UCL Anthropology

"The most scientific of the humanities, the most humanistic of the sciences"

UCL Anthropology studies humanity in all its aspects: from our evolution as a species, to our relationship with the material world, and our vast variety of social practices and cultural forms.

Our department is one of only a few broad based anthropology departments in the UK comprised of four sub-sections including Biological Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Material Culture and Medical Anthropology. Our teaching and research reflects the breadth and depth of this cross and interdisciplinary approach.

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News and Events

MA Ethnographic Scholarships for 2017-18

Open City Docs School is delighted to announce five scholarships (in the form of partial fee waivers) for places on any of the three pathways on MA Ethnographic and Documentary Film.

Published: Jun 20, 2017 2:51:52 PM

The latest issue of ANTHROPOLITAN is available online

The academic year 2016/17 is coming to an end, with staff and students now looking forward to researching, writing, travelling and relaxing over the summer, whilst our graduates move on to the next stage of their lives.It’s been a busy academic year. We have seen the culmination of some of our large ERC grants. For instance, Daniel Miller’s social networking project ‘Why We Post’ involved a team of nine anthropologists each conducting 15 month ethnographies on the use and consequences of social media in China, the Syrian-Turkish border, Brazil, Chile, Trinidad, South India, Italy and the UK. We have now seen the publication of the first eight of 11 volumes of research as free Open Access volumes by UCL Press (183,000 downloads), the launch of the Why We Post free e-learning course (on FutureLearn in eight languages), and the launch of the project website (www.ucl.ac.uk/why-we-post) with over 100 films in eight languages.

Published: Jun 19, 2017 10:00:00 AM

Open City Docs School and UCL graduate announced as winner of One World Media Award for Best Student Film

Open City Docs School is delighted to announce 2016 MA Ethnographic and Documentary Film graduate Minmin Wu as the winner of this year’s Student Award at the One World Media Awards for her graduation film Waste. She was presented with the award by Ben Zand – head of the jury for the Student Award - at the awards ceremony celebrating journalistic excellence in international media coverage of the developing world for the 29th year. Wu is the second Open City Docs School MA graduate to receive the award after Fernando González Mitjans’ win for his graduation film Limpiadores in 2016.

Published: Jun 12, 2017 3:15:42 PM

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Anthropology Blogs

Socio-demographic Shifts in Parenthood in Bogota, Colombia

Monday, 26 June 2017

I am essentially interested in what these profound socio-demographic shifts mean for people who do not have children, as well as for those who do. What does parenthood or non-parenthood look like in this context, where modern families might be unrecognisably different from those that were common just a generation ago? How common is non-parenthood and how is it viewed? What does parenthood mean to women and men with children?

The Black Box of Presidential Politics

Saturday, 17 June 2017

This blog was co-authored by Bumochir Dulam and Rebecca Empson. As Mongolians are getting closer to vote for their new President, campaigning among the three candidates, M. Enkhbold from the Peoples Party, Kh. Battulga from the Democratic Party, and S. Ganbaatar from the Revolutionary Party, is in full swing. Like last year’s parliamentary elections, […]

Fake news in conservation: Overfishing or over-reacting?

Friday, 26 May 2017

Rafael Morais Chiaravalloti University College London I started my career as a conservationist in the Pantanal, Brazil. I remember the first thing I heard was that the local fish population was decimated. Some people even called the Paraguay River an empty river. The widespread belief was that the river had been devastated and that it … Continue reading Fake news in conservation: Overfishing or over-reacting?

Young Curators Club Maria Fidelis exhibition

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

What stories lie inside collections? How can we connect historical artefacts to our everyday lives? Can heritage be an object? The UCL Young Curators project brings a group of GCSE students from a local secondary school, Maria Fidelis, to work with the Ethnography Collections and learn a little about what anthropologists do. Housed in the […]

In Memory of Gill Conquest

Tuesday, 16 May 2017

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Gill Conquest on May 5, 2017.

Gill was an exceptional student and an exceptional person. Her interests were broad-ranging, extending well beyond the academic through performances of traditional stories and pantomimes, to writing plays and science fiction, sailing and playing games, and to music and dancing, all alongside her passionate commitment to developing the interfaces of technology and citizenship to support cultural and ecological diversity. She brought a sense of wonder and fun to all of her activities, embracing new experiences and opportunities at every chance with good humour and enthusiasm.

Gill joined the anthropology department as a Masters student in Anthropology, Environment and Development in 2011. Her masters’ dissertation examined the potential of new technologies to support environmental justice movements lead by indigenous peoples.…

Media Highlight

HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY - Refugees and the Arts, UCL - Guests:
(1) Shireen Walton, Teaching Fellow, Anthropology UCL
(2) Georgios Kritikos, Associate Professor, Harokopio University
(3) Ruth Mandel, Vice-Dean International, UCL
(4) Clelia Clini, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biosciences UCL
(5) Tess Altman, Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology UCL