UC Spark

Dr Richard Vokes

School of Social and Political Sciences; Anthropology

Fields of Research

  • Ethnography of the Great Lakes region of Eastern-Central Africa
  • Ethnicity, ethnic violence and political patronage
  • Visual and media anthropology (especially East African photography)
  • Globalization, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism
  • Ethnographic research methods
  • Earthquake research

Researcher Summary

Richard Vokes is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and a Research Associate of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford, UK. He holds a BA (Hons) and MA in Social Anthropology from the University of Kent, UK, and a D.Phil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. His previous appointments have all been at the University of Oxford, and he has also taught anthropology at Mbabara University of Science of Technology, Uganda, and at the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Richard has been conducting fieldwork among the Bakiga, Banyankole and Banyarwanda of South-western Uganda since 1999. He has also conducted archival research in Uganda and the UK. His research interests include: Ethnography of the African Great Lakes region; Ethnicity, violence and political patronage; Charismatic authority and new religious movements; Visual and media anthropology (especially East African photography, and British colonial photography in general); Globalization, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism

Subject Area: Disciplines

Equipment

Publications


  • Vokes, R. (2012) Introduction. In R. Vokes (Ed.), Photography in Africa: Ethnographic Perspectives: 1-32. Woodbridge & Rochester: James Currey. (Chapter in Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2012) On 'the ultimate patronage machine': Photography & substantial relations in rural South-western Uganda. In R. Vokes (Ed.), Photography in Africa: Ethnographic Perspectives: 207-228. Woodbridge: James Currey. (Chapter in Book)
  • Vokes, R. (Ed.) (2012) Photography in Africa: Ethnographic Perspectives. Woodbridge: James Currey. 288pp. (Edited Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Burundi: Low-level Violence in Burundi Raises Fears. Global Strategic Analysis (May 27) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Congo-Kinshasa: As Congolese Polls Approach, Hurdles and Delays Loom. Global Strategic Analysis (May 13) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Congo-Kinshasa: Security in Eastern Congo Eludes Kabila Ahead of Polls. Global Strategic Analysis (June 29) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Rwanda: Rwandan Regime Fears Dissent Would Deter Investment. Global Strategic Analysis (June 3) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Uganda: Museveni Improves his Election Outlook. Global Strategic Analysis (January 4) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Uganda: Opposition Collapses Amid Museveni Resurgence. Global Strategic Analysis (February 21) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2011) Uganda: Ugandan Regime Will Bed Down, Despite Price Pressures. Global Strategic Analysis (May 2) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Burundi: Insecurity Undermines Political Transition. Oxford Analytica 21 Jul 2010: Online. Daily Brief. (Other)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Burundi: Poll Debacle Leaves Tensions High. Oxford Analytica 2 Dec 2010: Online. Daily Brief. (Other)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Central Africa: Region Struggles to Counter LRA Threat. Oxford Analytica 20 Oct 2010: Online. Daily Brief. (Other)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Congo-Kinshasa: Eastern Insecurity Dents Kabila Image. Oxford Analytica 18 Aug 2010: Online. Daily Brief. (Other)
  • Vokes, R. and Banks, M. (Ed.) (2010) History and Anthropology, 21(4). Special Issue: Routes and Traces: Anthropology, Photography and the Archive. New York: Routledge. 179pp. (Edited Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Prospects 2011: East Africa and the Great Lakes. Oxford Analytica 10 Nov 2010: Online. Daily Brief. (Other)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Reflections on a Complex (and Cosmopolitan) Archive: Postcards and Photography in Early Colonial Uganda, c. 1904-1928. History and Anthropology 21(4): 375-409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2010.520888. (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Rwanda: Kagame Crackdown Reveals Security Concerns. Global Strategic Analysis (August 6) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Rwanda: Pressures Mount on Kagame Despite Poll Win. Global Strategic Analysis (December 20) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2010) Uganda: Besigye Strives to Unite a Divided Opposition. Global Strategic Analysis (July 7) (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2009) Ghosts of Kanungu: Fertility, Secrecy and Exchange in the Great Lakes of East Africa. Oxford: James Currey. 256pp. (Authored Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2008) On Ancestral Self-Fashioning: Photography in the Time of AIDS. Visual Anthropology: Published in cooperation with the Commission on Visual Anthropology 21(4): 345-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08949460802156383. (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. and Smith, B.R. (Ed.) (2008) Visual Anthropology 21(4), Special Edition: 'Haunting Images: The Affective Power of Photography'. New York: Routledge. 283-392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08949460802156292. (Edited Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2007) Charisma, Creativity and Cosmopolitanism: A Perspective on the Power of the New Radio Broadcasting in Uganda and Rwanda. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13(4): 805-824. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2007.00458.x. (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2007) 'Radio Elicitation': New Directions in Radio Research. In E. Hallam and T. Ingold (Ed.), ASA Monograph Series, Volume 44: Creativity and Cultural Improvisation: 395-423. Oxford: Berg. (Chapter in Book)
  • Vokes, R. (2007) Rethinking the Anthropology of Religious Change: New Perspectives on Revitalization and Conversion Movements. Reviews in Anthropology 36(4): 311-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00938150701684201. (Journal Article)
  • Vokes, R. (2005) The Kanungu Fire: Millenarianism and the Millenium in South-western Uganda. In W. James and D. Mills (Ed.), The Qualities of Time: Anthropological Approaches (ASA Monograph Series 41 ed.): 301-314. Oxford: Berg. (Chapter in Book)