School of Social and Political Science

Social Anthropology

More...

About

We are among the largest departments in the UK and our research interests are correspondingly diverse.

Programmes

Our teaching is research-led and international in its orientation. Our research is opening up the discipline into new and urgent terrains.

Research

We have an active and inclusive research environment in which collaborative research practices and individual research trajectories thrive.

People

Find out more about the whole team: the academic staff and their research interests, PhD students and their thesis subjects, and the professional services colleagues who keep it all in working order.

News

See the latest news updates from Social Anthropology.

Contact

You can find us in the Chrystal Macmillan Building in George Square - right at the heart of the central campus.

SocAnth logo

The Social Anthropology Society

The Social Anthropology Society looks to combine academic and social events to bring people together and make a lovely, welcoming community for those interested in anthropology!
cover of EAS 9

The Edinburgh Anthropology Showcase

Read our newsletter that highlights recent research from staff and students in the subject area of social anthropology.
EdCMA logo

Edinburgh Centre for Medical Anthropology (EdCMA)

EdCMA is a world leading academic unit dedicated to the anthropological study of the body, health, and medicine.
white board with markers

Introduction to Social Anthropology school talks

Edinburgh Social Anthropology staff would be delighted to travel to state secondary schools in Scotland to give a lecture explaining what Social Anthropology is and what it’s like to study it at university.

Latest news

News content

Photo of a city at dusk beside an aerial photo of a section of the Amazon rainforest
25/03/2025
Centre of African Studies

SPS academics receive research awards from the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Two academics from the School of Social and Political Science (SPS) have received Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) Research Awards, for projects on the energy transition in Africa and ecofeminism in Brazilian Amazonia. 

Two students walking in a building, beside a sign for the 'School of Social and Political Science'

SPS subject areas among world’s top 50 and UK’s top 10 in 2025 QS rankings 

Four School of Social and Political Science (SPS) subject areas are in the top 50 in the world and top 10 in the UK, according to the latest QS World University Rankings. 

20/03/2025
Photo of Harini Amarasuriya

SPS graduate appointed prime minister of Sri Lanka

Former School of Social and Political Science (SPS) PhD student Dr Harini Amarasuriya has been appointed Sri Lanka’s first woman prime minister in 24 years.

02/10/2024
Cover of Moving Crops and the Scales of History

SPS academic’s book on cropscapes receives two prestigious prizes in 2024

Moving Crops and the Scales of History, co-written by School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic Professor Francesca Bray, has won the 2024 Sidney M. Edelstein Prize and the 2024 Bentley Book Prize.

11/09/2024

Upcoming events

Events content

Nursing Narratives16May25
16 May 2025
15:00 - 17:00
Social Anthropology

Nursing Narratives: Racism and the Pandemic

Join EdCMA for a screening of the documentary 'Exposed', followed by a panel discussion with the 'Nursing Narratives' research team.
poster event
22 May 2025
11:00 - 12:30
Social Anthropology

The Time Inheritors: How Time Inequalities Shape Higher Education Mobility in China

Monday 2nd of June 2025 at 9:00-17:00

Tuesday 3rd of June 2025 at 9:00-13:00
Social Anthropology

APeCS Conference 2025: Future-Making in Times of Conflict, Violence and Insecurity

Call for panels/workshops/roundtables is now open. The deadline for submission of panel/workshop proposals is January 12, 2025. Please note that the APeCS conference 2025 is an in-person event.
RTC: Artificial Intelligence in Social Science Panel Discussion Banner
09 June 2025
11:00 - 13:30
Centre of African Studies

RTC: Artificial Intelligence in Social Science Panel Discussion

Discussion of the current and future impacts of AI on research work, and general thoughts about AI’s impact on society and social change.