at this interface? How do you build a career in this field? How can you make the most of your anthropology/social science training to do so? Join us for a conversation with former Social Anthropology MPhil student, Xara Zabihi Dutton, who will share her experience of moving into and working at Gemic, an international consultancy that uses qualitative methods to reveal how society, culture, technology, and the human condition converge in various business contexts.

Biography: Xara Zabihi Dutton works as a Strategist at Gemic, a Consultancy offering their clients insights into how converging human, social, political and technological factors shape the business contexts they operate within. Xara joined Gemic as an intern after completing an MPhil in Social Anthropology in 2022 at Cambridge, a year in the Department of Health and Social Care, and a BA in English Literature at UCL. Xara’s interest in applying qualitative research, thinking and methods from across the humanities and social sciences in non-academic settings has driven her early career trajectory.