Juliette Foulon

DPhil Anthropology, 2025
Oxford Clarendon Green Templeton Scholarship

Juliette grew up in the North of Paris in a French-American household. She came to the UK in 2017 to study her undergraduate at UCL before coming to Oxford in 2022 to undertake her masters in Social Anthropology at Wolfson college. In 2024 she was awarded the Ann McPherson predoctoral fellowship at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and worked on a range of projects pertaining to women’s health within the Medical Sociology and Health Experiences research group.

Outside of research, she has been a performer her whole life, starting ballet at age 5, musical theatre at 13 and choir singing at 18. She is now studying her DPhil in anthropology which explores community choirs and wellbeing.

DPhil Anthropology, 2019

My research interests are driven by a personal need for deep transformation, along with a desire to facilitate transformation in the world. My doctoral thesis focuses specifically on spiritual transformation within modern Druidry. In that work, I seek to identify specific ideas and techniques that can be applied more broadly to create ontological shifts and transformations of Being within individuals and overarching social systems, including cultural, political, and other human-derived ecosystems. Believing that anthropology’s strength lies in its ability to learn from the “Other,” and recognizing that the state of the world today demands action, I hope applying my research will contribute meaningfully to conversations around how we might best live our lives to create a better world for all.

My academic journey began at Southern Oregon University in the Pacific Northwest, where I graduated summa cum laude in 2015 with a double major in anthropology and communication studies, as well as a double minor in convergent media and outdoor adventure leadership. For excellence in scholarship and service, I was honored with the “Outstanding Senior” award in both majors.

After years of working in outdoor education, mentorship, mental health advocacy, and the world of entheogens, a transformative experience with the Mankind Project encouraged me to apply for the MSc in Social Anthropology at Oxford, which I completed with distinction in 2020. Delving into the virtual, my MSc thesis explored self-transformation within an online fantasy role-playing video game, which only solidified my interest in anthropology and deep transformation.

Research Interests

1. Deep Transformation and the Human Experience:
Phenomenology, cognition, language, metaphor, narrative, cosmology, ritual, body techniques, selfhood and identity, imagination, play, ontology, epistemology, power, agency, pedagogy, worldview shifts, and alternative ways of knowing and being.

2. Metaphysical and Spiritual Explorations:
Spirituality, neopaganism, western esotericism, mysticism, magic, indigenous cosmologies, indigenizing movements, new animism, shamanism, psychedelics, consciousness, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), Non-human Intelligence (NHI), extraordinary experiences, the paranormal, mysterious, and numinous.

3. Virtualities and Technological Transformation:
Video games, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, game design, the intersection of technology and spirituality, creating transformative virtual experiences, and virtual reality in education.

Academic Contributions

Over the course of my doctoral studies, I have had the privilege of contributing to the GTC and greater Oxford community in several ways. After introducing a sustainability initiative as the chair of GTC’s 2021 annual ball (themed “Otherworld”), I proposed the theme for and chaired GTC’s 2022 annual Human Welfare Conference. Bringing together a diversity of speakers of international acclaim, GTC’s “Psychedelics: Revolution and Renaissance in Human Welfare” marked the first college-led conference on psychedelics at the University of Oxford. Along with my time as a GTC Peer Supporter and Varsity Trip representative, I received GTC’s annual “Nautilus Award” in 2022 for these contributions. During Hilary term 2023, I tutored undergraduates for the medical anthropology option course “Sensory Experience in Therapeutics,” receiving praise from the Director of Graduate Studies for my teaching.

Professional Experience

Beyond the academy, my experiences leading outdoor education, mentoring at-risk youth, advocating for mental health issues, exploring alternative ways of healing, and teaching have clarified my purpose: to delve into “otherness” and communicate my discoveries with others. Forever a student, I am always eager to learn from the experiences of others, particularly those who have walked unique paths in life and are seeking to apply their insights to create meaningful change in the world.

Personal Interests

When not working, you will find me recovering outdoors in nature, training in mixed martial arts, practicing yoga, spinning and breathing fire, and pondering the mysteries of life—often alongside my wife. I feel most at home weaving through evergreens on a snowboard, scuba diving through shipwrecks, getting lost in the woods, or discovering new ways to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar.

Contact: austenmfisher@gmail.com

DPhil Anthropology, 2024

I’m a DPhil Anthropology student researching British collections of Indonesian objects. I hold an MSc in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology from the University of Oxford and a BA (hons.) in Asian History and Art History with a minor in Anthropology from Northwestern University. I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. In my free time I am a miniaturist and taxidermist, and an avid collector of art and antiques.

Contact: fiona.asokacitta@gtc.ox.ac.uk

DPhil Anthropology
2020

I recently completed my MPhil in Medical Anthropology here at Oxford. Continuing to the DPhil, my research focuses on studying the social interactions and use of online support groups for depression.

My other interests include jazz piano, where I host jam sessions and co-organize the Green Templeton College Big Band along with Richard Canter, music transcription and arranging, and great coffee.

Contact: jordan.gorenberg@gtc.ox.ac.uk