Dr Michael Crawley

Assistant Professor

Affiliations
Affiliation
Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology

Biography

I am a social anthropologist specialising in the study of sport, development and self-tracking.

My doctoral thesis is the first ever ethnographic account of the emic regimes of subjectification adopted by Ethiopian runners. Its overall argument is that an awareness of the energetic quality of human existence can give rise to distinct ways of relating to oneself and others.

My first book, Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic From Above the Clouds in Ethiopia (Bloomsbury, 2020) was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize.

Research interests

Co-operation
Competition
Economic Anthropology
Energy
Ethiopia
Migration
Running
Sport

Esteem Indicators

2022: Winner of the Margaret Mead Award: The Margaret Mead Award is presented to a younger scholar for a particular accomplishment such as a book, film, monograph, or service, which interprets anthropological data and principles in ways that make them meaningful and accessible to a broadly concerned public.
2000:
'Out of Thin Air' nominated for the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize.
: 'Out of Thin Air' nominated for the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize.