Doctoral researcher in history & heritage consultant
Carissa’s work explores the intersections of race, gender, and empire. Her current academic research examines mixed-race histories in East Africa and the wider British Empire, whilst her professional practice in the UK heritage sector focuses on decolonising descriptive practice and making catalogue records more inclusive.
RECENT PUBLICATION
Chew, Carissa. “Remembering Interracial Intimacies: South Asian Perspectives on Black/Brown Sex and Romance in Colonial East Africa.” Gender & History 38, no.3 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.70051.
PhD Research / MwafrikaDesí Archive
Carissa is pursuing a PhD in History at the University of Edinburgh. Her thesis centres the perspectives of people of mixed Black and South Asian heritage in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in the colonial and early postcolonial period, where she is currently conducting fieldwork. This mixed-race group have faced multi-directional marginalisation both historically and historiographically, meaning their voices have rarely been recorded across written archives. Collecting oral histories from across East Africa, her project explores how this mixed-race demographic navigated a rigid monoracial hierarchy during a period of profound political and social change.
As part of her doctoral research, Carissa is developing MwafrikaDesí [launching late 2027], a digital archive created in collaboration with the Blindian Project. This curated resource seeks to preserve and make accessible the histories, memories, and experiences of people of mixed Black and South Asian heritage in East Africa.
Heritage Consultancy / Mukti Metadata
Carissa works freelance as an Inclusive Metadata Consultant with libraries, archives, and museums across the UK. She offers one-off talks and workshops, as well as bespoke consultancy services including larger-scale metadata audits, staff training, and strategy development projects. She has contributed to inclusive cataloguing initiatives across a range of cultural heritage organisations, including the National Library of Scotland, Imperial War Museums, V&A, People’s Collection Wales, Glasgow School of Art Library, and SOAS Library.
Promoting cross-institutional collaboration, Carissa is also the founder of Mukti Metadata [launching January 2027]. With mukti meaning “liberation” in Bengali, it is a platform dedicated to supporting anti-racist and decolonial approaches to cataloguing across the cultural heritage sector. Mukti Metadata hosts a collaborative inclusive terminology glossary—formerly known as the “Chew Glossary” by the National Library of Scotland—alongside recommended resources and subject guides designed to help heritage organisations engage with reparative description work.
Contact
Carissa.Chew@ed.ac.uk
Carissa Chew 2026 ©
