Dr Claire Bunyan

Biography

I am a Senior Research Fellow in Cultural Anthropology at the Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute, UAL.

My work is concerned with the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage assets, especially in the context of Indigenous Canadian populations residing on reserves. This includes craft skill as applied to textile and dress heritage artefacts. I hold a higher doctorate in cultural anthropology which comprised a longitudinal ethnography observing the cultural lives of the Sisikawa people on the plains of Alberta. In recent years, this approach has extended to Indigenous communities in South Asia and the contemporary creative economy in the UK. In theoretical terms, I am especially interested in the deployment of philosophy and literary theory in order to interrogate social and cultural phenomena.

At UAL, I work on high-value research grant applications and supervise doctoral students undertaking traditional theory as well as practice-based studies. I am happy to receive expressions of interest from doctoral candidates in literature, creative writing, philosophy, anthropology and cross-disciplinary studies.

Grants as PI and Co-I include:

2015-17 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada "PhD Scholarship" (PI)
2016-17 British Council "Understanding Arts Entrepreneurship in the Terai Region of Nepal" (PI)
2017-19 ERDF "Cultural Tourism Development in Dorset" (PI: Dr Rebecca Hawkins, RHP Ltd)
2019 UKRI Strength in Places Seed Funding "Performing Productivity" (PI: Professor Jane Harris, UAL)
2020-23 AHRC Covid-19 Rapid Response Award "DREEm: Digital, Regeneration and Experience Economy Modelling" (PI: Professor Jane Harris, UAL)
2024 ACE "Nurture, Connection and Parenting in Dance" (PI: Danielle Jones, Luminelle)