University of Oxford

Regional and political studies

Regional studies under way with particular emphasis upon religion, epistemology, and the social transmission of knowledge include David Parkin's work on Islam, especially with reference to Zanzibar; and Paul Dresch's current research on historical developments in customary and Islamic law in the Middle East; Roger Goodman's continuing research on Japanese education and welfare policies; and David Gellner's work on Buddhism and Hinduism. Gellner's earlier research on religion and ethnicity in Nepal has evolved into a study of different kinds of activist – for example, ethnic, political, religious, social, women's, Dalit - in the country as a whole. He is collaborating with University colleagues in Bielefeld, Colombo, and Kathmandu for a study of 'The (Micro)Politics of Democratisation', relating to South Asia.

Closely overlapping in sympathy with these projects, several colleagues are enagaged in direct study of the social anthropology of post-colonial societies, an important area of research dealing with the politics of peace and conflict, cultural globalization, translocal patterns of migration and settlement and refugee movements. For instance, Wendy James is now engaged on a historical anthropology of the impact of war and conflict upon peoples of the Sudan-Ethiopian border whom she has known for many years, and David Parkin with Paul Dresch and others is working on Indian Ocean connections. Mette Berg is working on cosmopolitanism among Cuban migrants to Spain.

Political questions are also being taken up ‘closer to home'. In addition to his work in the field of visual anthropology, Marcus Banks has long standing interests in the field of ethnicity and nationalism. He has recently turned his attention to the study of neo-nationalism and has co-edited a volume on neo-nationalism in Europe and the challenges for anthropology (with Andre Gingrich).