Richard Vokes is Professor of Anthropology and International Development at the University of Western Australia. He holds a D.Phil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. His research focuses primarily on the African Great Lakes region, especially on the societies of South-western Uganda, where he has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork since 2000. He has published extensively, including on: development (governance, education, and natural resource management), the HIV/AIDS epidemic, new religious movements, and the history of photography, media and social change. His academic research has won numerous prizes and awards, and he has held two Visiting Fellowships at All Souls College, Oxford. He is past Editor of the Journal of Eastern African Studies, past President of the Australian Anthropological Society, and a current Director of the Royal Anthropological Institute.