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Alyssa Adina James

Anthropologist & Public Scholar

Alyssa Adina James

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Freelance Life

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Freelance Life

A Week In The Life: Friday & Saturday We Chilled On Sunday

19 June 2015

When I say I’m a freelance writer/content marketer/SEO/anything I can get my hands on, people ask me questions like “What do you actually do?” or “What are your days like?” I’m writing this so people can get an idea of what I do – emphasis on the I. By the end of the week, you’ll have…

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Alyssa 2 Comments
will write for food, freelance writer, what it's like to freelance in london, freelancer
Freelance Life

A Week In the Life: Thursday is Just Friday, Jr.

18 June 2015

When I say I’m a freelance writer/content marketer/SEO/anything I can get my hands on, people ask me questions like “What do you actually do?” or “What are your days like?” I’m writing this so people can get an idea of what I do – emphasis on the I. By the end of the week, you’ll have…

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Alyssa No Comments
freelancer, what it's like to be a freelancer, london, british library
Freelance Life

A Week in the Life: What’s Up Wednesday

17 June 2015

When I say I’m a freelance writer/content marketer/SEO/anything I can get my hands on, people ask me questions like “What do you actually do?” or “What are your days like?” I’m writing this so people can get an idea of what I do – emphasis on the I. By the end of the week, you’ll have…

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Alyssa No Comments
Freelancer, what it's like to freelance, freelance writer, barista, cafe
Freelance Life

A Week in the Life: After Tuesday Is W T F

16 June 2015

When I say I’m a freelance writer/content marketer/SEO/anything I can get my hands on, people ask me questions like “What do you actually do?” or “What are your days like?” I’m writing this so people can get an idea of what I do – emphasis on the I. By the end of the week, you’ll have…

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Alyssa 5 Comments
Freelancer, what it's like to freelance, freelance writer
Freelance Life

A Week in the Life of This Freelancer: Monday Fun Day

15 June 2015

When I say I’m a freelance writer/content marketer/SEO/anything I can get my hands on, people ask me questions like “What do you actually do?” or “What are your days like?” I’m writing this so people can get an idea of what I do – emphasis on the I. By the end of the week, you’ll have…

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Alyssa 3 Comments
Freelance Life

Bloggers: Stop Telling Everyone What Your Most Popular Posts Are

2 February 2015

I get it: you’re proud, you want your regular readers to see your best work, and everyone has that damn ‘popular posts’ widget so you got it too. It’s time to stop telling people which of your posts are most popular. Get rid of that ‘Popular on the Blog’ plug-in, don’t tell other bloggers in…

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Alyssa 4 Comments
Freelance Life, London

The Best Places for Freelancers to Work in North London

16 December 2014

  Like many itinerant workers, I spend a lot of time in coffee shops (though I recently started branching out to pubs!). When I started freelancing I read a lot of lists about the best places to work for freelancers in London. The one thing they all had in common was that there was almost…

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Alyssa 2 Comments
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Freelance Life, London freelance

I Got Published on Thought Catalog!

11 December 2014

I’ve been reading Thought Catalog for a long time and I’ve sent a few posts their way before – to no avail. A few days ago, I sent this one in expecting the same silence I received in the past. Within a few hours, I received an email from one of the editors: Hi Alyssa,…

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Freelance Life

The Five Stages of Freelancing

18 November 2014

I like freelancing. I get to (mostly) choose what I write about and when I do it. It’s also a learning curve, and I’ve learned the hard way how to deal with late payments, how to tactfully tell your client he’s wrong, how not to pitch for new business… So, in honour of National Freelancers Day…

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Community, Twitter, Digital Marketing
Freelance Life

Top 6 Techniques You Need in Your Digital Marketing Arsenal

21 October 2014

Digital marketing is about incorporating technological tactics into your overall marketing strategy. Choosing the right techniques and fitting them into your business are vital to your company’s success in digital and offline spaces. If you want to drive traffic to your website, increase conversions and build brand awareness, here are six practices to add to…

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Alyssa 8 Comments
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Meet Alyssa

Alyssa Adina James, anthropologist, black woman anthropologist, canada, martinique

Alyssa Adina James

I’m an anthropologist passionate about exploring the cultural and historical richness of food, heritage, and identities in the Caribbean and its diaspora, with a special focus on coffee production and consumption. I aim to bring attention to pressing global issues like climate adaptation, food sovereignty, and the legacies of colonialism. Whether through community engagement, public writing, or podcast production, I’m committed to making critical conversations accessible, bridging the gap between scholarship and everyday life.


Montréal, QC


Assistant Professor, McGill University


PhD Anthropology, Columbia University


Avery the Mini Poodle

Inspiration

No, I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.

— Zora Neale Hurston

People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world’s diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others.

— Youssou N’Dour

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Helpful Resources

- Where the Money Resides: Demystifying Academic Job Negotiations
- The Professor Is in: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job
- Sample Statements of Purpose for Anthropology PhD Admissions
- 57 Ways to Screw Up in Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons for Graduate Students

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