About the day
Over 40 universities offer courses in anthropology in the UK.
However, because anthropology is not yet offered as a subject in the National Curriculum, students entering Higher Education do not have first-hand experience of the subject to guide their choice. Some students may not have heard of anthropology and others may have misconceptions of what it is about. The London Anthropology Day aims to change this!
The next London Anthropology Day is on 8th July 2010 from 9.30am-4:00pm at the British Museum's Education Clore Centre. The day consists of an introduction to anthropology, (both biological and social),a range of interactive workshops run by anthropology lecturers, and talks on applying to university and careers. Some workshops involve going into the British Museum’s galleries. All partcipating universities have representatives and information stalls at the day. In addition, there is a range of careers and photographic exhibitions. Drinks are provided but participants need to bring a packed lunch.
To see what the day is like and find out a little more about anthropology you can watch two short films “Inside Anthropology” created by filmmakers Ed Owles and Cinzia Rocchi,and "Exploring Biological and Social Anthropology" by Ed Owles.
If you are curious to find out what types of activities are offered at the event, take a look at the workshops given in 2009:
LAD 2009 Workshop descriptions (pdf - 122.74KB).
For a glimpse at the LAD 2009 event and other RAI Education Outreach events, take a look at our photo gallery by following this link: www.flicr.com/photos/raieducation
For A-level, FE, and lifelong learning students
The London Anthropology Day is an opportunity for Year 12, 13, FE and lifelong learning students to get a taste of anthropology and of the diversity of sub-disciplines and degree programmes offered. You’ll meet current students and lecturers in many anthropology departments and get the chance to experience first-hand what it might be like to study anthropology at university.
For Careers Advisors and AimHigher Co-ordinators.
Places are reserved for Careers Advisors and AimHigher co-ordinators in order to sustain the widening participation aims of the day.
For Teachers
The London Anthropology Day is also a chance for teachers interested in developing anthropology within the National Curriculum to meet, discuss ideas and find out about current projects to introduce anthropology to pre-university education. As well as being able to attend the student workshops to find out more about anthropology, special teachers only workshops will be available. Contact the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Education Officer, Nafisa Fera at education@therai.org.uk for more information.
For current undergraduate/postgraduate anthropology students
Every year we recruit around 20 anthropology students to volunteer for the day. This is a great opportunity for students to become involved in outreach educational activities, meet other anthropology students and lecturers and find out more about postgraduate degrees or jobs within different sectors. If you are interested in being a volunteer for this year's event please contact the Royal Anthropological Institute's Education Officer, Nafisa Fera at education@therai.org.uk for more information.
The 2009 event
The sixth London Anthropology Day took place on 9th July 2009. A record number of over 300 participants attended the day, making it the largest LAD event to date. Sixteen universities from Wales, Ireland, and England provided workshops on human evolution, forensics, music and dance, material culture and visual anthropology. The day was organised by Nafisa Fera the Royal Anthropological Institute's Education Officer, in collaboration with Dr. Ben Burt from the British Museum. To find out what the day was like take a look at our photo gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/raieducation
The 2008 event
The fifth London Anthropology Day took place on 10th July 2008. Over 250 participants attended the day, including students, teachers, career advisors, and lifelong learners. Seventeen universities from all over the UK took part in the event making it the biggest London Anthropology Day to date. The day was organised by Nafisa Fera the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI)'s Education Officer, in collaboration with Dr Ben Burt from the British Museum and Susanne Hammacher from the RAI.
The day was a brilliant success, with new networks of communication and cooperation generated between teachers, universities and students. A wide range of workshops provided participants with the chance to learn about human mate choice, find out connections between music and memory, religion and images, and explore living in a different society. A special workshop and Q & A session, was provided for teachers interested in being involved in the current developments for a new Anthropology A-level, which the RAI's Education Programme is working on in collaboration with the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA). If you are a teacher interested in becomming involved or learning more about our current A-level developments please email Nafisa Fera at education@therai.org.uk
The 2007 event
The fourth London Anthropology Day took place on 9th July 2007. Over 200 students, teachers and careers advisors attended with 16 university departments from all over the country taking part. The day was organised by Professor Chris Knight and Dr Camilla Power from the University of East London in collaboration with Dr Ben Burt from the British Museum and Gemma Jones and Susanne Hammacher from the Royal Anthropological Institute.
The day was a great sucess, with several universities reporting increases in applications as a result. Students were able to take part in workshops on subjects as diverse as forensic anthropology and the meaning of witchcraft in the context of HIV/AIDS. At a special workshop for teachers, Melanie Knetsch from the Economics and Social Research Council asked teachers' opinions on social science teaching resources. Sarah Longair, the British Museum's School's and Young Audiences Education Officer, also ran a session on teaching with museum objects, which teachers found very beneficial.
Download detailed descriptions of the workshops on offer at the 2007 London Anthropology Day (pdf - 120.29 KB).
The 2006 event
The third London Anthropology Day took place on 6th July 2006. Nearly 150 students, teachers and careers advisors attended with 13 university departments taking part. The day was organised by Professor Chris Knight and Dr Camilla Power from the University of East London in collaboration with Dr Ben Burt from the British Museum and Gemma Jones and Susanne Hammacher from the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum gave a special guest lecture on the early human occupation of Britain. Gemma Jones, the education officer at the Royal Anthropological Institute ran a workshop for teachers and careers advisors on initiatives to introduce anthropology to pre-university education. Students took part in workshops ranging from the anthropology of fairy tales, child labour and primate communication.
You can download the 2006 programme here (pdf - 325.45 kB).
