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Ivan Tacey

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Dr Ivan Tacey

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9659-1359

    Accepting PhD Students

    Overview

    Profile summary

    My research focuses on Indigenous lifeways, environmental change, and animism and crosscuts socio-cultural and biological anthropology, environmental science, health, and creative media. At the University of Plymouth, I lecture in Anthropology, Sociology and Criminology. I have previously lectured in Anthropology and Anthrozoology at the University of Exeter and in Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies at the University of Lyon, France.
     
    For the last 20 years, I have conducted ethnographic research with Batek hunter-gatherers who live in the some of the last remaining tropical forests of Malaysia. I am particularly interested in how the Batek have maintained culturally distinct lifeways despite being in close contact with other groups for thousands of years. 
     
    My research is committed to decolonizing knowledge production through embedding Indigenous methodologies, participatory research in creative co-production. My work challenges disciplinary boundaries, demonstrating how anthropology, art, science, and storytelling can intersect to create engaged, interdisciplinary scholarship that amplifies Indigenous agency, environmental justice, and the enduring power of myth and ritual in shaping human societies.
     
    I am currently completing an illustrated ethnography with artist John Hurford based upon my research with the Batek. I also lead a Sustainable Earth Institute-funded project entitled Resilient Landscapes: Co-Producing Orang Asli Visual Narratives of Climate Change and Environmental Transformation, with Malaysian Indigenous artist Shaq Koyok and illustrator John Kilburn (ADA). Through participatory art workshops, the project documents Orang Asli experiences of climate change and deforestation, advocating for decolonial, culturally sensitive conservation and policy.
     
    I regularly embed multi-modal approaches in my teaching through the use of ethnographic films, graphic novels, exhibitions, computer games, and interactive virtual reality simulations.

    Would you like to do postgraduate research with me?
    I would happy to supervise anyone interested in postgraduate research (MA or PhD) related to my expertise. For more info on the topics I work on, please click my research tabs. Do not hesitate to write me an email if you wish to discuss project ideas and funding opportunities!

    Professional memberships

    Editorial Board Memberships
    Since 2025: General Editor Hunter Gatherer Research Journal, Liverpool University Press
    Since 2024: Guest Editor Parcours Anthropologiques Journal 
    Since 2015: Member of the Editorial Board, Shaman: Journal of the International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism.
     
    Other Academic-Related Activities/Membership of Academic Societies
    Since 2015: Executive Board Member, International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism.
    Since 2014: European Association of Social Anthropologists (member)
    Since 2013: International Society for Hunter Gatherer Research (member)
     
    Teaching Qualifications
    Since 2023: Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)

    Teaching interests

    I have extensive experience lecturing in anthropology, sociology, criminology cultural studies and anthrozoology at universities in France and the UK. Prior to joining the University of Plymouth, I was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter at the Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics Working Group - an interdisciplinary group of academics whose research aimed to improve the lives of animals. At Exeter, I taught on the undergraduate Anthropology programme and the Masters programme in Anthrozoology. In France, I taught at the Université Lumière Lyon 2, the Université Jean Monnet, St Etienne and the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3.

    At the School of Society and Culture at the University of Plymouth, I currently lead the following modules:

    • ANT5003 - Applying Anthropology
    • SOC4003IE - Body, Identity and Relatedness
    • SOC4002 - Social Identities and Inequalities
    • ANT5006MX - Decolonizing the Social Sciences
    • ANT5008MX - Brave New Worlds
    • ANT6006 - Anthropology on the Ground 

    I also teach on the following modules:

    • ANT5001/ANTH605 - Anthropology of Truth/Different Ways of Knowing
    • SOC5004 - Contemporary Social Theory
    • ANT6001 - Anthropology Dissertation
    • SOC6000 - Sociology Dissertation
    • ANT5002/ANT6003 - Gifts, Commodities and Crises: A Contemporary Guide to Economic ANthropology

    Academic qualifications

    Doctorate of Social Sciences in Social and Cultural Anthropology (Distinction): Thesis Title: “Animism and Interconnectivity: Batek and Manya’ Life on the Edge of the Malaysian Rainforest”., University of Helsinki

    … → Jan 2019

    Research Interests

    • Animism
    • Cosmopolitics
    • Hunter-Gatherers
    • Violence
    • Place-Making
    • Human-Animal Relations
    • Egalitarianism
    • Indigenous Peoples
    • Southeast Asia

    Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

    In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
    2. SDG 4 - Quality Education
      SDG 4 Quality Education
    3. SDG 5 - Gender Equality
      SDG 5 Gender Equality
    4. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
      SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
    5. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    6. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
      SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
    7. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
      SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
    8. SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
      SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
    9. SDG 13 - Climate Action
      SDG 13 Climate Action
    10. SDG 15 - Life on Land
      SDG 15 Life on Land
    11. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    12. SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
      SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

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    Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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    • 2 Organising a conference/congress (organisational committee role)
    • 1 Organising, hosting and/or delivering a workshop, seminar, course
    • 1 Hosting an academic visitor