Anthropologist elected FBA

The University’s Professor Alan Barnard has been elected Fellow of the British Academy.

He is one of 38 UK-based academics selected for the honour this year.

African specialist

Based within the School of Social and Political Science, Alan Barnard is the Professor of the Anthropology of Southern Africa.

He also holds the position of Honorary Consul of the Republic of Namibia in Scotland.

He has carried out fieldwork with Naro Bushmen and other population groups in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Professor Barnard has written 10 books and around 100 research articles.

His most recent titles are 'Anthropology and the Bushman' and 'Social Anthropology and Human Origins'.

Supporting the humanities

The British Academy is the national body that champions and supports the humanities and social sciences.

Each year the British Academy elects to its Fellowship up to 38 outstanding scholars who have achieved distinction in the humanities and social sciences.

It is a great privilege to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. I keep alive my African contacts in my unpaid role as Honorary Consul of Namibia in Scotland, which is highly rewarding, not least since it gives me the chance to give something back to the continent that has made my career.