Tierra McMahon

Tierra McMahon

PhD candidate

London School of Economics

Hello and Welcome!

I am a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

My current research examines the political economy of modernity in Morocco with attention to how modernity narratives are employed to justify or change social/cultural practices.

Interests

  • Animal sacrifice; mutuality, serving & hierarchy; conceptions of nature; religion in practice; the (enduring) political economy of modernity; performance & publics
  • Practice-led research; relations between `ethnographic’ fieldwork & theory; the quantitative-qualitative research methods divide construct

Education

  • MRes/PhD in (Social) Anthropology, exp 2025

    London School of Economics

  • MSc in Social Anthropology, 2019

    London School of Economics

  • MRes in Economics, 2014

    PSL Research University -- Paris Dauphine

  • MA in International Relations, 2012

    American Graduate School in Paris

  • BA in Philosophy, 2003

    Middle Tennessee State University

Current Research

Sacrifice, Sport, and Street Art in ‘Le Maroc Utile’: Performing and Negotiating ‘The Modern’ in Morocco and Beyond

My current research examines the political economy of modernity in Morocco with attention to how modernity narratives are employed to justify or change social/cultural practices. Focused on a region known in the local vernacular as ‘le Maroc utile’ (‘the useful Morocco’), the project explores conceptions of this–not uncontroversial–category of place and attends to performances and negotiations of ‘the modern’ in spheres of activity that figure largely in the lives of those who live there. The spheres of activity include: 1) sacrifice 2) sport and 3) street art, and are explored through anthropological methods, including long-term fieldwork. Through the scope of these inter-related spheres of activity and by co-practicing activities with my interlocutors, the aim is to understand the influence of these performances and the greater negotiation of Moroccan modernity in the 21st century. A second aim of the research is to apply findings from ‘the Moroccan case’ to discussions of modernity and modernization that have gained traction globally and which speak to some of the key challenges of our time, including those that address the Anthropocene and speaking for others.

Teaching

London School of Economics

Postgraduate Teaching Assistant

  • AN283 Anthropology, Art, and Poetics: Winter 2024. Teaching Evaluation 4.4/5.
  • AN100 Being Human: Introduction to Social Anthroplogy: Winter 2023. Teaching Evaluation 4.67/5.
  • IR115 Globalisation and Culture: Summer School 2023. Teaching Evaluation 4.81/5.

Co-convener, Summer Seminar Series

  • Digesting David Graeber’s Sacrifice Syllabus: A postgraduate and professional seminar series on sacrifice exploring classic conceptions of sacrifice to modern takes (e.g. sacrifice zones) that speaks to questions of envirnonmental policy, human-non-human relations, and future-making. (Summer Term 2023)

IE University

Lecturer

  • Anthropological Approaches to Contemporary Worlds: Spring Term 2024. Teaching Evaluation 4.78/5.
  • Advanced Research and Writing Skills: Autumn Term 2023. Teaching Evaluation 4.64/5.

Selected Awards

  • Recipient of the Rosemary and Raymond Firth Award (2024-2025), Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics.
  • Nomination for Outstanding Teaching Award during the 2023-2024 academic year, LSESU, London School of Economics.
  • Award in recognition of providing exceptional pastoral care, 2023-2024, London School of Economics
  • Outstanding Teaching Awards for both courses taught, 2023-2024, IE University.
  • Highly Commended Class Teaching Award Received for academic teaching conducted during the 2022-2023 academic year, London School of Economics.
  • London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) Research Support Award Received funding award for innovative methods training and research (2022-2023).
  • London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) Language Fund Awards (2021 & 2022).
  • London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) Studentship Award, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (2020-2024).
  • The LSE Bloch and Parry Award for Best MSc Dissertation (2019).
  • The MTSU Young Alumni Achievement Award, received for outstanding achievement in career, public service and volunteering from Middle Tennessee State University (2017).
  • The John A. Lee Memorial Scholarship, American Graduate School in Paris, competitive scholarship received annually (2009 – 2012).
  • U.S. Policy Debate Awards - multiple awards won at state and regional policy debate tournaments, including 1st place at Vanderbilt University (2001 – 2003).
  • Michael Martinelli Honors Scholarship for high academic achievement at MTSU Honors College (2001).

Contact