Ann Patricia Bailey "Pat" Caplan, (born 13 March 1942) is a retired British

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and academic. From 1989 to 2003, she was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. She was also the Director of the

Institute of Commonwealth Studies The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the sole postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriente ...

between 1998 and 2000.

Early life and education

Caplan was born on 13 March 1942 to Sylvester Launcelot Bailey and Marjorie Bailey (''née'' Parr). From 1960 to 1963, she studied for a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in African Studies (Swahili) at the SOAS University of London,

. She then undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

at the University of London, and completed a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) degree in 1965. In 1968 she gained a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree with a thesis titled ''Non-unilineal kinship on Mafia Island, Tanzania''.

Academic career

Caplan worked as a

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, for the 1964/1965 and 1968/1969 academic years, and as a tutor at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

in the 1970/1971 and 1974/1975 academic years. She was a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

, University of London from 1968 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976. In 1977, Caplan joined

, University of London, as a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in anthropology; she was later promoted to senior lecturer. Goldsmiths did not have an Anthropology Department until the 1980s. In 1989, she was appointed

of Social Anthropology. From 1998 to 2000, she was also Director of the

of the

School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate-only institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and ...

, University of London. Caplan retired in 2003 and was appointed Emeritus Professor.

Personal life

In 1967, the then Pat Bailey married Lionel Caplan. Together they have two children: one son and one daughter.

Honours

In 1995, Caplan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (FRAI).

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * The papers of Pat and Lionel Caplan, comprising field notes as well as material relating to the subsequent publication of books and articles based on fieldwork are held b
SOAS Archives

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caplan, Pat 1942 births Living people British women anthropologists British social anthropologists Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London Academics of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London Alumni of SOAS University of London Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Academics of the Open University Academics of SOAS University of London Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland