Margaret-Ann Simonetta

Sociocultural Anthropologist

University of PortsmouthPhD Scholar

Harvard UniversityA.B. in Anthropology ’19 Cum LaudeA.M. in Anthropology ’24

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Speaking & media

Invited talks and lectures, including appearances in magazines, podcasts, and videos featuring her work — listed by most recent first.

11 items

Talks & invited lectures

  • 2025

    Food Fandom: Harvard University Food Literacy Project Series

    Talk

    Have you ever heard of “food fandom?” If you consider yourself a foodie, express yourself with food, connect with others via food, or are generally interested in food and pop culture, this presentation is for you. Guest speaker, Margaret-Ann Simonetta is a PhD Scholar and a Harvard University graduate (Class of ’19 and ’24) in the field of Anthropology and Fandom Studies. She has created a unique career by combining cultural media and fandom studies. Margaret-Ann is a Lecturer and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, teaching food fandom courses including “Eat, You’ll Feel Better: Chocolate Consumption in Pop-Culture Fandoms,” “Harry Potter and the Wizarding Cuisine,” and working longtime aside Harvard’s esteemed Dr. Carla D. Martin in “Chocolate, Culture, and the Politics of Food,” and “Race, Class, and Consumption.” Learn more about how food fandom evolved and how fandom culture influences our daily lives.

  • 2024

    Harry Potter and the Young Scholars

    TalkDavidson Institute

    Harry Potter and the Young Scholars is an academic presentation for young scholars (and Harry Potter fans!) who range between the ages of 6-18 years. This presentation demonstrates how fandom research can be studied at any age by implementing hands-on, factual material to young scholars who are curious about cultural studies concerning topics they love, like Harry Potter. Topics such as Harry Potter facts, fan-induced tourism, and viral Harry Potter memes and online culture are discussed.

  • 2023

    Harry Potter and the Wizarding Tourist

    TalkUC Berkeley Tourism Studies Working Group, 2023–24 Colloquium Series

    J. K. Rowling, the world’s best-selling author in recorded history, is the creator of a seven-book series about a boy navigating his new and unpredictable life in the wizarding world. His name is Harry Potter. Since the series’ inception in 1997, the Harry Potter books have sold over 600 million copies and have been translated into more than 85 languages, equating to one in every thirteen individuals globally owning a Harry Potter book. Rowling’s unparalleled success has additionally produced eight record- breaking feature films and five Harry Potter global theme parks, including the world’s most exclusive Harry Potter themed destination located on the outskirts of London. In March of 2012, J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Pictures joined forces and debuted the first official Harry Potter tour, one that fuses the Harry Potter fandom and global tourism into one. The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour London grants Potter enthusiasts’ access to an authentic behind-the-scenes experience, as witches and wizards have an opportunity to live through the culture of Harry Potter by means of the film’s original sets, backlot, and special effects that famously took the text to screen. Notably, the Studio Tour has evolved into one of the United Kingdom’s most popular and visited tourist destinations, as visitors from around the world journey to London to embody this unequaled location. Indeed, this unique themed space creates a remodeled significance for the phrase “tourist destination,” as the Studio Tour performs as a nexus between Harry Potter’s magical culture and one’s physical self. Due to this cultural phenomenon, global Harry Potter fans now have access to what was once considered an imaginary within one’s mind to an embodied reality in the flesh. Harry Potter and the Wizarding Tourist is an analysis on how the Harry Potter fandom culturally symbolizes the milieu of The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour London using anthropological concepts of space, place, and embodiment. With equal regard, an examination on this Harry Potter themed space also considers how the Studio Tour performs as a fan-induced tourist destination, thus analyzing these cultural elements and their potential to elevate the study of tourism and fan scholarship in the field of anthropology.

  • 2023

    The Fandom of Chocolate, Culture, and the Politics of Food

    TalkHarvard Professional & Lifelong Learning

    This course examines the socio-historical legacy of chocolate, with a delicious emphasis on the eating and appreciation of the so-called food of the gods. Interdisciplinary course readings introduce the history of cacao cultivation, the present day state of the global chocolate industry, the diverse cultural constructions surrounding chocolate, and the implications for chocolate’s future of scientific study, international politics, alternative trade models, and the food movement. This lecture will focus on the fandom of chocolate and how our world is culturally invested in the chocolate industry. We consider anthropological schemas such as materialism, food and beverage, tourism, global politics, popular culture and media, and Harvard’s influence on the Big Chocolate Industry.

Public scholarship & media

Magazine features, podcasts and press in which her work appears.

  • 2025

    GI Cancers Alliance: The Voice for the GI Cancer Community

    OncoDaily · quoted

    “We are honored to join the OncoDaily community and collaborate with OncoDaily as our official media partner. Together, we will significantly impact our GI cancer community and patients worldwide affected by a gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis,” says Margaret-Ann Simonetta, President of GI Cancers Alliance.

  • 2025

    Harvard University’s Housing Day Fandom

    VideoHarvard Magazine · featured

    Harvard Magazine’s Housing Day preview, with Margaret-Ann on Harvard College’s most beloved tradition read as a campus fandom.

  • 20 Nov 2024

    The 140th Harvard–Yale: Game Fandom, Tiny Mic Edition

    MagazineHarvard Magazine · by Olivia Farrar, featuring Margaret-Ann

    Harvard Magazine’s coverage of the 140th Harvard–Yale Game, pairing a “tiny mic” video of fans on game day with Margaret-Ann’s commentary on The Game as something fans live, not just watch.

  • 2024

    The Fandom of Harvard University

    VideoHarvard Magazine · featured

    Lecturer Margaret-Ann Simonetta ‘19 and ‘24 discusses the fandom of Harvard College.

  • 2024

    The Game: 140th Edition

    VideoHarvard Magazine · featured

    A Harvard Magazine reel from the 140th Harvard–Yale Game, with Margaret-Ann on the rituals and rivalry that make The Game a fandom of its own.

  • 13 Mar 2021

    The Anthropology of Harry Potter, Part Two: Bloody Brilliant

    PodcastAlohomora!, MuggleNet · guest

    Linguistics, fairytales, fandom and morals: the localization of the text across different English editions, folklore and fairytale structure, fandom culture, and the moral lessons in the series — including how Voldemort, Lockhart and Snape compare to archetypal figures in epic tales.

  • 1 Aug 2020

    The Anthropology of Harry Potter, Part One: Wicked Fascinating

    PodcastAlohomora!, MuggleNet · guest

    How anthropological study can be applied to the Harry Potter series and its fanbase: how Potter has shaped personal environments, character deaths and their significance, the concept of afterlife in the wizarding world, leadership across the series, Ministry of Magic symbolism, and how Potter terminology has infiltrated everyday language.

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