Tony Crook

Tony Crook is a Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews, affiliated with the Centre for the Critical Reimagining of Human Rights and the Centre for Pacific Studies within the School of Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies.

Education:

• PhD, University of Cambridge

Research Interests: Dr. Crook investigates knowledge practices, secrecy, ritual, horticulture, mining, and climate change with regional expertise in Papua New Guinea, Oceania, Amazonia, and Melanesia. His work critically examines crisis temporality, colonial legacies, and gender inequality through ethnographic lenses, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals on climate action and gender equality.

Publication Trends: His 2018-2024 publications reveal a concentrated focus on ethnographic responses to environmental crises, particularly exploring climate cultures in Pacific Island nations and Amazonian/Melanesian temporal frameworks. Key themes include ritual knowledge systems in mining/horticulture, film-based gender equality interventions, and cultural reinterpretations of environmental movements like Gaia theory.

Grants and Projects: Dr. Crook secured major funding including:

• Pacific Connections: Community Film-making & Gender Inequality (Scottish Funding Council, 2019)
• Participatory Film-Making for Gender Equality (AHRC, 2017-2018)
• CC4M Mining Co-Creation Project (European Commission, 2017-2020)
• EU DEVCO ECOPAS Gender Project (European Commission, 2015-2016)
• RSE European Visiting Fellowship (2014-2015)

Supervision and Impact: He has supervised 5 research students and organized Pacific-focused filmmaking workshops. His "Pacific Connections" project generated measurable cultural impact through EU policy engagement, documented by social media reach (2 X posts, 1 Facebook page) and academic dissemination (7 Mendeley readers).