Staff

Professor Toby Kelly is Professor of Political and Legal Anthropology in the School of Social and Political Science. He was appointed Director of IASH in 2026.

Toby works at the intersection of anthropology, history and socio-legal studies. He has carried out long-term ethnographic fieldwork in multiple sites, but over last the last fifteen years he has increasingly focused on the UK in a global perspective. His interests include human rights documentation, the prohibition of torture, and freedom of conscience, and he has published widely on these topics. Running throughout his work has been an emphasis on the wider social and cultural significance of legal claims. Most recently he has started research on the history of private detectives, using their work to examine questions of privacy, freedom of information and techniques of investigation. Throughout, he has been deeply interested in the politics of different types of knowledge production, and his work has combined a range of sources, including ethnography, archival work, oral history, and the analysis of creative art.

He has held various leadership roles across the University, including Head of Social Anthropology, Director of Research in the School of Social and Political Science, and as academic staff member on the University Court.

Dr Ben Fletcher-Watson manages major projects and the office team, oversees the day-to-day affairs of the Institute, and supports the Director in strategic activities.

Between 2004 and 2011, he worked in the cultural sector at a range of arts organisations around the UK. In 2015, he completed a PhD in Drama at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St Andrews, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at IASH in 2016, before taking up his post in the Institute in May 2017. Ben has published widely on topics such as theatre for the very young, digital literacy, and mobile technologies for people with autism. Recent publications include The Art of Being Dangerous (Leuven University Press, 2021), Dangerous Women (Unbound, 2022) and Women Who Dared (Edinburgh University Press, 2025).

His own research has always been rooted in interdisciplinarity, so he particularly enjoys the opportunity to engage with the work of IASH Fellows, alumni/ae and the wider Edinburgh community.

Email: ben.fletcher-watson@ed.ac.uk

Pauline Clark, the Institute Administrator, looks after finance, travel and administration for Fellows, as well as managing the Director's diary. Pauline joined IASH in 2018, having worked at the School of Engineering previously.

Email: pauline.clark@ed.ac.uk

Lauren Galligan looks after administration for Fellows during their arrival and throughout their visit at IASH, as well as providing tech support and carrying out other day-to-day duties at the Institute. In Summer 2022, Lauren worked as the IASH and GENDER.ED Communications and Events Intern, and returned in 2023 as Administrative Assistant, having recently graduated with an English Literature degree from the University of Edinburgh. 

Email: lgallig2@ed.ac.uk