Lærke holds an M.Sc in anthropology from the University of Copenhagen, and an M.Sc. in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has previously worked as a research assistant and external lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, Department of Anthropology.
Lærke is particularly interested in themes such as nationalism, political violence, activism, racialisation and gender. She has conducted fieldwork in the UK on military remembrance practices and the construction of national unity and imaginaries. Further she has conducted fieldwork on community building in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.
As a PhD fellow, Lærke investigates student activism in the United States.
Student activists in the US are calling for so-called de-naming of campus buildings to avoid racist and colonial connotations, decolonizing of curricula, no-platforming and demonstrations to prevent what they deem to be hate-speech while simultaneously holding university administrations accountable for diversity and inclusion policies to protect minority students. In this PhD project, Lærke aims to investigate the negotiations between students, faculty and staff over demands to decolonize education and create an inclusive environment on campus. Through ethnographic fieldwork, she will explore the ongoing debates and engage in creating a reflective space for the involved interlocutors.
The project is funded by the Danish Independent Research Fund as part of the larger project: "Fighting for e/quality: Comparative ethnographies of new student movements"
Lærke was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct fieldwork at UC Berkeley and to study abroad at the Center For Higher Education. The research stay was also supported by: William Demant Fonden, Torben og Alice Frimodts fond, Brorsons rejselegat and Augustinus Fonden.
