Dr Rachel Anne Tough
Lecturer in Economic Anthropology and Development
Biography
Dr Rachel Anne Tough joined the Department of International Development in September 2026, having previously taught development studies and anthropology at SOAS, University of London and at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Rachel's Ph.D. thesis, for which she was awarded the Development Studies Association Best Thesis Prize, presents an ethnographic study of the coronavirus pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City. The study, on which Rachel's current book project is based, draws on 18 months of fieldwork and on her engagement with Vietnam since 2003. By analysing everyday negotiations around the implementation of the country's 'Zero-COVID' policy, the research contributes new knowledge around how state-society relations function in contemporary Vietnam.
Before entering academia, Rachel led a team of researchers supporting elected politicians to campaign for social and environmental justice at City Hall in London.
Research
- Vietnam
- Southeast Asia
- Ethnography
- Political and economic anthropology
- Heritage and memory
Teaching
Undergradaute
- 5YYD0022 Anthropological Approaches to Social Justice, Power, and Inequalities
- 6YYD0033 Economic Inequality and the Distribution of Income
PhD Supervision
Rachel is interested in supervising students who have similar research interests, especially those using ethnographic methods to research inequalities.
Further details
Research
Democracy and Development research group
A group that explores the contested relationship between democracy and development, with a particular focus on ideas and practices from the Global South.
Research
Democracy and Development research group
A group that explores the contested relationship between democracy and development, with a particular focus on ideas and practices from the Global South.