Charlie Rumsby

Dr. Charlie Rumsby is an Assistant Professor in Childhood and Youth (Social Work and Social Care) at the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex. A trained anthropologist from SOAS and Goldsmiths, University of London, he completed interdisciplinary doctoral/post-doctoral research at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations. His ethnographic research explores identity and belonging among stateless ethnic Vietnamese children in Cambodia, using multimodal, artistic practices to co-produce participatory impact.

• Education: PhD in Anthropology (Coventry University)
• Previous Affiliation: Research Fellow at Coventry University
• Current Roles: Visiting Fellow at LSE Anthropology Department

Research focuses on statelessness, children's geographies, citizenship studies, and public anthropology. Publications span political geography, social work, and visual ethnography. Collaborations include illustrator Ben Thomas, producing ethnographic comics about riverine communities. He serves on the Sociological Review Journal’s Editorial Board and co-founded the Working-class Alliance of Academics.

His 2020-2025 publications reveal trends in graphic ethnography, multimodal research, and creative practice for marginalized populations, with keywords including Social Work, Anthropology, and Visual Communication. Current work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaborations between academia and artistic communities.

• Scientific Engagements:
• Editorial Board Member, Sociological Review Journal
• Working-class Alliance of Academics

Teaching includes supervision in childhood/youth studies and ethnographic methods. Research projects involve partnerships with LSE’s anthropology department and Cambodian NGOs.