Dr Andrew Skuse

Biography/ Background

Andrew Skuse holds a BA in Social Anthropology and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies and a PhD in Anthropology from University College London. After completing his thesis on the production and consumption of a development-oriented radio soap opera broadcast to Afghanistan in 1999 he worked for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as a Social Development Advisor focusing on the role of communications for development. In 2002 he joined the Anthropology Discipline and between 2003/5 worked extensively in South Africa on a DFID-funded multi-institution research project examining the role of information in contexts charactered by chronic poverty. Skuse currently holds two Australian Research Council Linkage Grants that partner with UNESCO (South Asia) and UNDP (Indonesia), as well as with Equal Access (Nepal). These Linkage Grants explore the relationship between new digital media and poverty and the communication for social change framework respectively. Further, Skuse is working as an associate on a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council project called Tuning-in which is a multi-themed examination of the work of the BBC World Service. Skuse has extensive professional experience in the field of communications for development and has worked as a consultant for numerous bilateral (DFID, AusAID, GTZ, EU) and multilateral agencies (UNDP, UNOCHA, UNESCO). Research Interests include: (i) Communications for development; (ii) Health and behaviour change; (iii) Anthropology of Media; (iv) Conflict and culture; (v) TB and HIV; (vi) Material, mass and popular culture.

Recent Publications include:

Skuse, A. & T. Cousins. 2008. Getting Connected: the Social Dynamics of Urban Telecommunications Use in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. New Media and Society, Vol. 10(1): 5-22. Sage Publications.

Skuse, A. et al. 2007. Poverty and Digital Inclusion. UNESCO, New Delhi, India.

Skuse, A. 2007. Misreading romance: the BBC World Service, Afghan radio soap opera and the politics of production and consumption. Southern Review: Communication, Politics and Culture. Vol. 40(1). RMIT, School of Applied Communication.

Skuse, A. & Cousins, T. 2007. Managing Distance: the Social Dynamics of Rural Telecommunications Access and Use in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Journal of Asian and African Studies. Vol. 42(2): 185-207. Sage Publications.

Skuse, A., Du Toit, A. & Cousins, T. 2007. The Political Economy of Social Capital: Chronic Poverty, Remoteness and Gender in the Rural Eastern Cape. Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture. Sage Publications.

Skuse, A. & Cousins, T. 2007. Spaces of resistance: poverty, information and community organisation in urban settlements. Urban Studies, Vol. 44(5): Taylor and Francis.

Skuse, A., Nair, S., & Jennaway, M. 2006. Local Information Networks: social and technological considerations. UNESCO, Paris.

Entry last updated: Tuesday, 26 May 2009