Statement on the Death of Professor Wendy James FBA

Professor Wendy James FBA passed away on 27 April 2024. Professor James taught Anthropology in the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007, when she retired. She held a Fellowship at St Cross College, was a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2011 was recipient of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for exceptional services to scholarship. Professor James had a long association with the African Studies Centre. For example, she played a key role in the establishment of the North East Africa seminar and contributed significantly to African Studies in a range of other ways, over many years. 

Professor Wendy James

Professor James cut her teeth in Sudan, during her doctoral degree in Anthropology. Her interest in the history and anthropology of Sudan was lifelong, although she also carried out a great deal of important anthropological research in Ethiopia. Professor James’ deep primary research in Sudan yielded influential studies such as The Listening Ebony  in 1988, as well as War and Survival in Sudan’s Frontierlands, which was published in the year of her retirement. Professor James also had strong historical links to the University of Khartoum, where she taught for approximately 5 years when she was an up-and-coming young scholar. The African Studies Centre extends its sincere condolences to Professor James’ beloved family, friends and colleagues. An intellectual light has left us.  

Please find below the link for watching a live stream of Wendy’s funeral on Friday, 17 May, at 1pm BST, at St Johns Chapel, Oxford Crematorium, Headington, Oxford OX3 9RZ. The video will be kept online a few days afterwards for those who wish to watch at a more convenient time.

Those of you in the Oxford area who are unable to make the funeral are still welcome to join us for refreshments at 1 Northmoor Road after the funeral.

Website: https://watch.obitus.com

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