Dr Ivan Tacey
Profiles

Dr Ivan Tacey

Lecturer in Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology

School of Society and Culture (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business)

Biography

Biography

I am a socio-cultural anthropologist and multi-species ethnographer specialized in Southeast Asia. My research examines the relationships between humans and the environments they live in. For the last 15 years, I have worked with the Batek, hunter-gatherers who live in the some of the last remaining tropical forests of Malaysia. I am particularly interested in how the Batek have maintained extremely high levels of bio-diversity in the areas they live in and have managed to maintain culturally distinct lifeways despite being in close contact with other groups for thousands of years. I have previously lectured in anthropology and anthrozoology at the University of Exeter and anthropology, sociology and cultural studies at the University of Lyon in France.

I am currently completing two books. The first book 'Walking with Tigers', is an illustrated ethnography about the Bateks relationships with their forest environment. I am fortunate to be working on this book in collaboration with celebrated Devon-based artist John Hurford. The book is slated to be published in 2022 by the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns in Malaysia and is the culmination of a long-term project between myself and John. The project closely connected with my multi-media approach to teaching anthropology through ethnographic films, graphic novels, exhibitions, computer games, and interactive 3D simulations.

The second book is entitled 'Cosmic Entanglements – Shamanism and Cosmopolitics among the Batek of Malaysia' and examines how Batek environmental relations and religious forms are being reshaped in the 21st century. It is scheduled for publication with the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in 2022.

My current research focuses on monstrosity, violence and global interconnectivity. 

Would you like to do postgraduate research with me?

I currently supervise a number of MA students, and am very happy to supervise anyone interested in postgraduate research (MA or PhD) related to my expertise! For more info on the topics I work on, please click my research tabs... and do not hesitate to write me an email if you wish to discuss project ideas and funding opportunities!


Qualifications

Doctorate of Social Sciences in Social and Cultural Anthropology (Distinction), University of Helsinki, Finland (2019)         

Thesis Title: “Animism and Interconnectivity: Batek and Manya’ Life on the Edge of the Malaysian Rainforest”.

Under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth SILLANDER and Professor Sarah GREEN. Language: English.

Defended on December 14th, 2019 before a jury composed of: Professor Sarah GREEN, University of Helsinki (President); Professor Nurit BIRD-DAVID, University of Haifa (Adversary); Professor Timo KAARTINEN, University of Helsinki (member of the jury); Dr Tuulikki PIETILÄ, University of Helsinki (member of the jury). External examiners: Professor Signe HOWELL (University of Oslo), Dr Judith BOVENSIEPEN (University of Kent).

 

MA in Social Anthropology (2008)                                     

Dissertation title: “New Knowledge and New Identities: How the Batek of Malaysia are reacting to globalization and territorial struggles in the early 21st Century”

University: University Lumière Lyon 2, France

Supervisor: Professor Lionel Obadia

 

Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology) (1998)                                  

Dissertation title: “Networks between radical environmentalists, anti-capitalists and trade unions during the protest movement in late 1990s Great Britain.”

University: University of East London

Supervisor(s): Professor Chris Knight

 


Teaching

Teaching

Teaching interests

I have extensive experience lecturing in anthropology, sociology, criminology cultural studies and anthrozoology at universities in France and the UK. Prior to joining the University of Plymouth, I was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter at the Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics Working Group - an interdisciplinary group of academics whose research aimed to improve the lives of animals. At Exeter, I taught on the undergraduate Anthropology programme and the Masters programme in Anthrozoology. In France, I taught at the Université Lumière Lyon 2, the Université Jean Monnet, St Etienne and the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3.

At the School of Society and Culture at the University of Plymouth, I currently lead the following modules:

  • ANT5003 - Applying Anthropology
  • SOC4003IE - Body, Identity and Relatedness
  • SOC4002 - Social Identities and Inequalities
  • ANT5006MX - Decolonizing the Social Sciences
  • ANT5008MX - Brave New Worlds

I also teach on the following modules:

  • ANT5001/ANTH605 - Anthropology of Truth/Different Ways of Knowing
  • SOC4001 - Sociology Introductory module
  • SOC5004 - Contemporary Social Theory
  • ANTH602 - Dissertation

Research

Research

Research interests

As a social anthropologist, my research has documented the changing lifeways of indigenous people living on the edge of some of the last remaining tropical forests in Southeast Asia. My research has focused on environmental transformations, animism and shamanism, violence (systemic, direct and symbolic), sociality and egalitarianism. As a multi-species ethnographer and green criminologist, I have worked on issues relating to: human-animal relations and communication; environmental crimes committed by the State and corporations; the criminalisation of indigenous life-ways; wildlife trafficking; and, land rights

I am very happy to supervise any postgraduate students wishing to do research on any of these topics. 

Other research

Alongside my work as a socio-cultural anthropologist, I frequently collaborate with artists, biological anthropologists and cultural ecologists. I also have a history of partnerships with international researchers, film-makers and ethnographic museums.For example. I have made a short documentary film about Batek tree-climbing practices for National Geographic and acted as a consultant for Malaysian environmental NGOs, and the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France.

Publications

Publications

Key publications

Books

Tacey, Ivan (2018). Animism and Interconnectivity: Batek and Manya’ Life on the Periphery of the Malaysian Rainforest (monograph), Helsinki, Research Series in Anthropology, University of Helsinki Press. https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/265101

Tacey, I. Cosmic Entanglements – Shamanism and Cosmopolitics among the Batek of Malaysia (monograph), Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Press (under contract).

Tacey, Ivan. Walking with Tigers (illustrated ethnography), Subang Jaya, Malaysia, COAC (under contract, in preparation).


Tacey I (2021) 978-951-51-4711-0. Helsinki, Finland University of Helsinki Press Research Series in Anthropology Publisher Site
Chapters

Tacey, Ivan (2021). Rearranging Cosmic Relations: Cosmopolitics in the Anthropocene. In Stewart, Pamela J., Andrew Strathern, Diana Riboli, and Davide Torri (eds.) “Dealing with Disasters -- Perspectives from Eco-Cosmologies”. London, Palgrave Macmillan.

Tacey, Ivan (2022). Some Complexities of Ethical Multispecies Research: working with indigenous peoples and animals. In Samantha Hurn (ed.) “Handbook of Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics”. London, Routledge (under contract, in preparation).

Tacey, Ivan (2016). Transnational Shamanism: Batek religious change as a result of marginalization and globalization. In Kirk Endicott (ed.) “Malaysia’s ‘Original People’: Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli”. Singapore, National University of Singapore Press, pp377-402.

Tacey, Ivan (2013). Entangled interests and unsustainable developments in Southeast Asian forests. In Cassel, Muriel & Stephanie Bory (eds.) “Green Growth: From Theory to Action, From Practice to Power”. Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp.113–136.

Tacey I (2020) 'Batek Cosmopolitics in the Early Twenty-First Century' in Riboli D; Stewart P; Strathern A; Torri D Dealing with Disasters Perspectives from Eco-Cosmologies London Palgrave Macmillan 75-99 , DOI
Tacey I (2016) 'Batek Transnational Shamanism: Countering Marginalization through Weaving Alliances with Cosmic Partners and Global Politicians' in Endicott K Malaysia's Original People Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli Singapore NUS Press 377-402 , DOI

Key publications are highlighted

Journals
Articles
Kraft TS, Venkataraman VV, Tacey I, Dominy NJ & Endicott KM (2018) 'Foraging Performance, Prosociality, and Kin Presence Do Not Predict Lifetime Reproductive Success in Batek Hunter-Gatherers' Human Nature 30, (1) 71-97 , DOI Open access
Venkataraman VV, Yegian AK, Wallace IJ, Holowka NB, Tacey I, Gurven M & Kraft TS (2018) 'Locomotor constraints favour the evolution of the human pygmy phenotype in tropical rainforests' Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285, (1890) 20181492-20181492 , DOI Open access
Tacey I & Riboli D (2014) 'Violence, fear and anti-violence: the Batek of Peninsular Malaysia' Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research 6, (4) 203-215 , DOI
Tacey I (2013) 'Tropes of Fear: the Impact of Globalization on Batek Religious Landscapes' Religions 4, (2) 240-266 , DOI
Tacey I & Riboli D 'Emplaced, Embodied, Multi-Sited, Collaborative Ethnography in Peninsular Malaysia' Manusia & Masyarakat (Man and Society)
Reports

Hurn, Samantha., Rice, Tom., Badman-King, Alex., North, Steve., Eason, Fenella., Groling, Jessica., Tacey, Ivan. & Calvert, Chris. (2018). Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics (EASE) working group's written evidence to the UK government's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) commons select committee - pre-legislative scrutiny on the UK's Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill (draft dated 12 December 2017). University of Exeter. http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1169591

Tacey, Ivan (2012). ‘Identity, children and knowledge among the Orang Asli: an ethnographic study of the Kelantan Batek’. Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department. Malaysia / University of Malaya, Malaysia.

Personal

Personal

Reports & invited lectures

7-8 Nov 2019, Tacey, Ivan. “Animism as politics: Batek responses to the extractivist industry in Peninsula Malaysia.” Conference: Current Directions in Hunter Gatherer Research. University College London, UK.

01-13 September 2019, Tacey, Ivan. “Unbounded Flows, Life, Death and Destruction in a Malaysian Rainforest.” European Association for Southeast Asian Studies Annual Conference (EUROSEAS 2019). Panel: ‘Boundaries within the Flow: The Shape of Life in Southeast Asian Cosmologies’. Convened by Guido Sprenger and Monica Janowski. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

02-05 July 2018, Tacey, Ivan. “Tigers are people too! The effects of forest loss and international poaching on relations between Bateks and keystone species in Malaysia.” 27th International conference of the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ 2018): 'Animals in Our Lives: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Human–Animal Interactions'. Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia.

02-05 July 2018, Tacey, Ivan. “Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics: Reflections from Anthropology and Indigenous Rights. 27th International conference of the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ 2018): 'Animals in Our Lives: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Human–Animal Interactions'. Symposium 10: 'Anthrozoology as symbiotic ethics, and the ethics of anthrozoological research'. Convened by Professor Samantha Hurn and Dr Alexander Badman-King. Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia.

27-28 April 2017, Tacey, Ivan “Rearranging Cosmic Relations: Cosmopolitics in the Anthropocence”. International Conference on Shamanism and Eco-Cosmology, Panteio University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece.

28 October 2016, Tacey, Ivan “Interconnectivity and Animism.” Panel: Community experiences of environmental and social transformations, The 3rd Annual Conference for the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change and the Doctoral Programme in Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.

16 April 2016, Thomas Kraft, Vivek Venkataraman, Ivan Tacey, Aya Kawai & Kirk Endicott “Delayed reciprocity in sharing networks of Batek hunter-gatherers in Peninsular Malaysia.” Session 42: Human Biology: Growth, Reproduction and Adaptation, The 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Atlanta, USA.

21-22 October 2015, Tacey, Ivan & Thomas Overly “Structural and Environmental Violence and the Batek Tanum of Peninsular Malaysia.” Panel: “Sacred Landscapes”, Biennial Conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society 2015: Landscapes, sociality and materiality, Helsinki, Finland.

09-13 October 2015, Tacey, Ivan “Landscapes of Terror: Conflicts, Shamans and Sacred Sites.” Panel: “Reshaping Sacred Spaces and Emotional Trajectories”, Biannual Conference for the International Society for Academic Research on Shamanism, Delphi, Greece.

07-11 September 2015, Tacey, Ivan “Shamans, Bulldozers and Tsunamis: Batek Religion in a Global World.” Panel: “Conflict and Resilience in Hunter-Gatherer Religions”, 11th Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies, Vienna, Austria.

07-11 September 2015, Thomas Kraft, Vivek Venkataraman, Ivan Tacey, Aya Kawai & Kirk Endicott “Determinants of reproductive success in Batek hunter-gatherers in Peninsular Malaysia”. Panel: “Hunter-gatherers Behavioural Ecology & Evolutionary Modelling”, 11th Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies, Vienna, Austria.

05-07 June 2015, Diana Riboli & Ivan Tacey “Vanishing Forests: Sacred Topography and Change among the Batek and Jahai of Malaysia”. Panel: “Sacred Landscapes”, International Interdisciplinary Conference: Movements, Narratives and Landscapes, University of Zadar, Croatia.

27 March 2015, Thomas Kraft, Vivek Venkataraman, Ivan Tacey, Aya Kawai & Kirk Endicott “Determinants of reproductive success in Batek hunter-gatherers in Peninsular Malaysia.” The 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists: St Louis, USA.

26-28 Feb 2015, Lim Teck Wyn, Ivan Tacey, Ashleigh Seow, Kamal Solhaimi “Traditional Exploitation of Flora and Fauna and Contemporary Control of Encroachment in Taman Negara National Park, Peninsular Malaysia”. Beyond enforcement: Communities, governance, incentives and sustainable use in combating wildlife crime, symposium organised by IUCN, Muldersdrift, South Africa.

03-07 December 2014: Tacey, Ivan “Bloody stenches, sweet smells, and soul journeys: ritual and shamanism among the Batek of Malaysia.” Panel: “Assemblages, Ontologies, and Nonhuman Others: Re-theorizing Southeast Asian Rituals”, 113th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association: Producing Anthropology, Washington, USA.

10-11 June 2014: Tacey, Ivan & Thomas Overly “The effects of development on Batek sacred sites”, Orang Asli Symposium 2014, Keene State College, New Hampshire, USA.

10-11 June 2014: Thomas Kraft, Vivek Venkataraman, Kirk M. Endicott, Ivan Tacey & Diana Riboli “Subsistence and sexual division of labor among the Batek: past and present compared", Orang Asli Symposium 2014, Keene State College, New Hampshire, USA.

25-28 June 2013: Tacey, Ivan “State Violence and Batek Topophobia in Peninsular Malaysia.” 10th Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies, Liverpool, UK.

21-24 March 2013: Tacey, Ivan “Holding it together: Batek reactions to environmental, religious and social changes in 21st century Peninsular Malaysia.” Panel: “Malaysia’s ‘Original People’: Recent Research on the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia: Papers in Honor of Geoffrey Benjamin and Robert K. Dentan”, 2013 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, San Diego, California, (USA).