Stillingsbeskrivelse

Mihai Andrei Leaha is an Associate Professor, multimodal anthropologist, and ethnographic filmmaker within the Department of Social Sciences at UiT, The Arctic University of Norway. His research concerns visual disinformation and trust in digital environments, multimodal ethnographic methodologies, embodied music cultures, popular culture, Roma studies, and the socio-material impacts of generative AI technologies.

He is Chair of the Commission on Visual Anthropology of IUAES (2023-Present) and serves on the editorial board of the NAFA/CVA Newsletter.

ACADEMIC INTERESTS: Visual and Multimodal Anthropology (Ethnographic Film, Digital Media, Collaborative Methods) Visual Disinformation; Generative AI (Environmental Impacts, AI Image and Information Systems) Embodied Music Cultures and DIY Scenes; Religion and Popular Culture; Roma Studies and Marginalized Communities; Visual Deception; Decolonial Research Methodologies and Indigenous Cinema; Digital Anthropology and New Media Technologies, Sensory and Participatory Ethnographies.

REGIONAL: Europe (Eastern Europe) Latin America (Brazil) Digital and Online Communities.

ABOUT: Mihai completed his PhD in Visual Anthropology at Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania and has carried out long-term ethnographic fieldwork across Europe and Latin America. He has been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona as part of the ERC-funded Visual Trust project (2022-2025), examining visual disinformation, AI-generated content, and religious imagery in digital political campaigns. Previously, he conducted research at the University of São Paulo (2018-2022) on the embodiment of DIY music scenes through multimodal approaches as part of the FAPESP funded project: "Local musicking: new pathways for ethnomusicology".

His research has been supported by: ERC (European Research Council), FAPESP (The São Paulo Research Foundation), EEA Grants, and SCOPES.

His work has been published in leading journals including Cultural Anthropology, Visual Studies, and Multimodality & Society. As an ethnographic filmmaker, he has produced award-winning films including "Canto de Familia" (Special Mention, In-Edit Brasil 2020), "Carlos Caps Drag Race" (Pierre Verger Prize 2022 - Best mid-length film), "Valley of Sighs" (Best Film, Etnofilm Rovinj 2014), and "Drags in da'House" (2024, 68 min). His films have been screened at major international festivals and have received recognition from GIEFF, Astra Film Festival, and the Brazilian Anthropological Association.

His teaching focuses on visual anthropology, multimodal ethnographic practices, and ethnographic filmmaking, emphasizing both theoretical understanding and practical application through film, digital media, and collaborative creative outputs.