PhD in Social Anthropology

We warmly invite candidates to apply for PhD degrees in Social Anthropology. 

Application deadline for September 2012 entry is 15th July 2012

Social Anthropology is one of the UKs leading centres of excellence and was ranked 5th in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. From its foundation, Edinburgh's Department of Social Anthropology was one of the first in Britain to specialize in the study of what were then called 'complex societies', with particular emphasis on the study of Scottish society. This emphasis continues, along with a long and continuing tradition of research in African anthropology. More recently Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh has established a reputation for work in Europe, and has become a major centre for the anthropological study of South Asia. Our specialist interests have expanded rapidly in recent years, adding East and South-East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to our regional expertise.

In recent years we have developed a distinctive body of research and teaching which systematically links the everyday world of domestic intimacy to the wider context of public events and the political. This manifests itself in an exciting body of new work on nationalism and the state; material culture and public memory; film and visual culture; kinship, person and gender; law and society; science and technology studies; environmental issues and social development. Applied research includes policy-related work on asylum-seekers, NGOs, sustainable development and participatory rights.

We are deeply committed to our students at all levels. Our cosmopolitan community of graduate students, from the UK, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australasia, make a critical contribution to the thriving research environment in Edinburgh. In a typical year we have around thirty PhD and MSc(R) students registered in core Social Anthropology, with others working in specialist research centres like African Studies and the ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics (INNOGEN).

Our PhD degree has ESRC funding for home/EU students. In 2007 we launched the STAR (Scottish Training in Anthropological Research) Programme, bringing together PhD students and early career researchers from Edinburgh, Aberdeen, St Andrews and Glasgow. Each year we jointly run two intensive workshops, combining training in anthropological skills with distinguished international guests providing master classes.

Contact

Dr Richard Baxstrom
Email: richard.baxstrom@ed.ac.uk
Phone:  +44 (0)131 650 4051