Stefania Manfio

Graduation Year
2023
Stefania Manfio

Stefania Manfio is a maritime archaeologist and current PhD student in the Department of Anthropology. She specializes on the use of 3D visualizations, based on gaming technology, as a tool for the enhancement and dissemination of maritime heritage. Her research explores how the social, craft and biographical aspects of shipbuilding and the transportation of people can help others better understand the period of slavery and the transition to indenture. Moreover, she is broadly interested in understanding how the ‘vessel’, the ship itself, is a vehicle of culture contact and how the study of the artifacts found in the shipwreck can give us information on life at sea and the relationships on-board. For her Ph.D., Stefania is working on materials and shipwrecks from Mauritius, serving as an ideal case for Indian Ocean labor movements.

Stefania is also involved in developing the Marine Spatial Plan for Mauritius, developing ways to integrate maritime heritage into the Blue Economy mandate, contributing to resilience in Small Island Developing States.
 
 

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Countries of Study
Research Interest(s)
Maritime Archaeology, Social Archaeology, Slave Trade, Labor Diaspora, Indian Ocean, Digital Mapping (GIS), 3D and Virtual Reality, Museum Studies