Impacting the World

Anthropology Research at Durham covers a wide range of activity from the production of knowledge to advance the discipline, to applied research for public benefit. This has been a fundamental part of our Department for many decades. We engage with the public, external organisations, and public bodies in numerous ways to convey the importance of Anthropology to everyday life. This is reflected in our outreach programmes, case studies and Research Projects.

See how anthropological perspectives benefit people both in the UK and across the world.

Changing approaches to Infant Sleep Safety

Our research has underpinned a rethink of official infant sleep safety guidance in the UK and was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2018.

Child Mobility and Health

Kate Hampshire's work aims to improve access to effective health care for people across Sub-Saharan Africa.

four people sitting on the ground chatting

Giving Vunerable People a Voice

Gina Porter works with vulnerable people in sub-Saharan Africa towards improving their access to quality services and livelihoods.

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Russell Hill works with commercial and communal farmers in South Africa to understand livestock predation by predators and crop-raiding by primates.

Infant Sleep

Helen Ball founded the Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre (DISC) which informs international practice & policy in infant sleep, breastfeeding and sudden infant death.

Introducing survivor-led guidelines for recording testimonies of sexual violence during conflict

Survivor-led guidelines are now being nationally and internationally used to follow ethical practices when recording testimonies of sexual violence.

Leadership-Interaction and Prestige

Matt Offord, Roger Gill & Jeremy Kendal are interested in what causes effective leadership in social groups that engage in collaborative behaviour.

Royal navy vessel, photo by Andy Holmes on Unsplash

Mandrills

Exploring Mandrill society with Professor Jo Setchell

Mother-infant proximity in the postnatal period

Our findings led to changes in recommended best practice in postnatal care, affecting 630,000 mothers and babies annually in the UK.

Museum Practice

Paolo Fortis works to translate his ethnographic research on indigenous visual and material culture into museum practice.

Man sitting in a chair outside a wooden shack in Panama

Coal in the North-east then and now: A Cabinet of Curiosities.

Small image of a miners lamp During 2024 Professors Simone Abram and Sandra Bell led a workshop entitled After the Coal Has Gone. The two day event, sponsored by Durham Energy Institute, engaged with communities in County Durham, including an evening of art, music and poetry at Hamsteels Community Centre at Esh Winning.

Participants have since produced an on line publication that employs the device of a Cabinet of Curiosities to assemble a collection of what at first glance appear to be superficially unrelated items and activities associated with the heritage of the former north-east coalfield. But imagination can reveal how they might be linked.

Traditionally Cabinets of Curiosity consist of miscellaneous objects that summon the beholder to figure out the connections between them. We invite readers to do the same here and to send us their observations, or possible additions, to the Cabinet.

Contact: sandra.bell@durham.ac.uk

Watch Our Video Case Studies:

View some of our latest case studies from the Department of Anthropology.

Pioneering research in infant sleep safety

Our anthropologists have revolutionised research into infant sleep safety and helped reduce rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
The bedroom that helps parents and babies to sleep better

The research by the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab has helped to shape the way babies sleep and how parents care for them at night-time.
Helping parents and babies to sleep better

Substantially increasing parents’ understanding of babies’ sleep and how best to keep babies safe during the night.

Pioneering research in infant sleep safety

Our anthropologists have revolutionised research into infant sleep safety and helped reduce rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The bedroom that helps parents and babies to sleep better

The research by the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab has helped to shape the way babies sleep and how parents care for them at night-time.

Helping parents and babies to sleep better

Substantially increasing parents’ understanding of babies’ sleep and how best to keep babies safe during the night.

Explore our Research Projects

A woman looking at data on computer screens

Research, Impact and Engagement

We are one of the largest departments of Anthropology in the UK, spanning social anthropology, evolutionary anthropology and the anthropology of health.

Research, Impact and Engagement

Research Degrees

A vibrant postgraduate research community gives you one of the most diverse and exciting research environments in the UK. Together we carry out research on every inhabited continent including everything from primate behaviour to rhetoric culture and indigenous knowledge to internet technologies.

Explore our Research Degree options

Get in touch

Department of Anthropology

Durham University
Dawson Building
South Road
Durham, DH1 3LE