Deborah James (anthropologist)

Deborah James, FBA (born 1954) is a South African anthropologist and academic, who specialises in South Africa, economic anthropology, political anthropology, and ethnography.

Since 2008, she has been Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics in England.

Career

She was previously an academic at the South African Institute of Race Relations, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, all in South Africa.^[1][2][3] She was born in South Africa, grew up under apartheid, and was educated at the University of the Witwatersrand.^[3]

Research

James's research has focused on the anthropology of South Africa and the United Kingdom. Her studies of economic anthropology have resulted in publications relating to debt and land reform in South Africa, and the effects of austerity on the United Kingdom.^[1] She is also interested in the relationships between people and the state.^[3]

Awards and recognition

In 2008, James was awarded the Eliot P Skinner Prize by the Association for Africanist Anthropology for her book Gaining Ground?: "Rights" and "Property" in South African Land Reform (2007).^[4] In 2016, she was awarded the inaugural Fage and Oliver Prize by the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom for her book Money from Nothing: indebtedness and aspiration in South Africa (2015).^[5] In 2018, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.^[6] In 2019, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.^[1]

Books

• James, Deborah (1999). Songs of the women migrants: performance and identity in South Africa. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748613045.
• James, Deborah (2007). Gaining Ground?: Rights and Property in South African Land Reform. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781135308513.
• James, Deborah (2014). Money from nothing: indebtedness and aspiration in South Africa. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804793155.

References

1. "Professor Deborah James FBA". The British Academy. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
2. "Department of Anthropology: Professor Deborah James FBA". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
3. "LSEwomen - Deborah James". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
4. "Past Winners". Association for Africanist Anthropology. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
5. "The Fage and Oliver Prize". African Studies Association of the UK. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
6. . Academy of Social Sciences. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021.