Background and activities

I am a Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology. I hold an MPhil and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oslo. I have conducted longitudinal fieldwork in Zambia on Mambwe-speaking people, in both rural and urban areas. My main interest is social and cultural change among Mambwe migrants in Lusaka, focusing on ritual performances, kinship and mutual aid. In Zambia, I am affiliated with the Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Zambia. I have also done commissioned research and evaluations in Zambia and Botswana on urban development, the educational sector, and the health sector. At present, I also conduct fieldwork in Extremadura, Spain on the industrialisation of Iberian ham production and the sustainability of forest pastures. I have also a long-standing interest in visual anthropology and ethnographic film and is a long-time member of the Nordic Anthropological Film Association.

Currently, I teach ethnographic method, and social theory on migration. I also arrange seminars in academic writing for students at all levels. I am a past head of the Department, and a past co-editor of the Norwegian Journal of Anthropology. 

 

Scientific, academic and artistic work

Displaying a selection of activities. See all publications in the database

Journal publications

Books

  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Larsen, Kjersti; Engebrigtsen, Ada I.. (2018) Movement and Connectivity: Configurations of Belonging. Peter Lang Publishing Group. 2018. ISBN 978-1-78707-550-4.
  • Iversen, Gunnar; Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2010) Beyond the visual. Sound and image in ethnographic and documentary film. Intervention Press. 2010. ISBN 978-87-89825-93-9. Proceedings from NAFA (1).
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Crawford, Peter I.. (1992) Ethnographic Film, Aesthetics and Narrative Traditions - Proceedings from NAFA II. Intervention Press. 1992. ISBN 87-89825-01-2.

Part of book/report

  • Smørholm, Sesilie; Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2022) Beyond Words: Children’s Drawings, the Socio-Spatial Environment and Experience. Perceiving Children The Visual Anthropology of Childhood.
  • Larsen, Kjersti; Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Engebrigtsen, Ada I.. (2018) Introduction. Movement and Connectivity: Configurations of Belonging.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2018) Kinship and Mobility in Urban Zambia (and Beyond). Movement and Connectivity: Configurations of Belonging.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2015) Om å jage og pleie ånder: Nyliberalisme, spirituell helbredelse og konkurrerende kunnskapstradisjoner i Zambia. Det skapende mennesket : Antropologiske dialoger om tegn, ting og tolkning.
  • Smørholm, Sesilie; Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2015) Children’s Drawings in Ethnographic Explorations: Analysis and Interpretations. Methodological Approaches, Geographies of Children and Young People.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Serpell, Robert. (2012) Foreword. Children’s Games and Play in Zambia.
  • Iversen, Gunnar; Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2010) Introduction. Beyond the visual. Sound and image in ethnographic and documentary film.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2010) Ephemeral images in the Chisungu female initiation ritual. Beyond the visual. Sound and image in ethnographic and documentary film.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2010) The Revival of the Mambwe-Lungu First-Fruits Ceremony in Zambia. Reveries of Home: Nostalgia, Authenticity and the Performance of Place.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Talle, Aud. (1996) Øst-Afrika og det sørlige Sentral-Afrika. Fjern og nær : sosialantropologiske perspektiver på verdens samfunn og kulturer.

Report/dissertation

  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2003) Children, AIDS, and Communal Coping Strategies: Papers presented for a research workshop at University of Fort Hare 18-22 March 2002. 2003. ISBN 82-8048-031-5. Diakonhjemmet University College Report Series (5/2003).
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil. (2003) Utdanningssektoren i Zambia: En forundersøkelse med fokus på høyere utdanning. 2003.
  • Simonsen, Jan Ketil; Ngome, Enock. (2003) Equity in the Distribution of Resources for Reproductive Health in Botswana. 2003.