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Anthropologists in Bergen consolidate position

For the second consecutive year, the anthropology environment at the University of Bergen is in the QS by Subject top 100.

Perfomance of the Pacific legend Moana at the 2015 Bergen Festival, at an outdoor event.
WORLD WIDE, WORLD CLASS: The social anthropology environment at UiB keep their top 100 position in the 2017 QS by Subject ranking. The photo is from the 2015 Bergen Festival, when the performance Moana was shown in collaboration between anthropologists at UiB and the University of the South Pacific.
Photo:
Eivind Senneset for the University of Bergen

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This is the seventh year the QS World University Rankings by Subject is announced, and once again the same three disciplines at the University of Bergen (UiB) are in the top 100 in their field. These are Earth & Marine Sciences, archaeology, and anthropology.

Just like last year UiB’s social anthropologists find themselves in the group between 51 and 100 in the QS by Subject ranking.

Rich history in anthropology

For the social anthropology environment at UiB, this is yet another confirmation of the constant high international level of its research.

“We are obviously delighted to get this positive attention, even though we do take this rankings with a pinch of salt,” says Head of Department, Ståle Knudsen, at UiB’s Department of Social Anthropology.

“We have long had prominent and internationally recognised researchers, who have made the department visible in the world. Ever since the creation of the department, when Fredrik Barth was the key player and over the years thanks to the invaluable contributions from Gunnar Håland, Leif Manger, and Edvard Hviding among others.”

Knudsen also emphasise the forthcoming arrival of Dutch anthropologist, Don Kalb, who becomes part of the department later this year. This is thanks to a grant through the Toppforsk (top research) scheme, a collaboration between UiB and the Bergen Research Foundation (BFS).

Several awards and grants

The head of department also points to the Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), which was awarded to Bruce Kapferer in 2013, as one of many highlights in the last few years.

“Let us also not forget our excellent husband and wife team, Annelin Eriksen and Knut Mikjel Rio, who recently were awarded the 2017 Fylkesakerprisen (Fylkesaker Prize) for their excellent research in anthropology,” Knudsen says about this prestigious prize, which is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

He is delighted that these various prizes and awards draw attention to the strong anthropology scene in Bergen, both nationally and internationally, and believes that this may contribute even more to help the Bergen anthropologists to gain support for future research projects.