Stuart J. Wright

Dr Stuart J. Wright is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA), University of Oxford, working on the project "Education-as-development": Minorities and state education in western China (2022–2025). Prior to this, he taught sociocultural anthropology, visual anthropology, international development, social theory, and sociocultural change at the City University of New York (Brooklyn College and City College) for over two years.

His educational background includes an MA from the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia (2010), focusing on education in Tibet, and a PhD from the University of Sheffield (2019) with a thesis titled "Governing social change in Amdo: Tibetans in the era of compulsory education and school consolidation", which won the 2021 British Association for Chinese Studies’ Best Doctoral Thesis Prize.

Wright's research employs ethnographic methods to investigate state education policies and minority communities in China, particularly Tibetans in western regions. His interdisciplinary approach examines how development initiatives intersect with cultural identity, social change, and educational governance, contributing critical perspectives to anthropology, sociology, and education policy debates.

He has received several notable awards and fellowships, including:

• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (2022-2025)
• British Association for Chinese Studies Best Doctoral Thesis Prize (2021)
• ESRC studentship (2011)

Prior to academia, Wright worked extensively with NGOs across the UK, Tibet, India, and Nepal on social development and cultural projects. He is also the author of a book on American air crews in WWII England published by the University of Wisconsin Press (2004, second edition 2008).