Overview
Hannah Ali is a PhD student in Medical and Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Cornell University whose research engages the anthropology of addiction, harm reduction, ethics, and care. Her master’s research examined how Somali-Canadian families in Toronto responded to health and social challenges through cultural and community-based forms of care. Building on this foundation, her doctoral project investigates how Somali Canadians navigate Toronto’s ongoing drug toxicity crisis.
Her broader interests include art-based research methods (including play), psychoanalysis, community care, and constructions of healing within Muslim diasporas. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at Cornell, Hannah earned a double master’s degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at York University, where her work focused on discursive psychoanalytic analysis. She also holds a B.A. in Psychology and Social Justice Studies from the University of British Columbia (UBC).