Fieldnotes is a new initiative from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Each episode opens a window into the worlds our faculty move through – social, visual and cultural anthropology in all their messy, thoughtful, field-based forms.
We sit with anthropologists as they reflect on their journeys, the moments that shaped them, the ideas that keep them awake at night and the questions they continue to carry into their research. From sensory encounters in the field to the politics of representation, memory and everyday life, Fieldnotes brings you conversations that are intimate, grounded and curious.
This is a space for students, researchers and anyone who wants to understand how anthropology actually happens – through lived experience, careful listening and the slow work of paying attention.
Join us as we follow the threads of stories, archives, images and relationships that make anthropology at Sussex what it is: open, critical, creative and deeply human.
Engaged Anthropology, Development and the Meanings of Violence with Dr Lyndsay McLean
In this episode of Field Notes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, Sana Batool speaks with Dr Lyndsay McLean about engaged anthropology, international development, feminist research and social justice.
Drawing on more than two decades of work across academic, practitioner and consultancy spaces, Lyndsay reflects on what anthropology can bring to development practice: a deeper attention to context, lived experience, language, power and the meanings people give to violence, harm and recovery. The conversation moves through her own non-linear route into anthropology, her work in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the importance of participatory research when working on sensitive subjects such as gender-based violence, discrimination and wellbeing.
Together, Sana and Lyndsay ask what it means to do anthropology that is critical but also useful; careful but engaged; rooted in people’s everyday worlds rather than only in institutional categories or donor language.
11 May 2026
Visual Storytelling, Memory and Afghanistan with Moska Najib
In this episode of Field Notes, the Sussex Anthropology Podcast, Dr Syeda Sana Batool, Assistant Professor of Visual Anthropology at University of Sussex speaks with Moska Najib, a writer, photographer, editor and communications professional whose work moves across journalism, multimedia production, visual storytelling and public communication. Born in Afghanistan and educated in India and Switzerland, Moska reflects on how movement, exile and diaspora have shaped her understanding of identity, belonging and narrative responsibility.
The conversation explores what visual storytelling can hold that conventional reporting often misses: memory, texture, ambiguity, dignity and the quieter afterlives of conflict. Moska speaks about Afghanistan beyond the dominant frames of war, crisis and geopolitics, asking what it means for Afghans to tell their own stories and why narrative ownership matters.
The episode also discusses the ethics of representation, the role of photography in producing knowledge differently, and Moska’s recent work as part of the Afterlives of Non-Muslim Asia project, including the visual strand Belonging Flexibly.
You can explore Moska Najib’s visual work from the project here: Belonging Flexibly (https://www.belongingflexibly.com/about)
28 Apr 2026
Labour, Inequality and the Human Lives Behind Global Fashion with Dr Rebecca Prentice
In this episode of Fieldnotes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, Dr Syeda Sana Batool speaks with Dr Rebecca Prentice, Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Development at the University of Sussex, about labour, inequality and the global garment industry.
Drawing on her research in Bangladesh, Dr Prentice discusses what anthropology reveals about garment work that is often missed in economics, policy and media coverage: the everyday lives, voices and political agency of workers. The conversation explores the long aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the limits of compensation and transnational labour regulation, and why justice for workers cannot be separated from worker power on the ground.
The episode also turns to Dr Prentice’s recent work on climate change and “just transition” in the garment sector, asking who is included — and who is left out — when industries move towards greener futures. Through questions of embodiment, precarity and radical empathy, the conversation shows why anthropology remains vital for understanding global supply chains, labour injustice and the human experiences behind the clothes we wear every day.
29 Mar 2026
Field Notes: Bedel, Belonging, and Queer Kurdish Life with Dr Emrah Karakuş
In this episode of Field Notes, host Sam speaks with Dr Emrah Karakuş about queer and trans Kurdish life, intimacy and affect as political terrains, and the ethical stakes of ethnographic research. From a working-class Kurdish background to an interdisciplinary anthropological journey, Dr Karakuş reflects on how care, struggle, obligation, and belonging shape both scholarship and lived experience.
The conversation explores the Kurdish concept of bedel—the cost, sacrifice, and responsibility carried in collective struggle—and asks what it reveals about queer and trans lives, political community, and the meaning of freedom. The episode also touches on fugitive ethnography, visibility and danger, and what it means to treat Kurdish histories and concepts not just as subjects of study, but as theory.
Read more about his work here: https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p666622-emrah-karakus (https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p666622-emrah-karakus)
28 Mar 2026
Listening to the Body: Health, Inequality and Anthropology with Dr Elizabeth Mills
In this episode of Field Notes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, Sana Batool speaks with Elizabeth Mills, Associate Professor in Anthropology and International Development at the University of Sussex. Beth reflects on how she first found anthropology in South Africa during a time of HIV activism and political urgency, and how that experience shaped her lifelong commitment to understanding health, gender, precarity and policy.
The conversation explores Beth’s research across South Africa, the UK, the US and Yemen, looking at how policies and institutions shape everyday embodied experiences of inequality. She discusses why anthropology and international development belong in conversation with one another, and how methods such as participatory photography, film and body mapping can reveal what words alone often cannot.
From HIV activism and state neglect to reproductive justice, queer family-making and the politics of care, this episode offers a powerful reflection on what it means to hold systems accountable while staying close to lived experience. It is also a hopeful conversation about students, teaching, and why anthropology still matters in making sense of urgent social worlds.
Contact Dr Elizabeth Mills here: https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p226593-elizabeth-mills (https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p226593-elizabeth-mills)
25 Jan 2026
Anthropology, Fieldwork & Global Challenges – A Conversation with Prof. Geert De Neve
In this episode, Dr Syeda Sana Batool spoke with Professor Geert De Neve, Head of the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Trained initially in economics before turning to anthropology, Prof. De Neve shares what drew him to the discipline and how it continues to shape his understanding of the world. Drawing on decades of fieldwork in South India, he reflects on the complex realities of work, inequality, and everyday life, and how these local experiences connect to global issues like climate change, migration, and digital labour.
We also explore the role of fieldwork in anthropology, what makes studying the subject at Sussex unique, and how students can approach communities with care and ethics. From leadership insights to student advice, this conversation offers valuable perspectives for anyone interested in anthropology, social justice, and global change.
11 Dec 2025
Faith, Feeling, and the Future: Exploring Spiritual Worlds with Dr Gareth Breen
In this episode of Fieldnotes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, host Dr Syeda Sana Batool speaks with Dr Gareth Breen, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Gareth’s work moves fluidly between transnational religious networks, emerging spiritual academies in China, psychotherapy, and the speculative horizons of AI.
They begin with Gareth’s long-term research on the global Christian movement led by Witness Li, then move through China’s grassroots “shuyuan” (spiritual academies), where people seek to rediscover the essence of Chinese civilisation. The conversation also explores how anthropological inquiry can extend into therapy, how psychotherapy and ethnography inform one another, and why AI is now entering spiritual and ethical imaginaries.
This episode offers a wide-ranging, deeply thoughtful exploration of belief, healing, and human connection across cultures — and what anthropology can bring to rapidly changing times.
11 Dec 2025
Moving Worlds: Time, Trade, and Medical Travel with Dr Diana Ibáñez-Tirado
In this episode of Fieldnotes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, host Dr Syeda Sana Batool sits down with Dr Diana Ibáñez-Tirado, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sussex and a beloved figure in the department. With research spanning Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey, and beyond, Diana shares the story behind her non-linear academic journey — from studying International Relations and Russian to becoming an anthropologist of time, trade, and medical mobility.
Together, they discuss what connects her seemingly diverse projects, the ethical and practical dimensions of fieldwork across regions, and how gender and care subtly shape her work. Diana also offers a glimpse into her forthcoming book From the Heart of Kulob, and reflects on what excites her about the future of anthropology.
Whether you're planning your own fieldwork, thinking about cross-cultural research, or just curious about how anthropologists make sense of global movement and everyday life — this episode offers a thoughtful and inspiring listen.
11 Dec 2025
Travelling Through Frontiers: Global Lives, Local Worlds — with Professor Magnus Marsden
In the very first episode of Fieldnotes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, host Dr. Sana Batool, Assistant Prof. of Visual Anthropology speaks with Professor Magnus Marsden, Head of Anthropology at the University of Sussex, about his decades-long work tracing how people, goods, and ideas travel across borders.
From the dusty roads of northern Pakistan to the global fur markets of Central Asia, Magnus shares insights from his upcoming book The Sheep Roads of Central Asia and reflects on what Karakul traders can teach us about cosmopolitanism, mistrust, and everyday life in borderlands.
We also explore his collaborative work with artists, and his latest research into the lives of Afghan Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish communities across Europe and Asia. This conversation is a rich introduction to what anthropology can uncover when it listens to lives lived in motion.
Themes: transnational trade, borderlands, fieldwork, cosmopolitanism, minority communities, anthropology and art
Guest: Professor Magnus Marsden Host: Dr. Syeda Sana Batool. Explore More of Magnus Marsden’s Work: Magnus's work:
The Karakul Project (Sheep Roads of Central Asia):https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-sheep-roads-of-central-asia/ (https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-sheep-roads-of-central-asia/)
Academic profile – University of Sussex:https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p318109-magnus-marsden (https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p318109-magnus-marsden)
Afghan Traders and Central Asia (Beyond the Silk Roads Project):https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Silk-Roads-Geopolitics-Connections/dp/1108838316 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Silk-Roads-Geopolitics-Connections/dp/1108838316)
Selected publications via ResearchGate: (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Magnus-Marsden)https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Magnus-Marsden (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Magnus-Marsden)
Exhibition Collaboration – Musafari at HKW, Berlin:https://www.hkw.de/en/programm/projekte/veranstaltung/p_215254.php (https://www.hkw.de/en/programm/projekte/veranstaltung/p_215254.php)
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