University of Oxford

African Anthropology

African Anthropology has a rich history at Oxford. It is associated with such names as Edward Evans-Pritchard, Meyer Fortes, Godfrey Leinhardt, Edwin Ardener, Wendy James and David Parkin. Many other distinguished anthropologists taught or studied here including Paul Bohannan, Mary Douglas and Max Gluckman. Oxford anthropology also produced one of the most famous African anthropologists, Kofi Busia, who after completing his doctorate went on to become the first Prime Minister of Ghana. Thematically and regionally the tradition of African Anthropology at Oxford has been both diverse and instrumental in shaping the discipline.

Current ISCA faculty working on African issues include Dr David Pratten, Prof. David Zeitlyn, Dr Hélène Neveu-Kringelbach, Dr Iain Walker and Dr Nadine Beckmann. Elsewhere in the university Dr Chris Morton at the Pitt Rivers Museum and Dr David Mills also research and teach in the field of African Anthropology. African anthropology at Oxford also boasts several post-doctoral research fellowships and visiting scholars, along with a growing doctoral cohort and a vibrant seminar and event schedule.

These pages provide further details on our faculty, our teaching programme, our events and our research projects.