Sociology

I came to Keele in 1994 as a lecturer in anthropology/sociology. My field of expertise is West African witchcraft – I spent 18 months in a small town on the border of Ghana/Ivory Coast looking at anti witchcraft shrines and the significant part played by witches, zombies and the like in everyday life. Since then my main fieldwork sites have been Liverpool, Paris and New York – the latter looking at occult discourses among migrant Africans in Manhattan.

I am a social anthropologist who has studied West African witchcraft among the Akan, Ghana. I have published a number of articles on this. I am co-editor of The Age of Anxiety (Blackwell 2001), where I look at conspiracy theorising and the human sciences. I am currently undertaking ethnographic research among different ethnic groups in Liverpool, looking at issues of moral obligation, trust and secrecy among extended kin networks.

Research interests include: West African witchcraft, conspiracy theories, moral obligation, trust and secrecy among extended kin networks. My PhD looked at anti witchcraft shrines in Ghana.

Since then my major research themes have been:

• Witchcraft and occult discourses amongst the Africa diaspora looking especially at West African communities in Liverpool, Paris and New York
• West African anti witchcraft shrines in Paris and New York
• Conspiracy theories and the global economy

I teach two specialised modules based on my research interests a level one module:

• SOC-10013 Modernity and its Darkside - Module Leader
• SOC-20033 Witchcraft, Zombies and Social Anxiety - Module Leader
• SOC-30025 Streets, Skyscrapers and Slums