10:00 Register and Explore the Stalls
Crush Hall & Beverage Hall
Once registered, visit the university and exhibitor stalls to ask questions about undergraduate anthropology courses and admissions. Be sure to check the ‘Guide to Participating Universities 2025’ in your London Anthropology Day bags.
11:00 First Workshop Session
Disease, Death and Dissection: Evidence for Health Care in Past Societies (Macmillan Hall), Heidi Dawson-Hobbis – University of Winchester
This workshop will explore the evidence for disease and medical intervention on human remains from the medieval to the Victorian period. We will discuss how we can interpret this evidence to determine levels of health care in past societies.
Can Anthropologists be Activists? (G35), Fuad Musallam – University of Birmingham
Anthropology, as a discipline dedicated to understanding human cultures and societies, often engages with issues of social justice and inequality. What is the role of anthropologists in the face of exclusion and oppression? Should they just observe and describe, or do they have a responsibility to help fight for change? Drawing from my own involvement in the Anti Racism Movement and the Migrant Community Centre in Beirut, Lebanon, I’ll talk about how anthropologists can contribute to people’s own attempts to oppose exploitation.
7 Million Years of Human Evolution in 45 Minutes! (G37), Simon Underdown – Oxford Brookes University
In this interactive workshop you will work with others to learn about shifts in what counts as biological knowledge and to think about how we use the human body to make difference and index social identities. Be prepared to speak from your heart, to learn things that will go against your gut reactions and to encounter others in the room in ways that could re-make your world – and theirs. No preparation necessary except an open mind. Darwin’s dangerous idea? And then some!
TBC (G26), Delwar Hussain – University of Edinburgh
Only Connect: An Anthropology of Social Connectedness (G26), Fiona Coward – Bournemouth University
Only connect: an anthropology of social connectedness One of the things that mark out Homo sapiens is the depth and complexity of our social networks. While we have inherited complex social lives from our primate ancestors, the complexity of human interrelationships – with each other and indeed with other animals, plants and the landscapes around us – are arguably much greater among Homo sapiens. In this workshop I will explore the evidence for social evolution and change throughout the course of human evolution, drawing from evidence from palaeoanthropology, ethnography and archaeology.
12:00 Second Workshop Session
Learning from the dead: an interactive workshop (Macmillan Hall), Caroline Bennett – University of Sussex
Death is a universal, but its experience is contextually situated. From coffins in the shape of shoes, to mummification and parades, how we deal with the movement from the world of the living to the world of the dead, and how the living world is reshaped after death, is similarly shaped by wider understandings of identity and culture. Meanwhile, the dead themselves are powerful, agentive, and social entities across much of the world, and how we care for them exposes norms related to family and care, politics and economics. In this interactive workshop we will explore some of these many varied approaches to death and dying around the world. Bring a pen, paper, smart phone or laptop and a willingness to engage with others, as we explore death and what it can teach us about life and the world today.
From Battlefield to Home: Forensic Anthropology and Soldier Repatriation (G35), Matteo Borrini – Liverpool John Moores University
Forensic anthropology helps identify missing persons and uncover the stories behind human remains, whether from war zones, mass graves, or crime scenes. Even today, the remains of civilians and soldiers lost in past conflicts are still being found—sometimes by chance, other times through dedicated searches. Forensic anthropologists, together with archaeologists, recover and analyse these remains, revealing crucial details about identity and cause of death and playing a vital role in human rights investigations, justice, and reconciliation. In this presentation, explore real-world cases where forensic anthropology has helped bring closure to families and communities.
Towards an Ethnography of Restitution (G37), Charlotte Joy – University of Southampton
In this workshop, we will look together at the growing call for the return of objects from museums to countries of origin through an anthropological lens. Why is anthropology at the heart of this debate? How can anthropologists help to solve the problem they were a core part of creating?
Whose Bone is is Anyway? Hands-on forensic anthropology: Human or Animal? (G22) Hannah Koon – University of Bradford
In forensic and archaeological investigations, one of the most common and important tasks is distinguishing human remains from animal bones. This hands-on workshop, led by forensic anthropologist Dr Hannah Koon, introduces participants to the key features and techniques used to make that distinction.
Using 3D-printed replicas of human and animal bones, you’ll explore comparative anatomy and learn how professionals approach this crucial first step in forensic identification. Whether you’re drawn to crime scene investigation, archaeology, or biological anthropology, this session will provide valuable insights into the practical work of a forensic anthropologist. This workshop offers a glimpse into topics covered in a BSc Forensic Anthropology degree
Learning to play the game: how migrants become ‘legal’ in Italy (G26), Anna Tuckett – Brunel University
Forensic anthropology helps identify missing persons and uncover the stories behind human remains, whether from war zones, mass graves, or crime scenes. Even today, the remains of civilians and soldiers lost in past conflicts are still being found—sometimes by chance, other times through dedicated searches. Forensic anthropologists, together with archaeologists, recover and analyse these remains, revealing crucial details about identity and cause of death and playing a vital role in human rights investigations, justice, and reconciliation. In this presentation, explore real-world cases where forensic anthropology has helped bring closure to families and communities.
12:45 Lunch Break
Bring a packed lunch or purchase lunch at the on-site cafe. Please do not leave the museum premises if you are under-18 and unaccompanied by a guardian (for safeguarding purposes)
13:15 Re-registration
If you are under 18 and unaccompanied by a guardian, please reregister at the reception desk after lunch.
13:45 Third Workshop Session
Are Human Rights Universal? (Macmillan Hall), Andrea Pia, London School of Economics
With wars raging, a climate-driven migrant crisis unfolding, and Europe rearming, human rights are more vital than ever. Yet, they’re fading from mainstream media and cultural discourse. This lecture/workshop asks: What are human rights for? Are they universal? Back in 1947, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) sent a statement to the UN, rejecting their first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Why? And then, why did they reverse course by 1999 and adopt the Declaration of Anthropology and Human Rights? We’ll delve into the clash between cultural relativism and universalism that fuelled the initial rejection, the passionate arguments against it, and how anthropologists have since reignited their focus on this crucial topic.
Exploring Cross-cultural Universality and Diversity in Folk Music (G35), Sally Street – University of Durham
Music is universal to all human societies, and yet there is huge diversity in traditional musical styles across cultures. Anthropologists can therefore study music as a window into both human universality and diversity. In this interactive workshop, we will listen to diverse examples of folk music from around the world and discuss both common themes and culturally-specific features. We will also discuss some of the challenges of cross-cultural research, including objectivity and ethics. All very welcome – no musical training necessary!
Biological anthropology: humans are animals! (G37), Mark Dyble – Cambridge University Archeology Department
Biological anthropology is a small but hugely varied discipline that includes the study of human evolution, the biology and behaviour of living people, human genetics, and health and nutrition, as well as the study of non-human primates. In this lecture, I will give a brief introduction to all these elements of biological anthropology and explain how they can be integrated and generate important insights into what it means to be human.
Careers Panel (G22/G26)
14:45 Fourth Workshop Session
Hunter-Gatherers, Domestication, and (Other) Ontologies (Macmillan Hall), Julien Dugnoille – University of Exeter
This workshop explores how different societies relate to animals and the environment (‘ontologies’), focusing on hunter-gatherers and ‘post-domestic’ economies. We will examine how hunter-gatherers perceive animals through often animistic ontologies, with an emphasis on reciprocity and moral responsibility. The discussion then turns to post-domestication and naturalistic ontologies, where industrialised food systems often create a distance between consumers and animals. We will see that a critical anthropological analysis highlights that the two ontologies raise similar ethical and ecological issues.
Cultures around the world, and some off it: (extra-terrestrial) (G35), David Jeevendrampillai – University of Manchester
This taster lecture will give you a sense of the sorts of anthropology you can do at The University of Manchester. We will look at the work of Dr David (Jeeva) Jeevendrampillai on Extra-terrestrial anthropology. He will outline how core anthropological concepts such as religion, the body and the home are re-thought through outer space. He will outline how thinking about the extra-terrestrial helps think about our relation to infrastructure, rhetorics of ‘all humanity’ and the future. It will also outline how an anthropological approach can be useful in design, policy and community work via a case study of building telescope infrastructure.
Surviving Crisis: What anthropology can offer in violent times (G37), William Tantam – University of Bristol
This lecture will explore the contributions of anthropology in understanding ‘survival.’ Drawing on work from across the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Bristol University, this lecture will consider different forms of contemporary crisis: from illegal mining in the Amazon to sign language communities in Tibet; from ecological devastation in Dominica to FGC/M in Ethiopia. Using recent fieldwork with survivors of sexual abuse in the UK we will think about the contributions anthropology can make to understanding crises and considering the terms of survival.
Careers Panel (G22/G26)
15:45 Fifth Workshop Session
Flags and Statues: An Anthropology of Culture Wars (Macmillan Hall), Dominic Bryan – Queens University Belfast
An exploration of how flags, statues and other artefacts can be used as contentious cultural symbols, historically and in the present. The workshop will introduce students to an anthropology of symbols, politics, nationalism and conflict, which represent some of our key strengths in teaching and research at Queen’s University Belfast.
Conspiracy, The Paranormal, and the Secular: How anthropology can help us understand contemporary forms of popular belief (G35) Justin Woodman, Goldsmiths College – University of London
Paranormal beliefs encompass a wide range of phenomena, including psychic powers, hauntings, monsters such as bigfoot, aliens, and ufos – all of which often intersect with conspiracy theories. These “new” forms of belief have become increasingly prevalent on social media and in popular culture; they have also informed modern politics (for example the role apparently played by conspiracy theories in the events at the US Capitol building in Washington D.C. on 6th January 2021). This lecture demonstrates how anthropology can help us understand the meaning and significance of paranormal and conspiracy beliefs in a contemporary world often characterised by uncertainty and ongoing global crises; it also explores how such beliefs constitute new forms of religiosity which are nonetheless closely related to modern ideas about science and the secular.
Pandemics and People: How Anthropology Helps Us Understand Public Health Crises (G37), Lys Alcayna-Stevens – University of Oxford
What can anthropology teach us about epidemics and pandemics? By focusing on the social side of health crises, anthropology reveals how unequal structures – from colonial histories to gender and racial inequalities – shape who gets sick and how societies respond to disease. In this interactive workshop, we’ll look at the roles anthropologists play during epidemics – as experts, mediators, critics, and translators – and take an anthropological perspective to ask some big questions: Why do people sometimes mistrust governments or healthcare advice? How do global inequalities influence who is most affected by disease? And how can anthropologists help design better public health strategies? Through real-world examples, hands-on activities, and discussion, you’ll gain insight into how anthropologists think about issues like vaccine hesitancy, quarantine, conspiracy theories, stigma, and fear, and how their work can contribute to more effective, fair, and culturally aware public health policies.
Careers Panel (G22/G26)
16:30 Finish