People

Director of the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion

Harvey Whitehouse is an anthropologist whose research focuses on the evolution of social complexity. One of the founders of the cognitive science of religion, Harvey is well known for his theory of “modes of religiosity,” which explains how the frequency and emotional intensity of collective rituals influence the scale and structure of religious organisations. He is Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and a Professorial Fellow of Magdalen College.

For more information about Harvey’s work, please visit harveywhitehouse.com

Deputy Director and Research Coordinator of Cultural Evolution Lab

Pieter François is an Associate Professor in Cutural Evolution, and Fellow in Anthropology and Tutor for Graduates at St. Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford. His work focuses on travel and migration in the nineteenth century and on the evolution of social complexity, ritual and warfare. Together with Professor Peter Turchin (UConn) and Professor Harvey Whitehouse (Oxford) he founded the Seshat: Global History Databank in 2011. In 2013 he won the British Library Labs competition with his Sample Generator for Digitized Texts.

For more information about Pieter's work, please visit PieterFrancois

Research Coordinator of AnthroLab

Jonathan Jong is an experimental psychologist whose research is mainly on the psychology of religion. In particular, he is interested in what motivates religious belief: what psychological needs—and especially what unconscious needs—might religious beliefs fulfill. He is a Research Fellow at Coventry University, and Deputy Director of the Brain, Belief and Behaviour group there.

For more information about Jonathan’s work, please visit jonathanjong.ninja.