Events

Events in the Department

The Department of Social Anthropology hosts and supports many events throughout the academic year.  Events are organised by staff and students and reflect the wide range of interests in the Department.

Senior Research Seminars

The weekly, in-term seminar series gives the Department an opportunity to meet together to listen and engage with new papers and research from the Anthropology community both within and beyond the University of Cambridge.

Anthropology Beyond the Academy

A series of presentations from alumni who now work in a range of careers, reflecting on how their study of anthropology has informed their subsequent careers.  Alumni who have presented include: Gillian Tett; Anthony Gormley and Cameron Saunders.

MIASU Seminars

The Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit is an interdisciplinary research unit at the University of Cambridge with international importance for studies on Inner Asia.  Each term the unit organises several research seminars presented by either resident or visiting academics whose talks reflect the broad interests within the area.

CUSAS Events

The Cambridge University Social Anthropology Society (CUSAS) organise a diverse and interesting programme of events including the annual Strathern Lecture, film screenings, reading groups, workshops and brown bag lunches.

Decolonise Anthropology

Decolonise Anthropology Society is a student society to engage in (self-)critical reflections and practical attempts to decolonise the curriculum, the training, and the institutional culture in the Social Anthropology Department in Cambridge as well ourselves as differentially positioned scholars and students at an elite university in the Global North. We organise speaker events and reading seminars throughout the year. 

Public Lectures

The Frazer Lecture was established with the purpose of celebrating Sir James Frazer’s contributions to scholarship.  Frazer was a prolific author and a pivotal figure in the development of Social Anthropology. Past Frazer lectures have been given most recently by Matthew Engelke (2022), Jane Guyer (2016), and Paul Rabinow (2008)

The Rivers Lecture.  In 1983, on the initiative of Jack Goody and Edmund Leach, the University of Cambridge established a fund to create the Rivers Lectureship in Social Anthropology. Past Rivers lectures have been given by Tanya Luhrman (2016), Bruno Latour (2010) and Ludmilla Jordanova (2003).