Anthropological Research
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Publications

Publications

*Many of these publications are available on Researchgate.

LISTED Books; Edited Books; Edited Journals; Journal Articles and Research Papers; Contributions to Edited Volumes; Reports and Other Publications; Exhibitions; Invited Keynotes, Public lectures, Seminars and Debates; Media Interviews and Consultations; Conference/Workshop Organistion; Conference panels; Conference Proceedings; Conference Papers (selected); Reviews.

Books  

Strang, V. 2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, London: Reaktion Books.

Strang, V. 2021. What Anthropologists Do, revised edition, London, New York: Routledge.  

Strang, V. 2015. Water: nature and culture, London: Reaktion Books; University of Chicago Press.[1]

Strang, V. 2009. Gardening the World: agency, identity, and the ownership of water. Oxford, New York: Berghahn Publishers.[2]  

Strang, V. 2009. What Anthropologists Do, Oxford, New York: Berg.[3]  

Strang, V. 2004. The Meaning of Water, Oxford, New York: Berg.[4]  

Strang, V. 1997. Uncommon Ground: cultural landscapes and environmental values, Oxford, New York: Berg.[5]  

Strang, V. 1988. Citizen's Guide to Environmental Assessment, Toronto: Government of Ontario Press.  

Edited Books  

Strang, V. and Krause, F. (eds) forthcoming. Water, Objects and Infrastructure: traversing scales in material relations, Oxford, New York: Berghahn.

Strang, V., Edensor, T. and Puckering, J. (eds) 2018. From the Lighthouse: interdisciplinary reflections on light, London: Routledge.[6]

Strang, V. (ed) 2016. Transforming the Way We Think, Durham University: Institute of Advanced Study.  

Fardon, R. Harris, O., Marchand, T., Nuttall, M., Shore, C., Strang, V. and Wilson, R. 2012.  A Handbook of Social Anthropology, Association of Social Anthropologists of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, London: Sage.  

Johnston, B., Hiwasaki, L., Klaver, I., Ramos-Castillo, A., Strang, V. (eds) 2012. Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures? Paris: Springer and UNESCO. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1774-9  

Strang, V. and Busse, M. 2011. Ownership and Appropriation, ASA Monographs. Oxford, New York: Berg.  

Edited Journals  

Krause, F. and Strang, V. (eds) 2016. Thinking Relationships Through Water, Special Issue Society and Natural Resources, 29 (6). DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2016.1151714   

Krause, F. and Strang, V. (eds) 2013. ‘Living Water: the powers and politics of a vital substance’, Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture and Ecology, Special Issue. 17(2).  

Strang, V. and Toussaint, S.  2008. (eds.) Water Ways: competition and communality in the use and management of water. Special Issue of Oceania. Vol 78. No 1. March 2008.

Strang, V. and Garner, A. 2006. (eds) Fluidscapes: water, identity and the senses, Special issue of Worldviews. Vol 10. No 2. Brill Academic Publishers.  

Journal Articles and Research Papers    

Strang, V. 2023. ‘The Monstrous Sea’, in Lagoonscapes: Venice Journal of Environmental Humanities, Ca’ Foscari University. 3(2), pp. 257-284. https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/en/edizioni4/riviste/the-venice-journal-of-environmental-humanities/

Strang, V. 2023. ‘Making Waves: the role of indigenous water beings in debates about human and non-human rights’, S. Babidge, U. Eickelkamp, L. Connor (eds). Special Issue, Oceania. 93(3), pp. 216-240.

Strang. V. 2023. ‘Living Kindness: re-imagining kinship for a more humane future’, H. Donner and V. Goddard, (eds). Special Issue,’ Kinship and the Politics of Responsibility’, Critique of Anthropology. 43(4), pp. 476-494.

Strang, V. 2023. ‘Listening to the River: representing non-human needs and interests in debates about water governance and management’, C. Allen, C. Flint, M. Thoms and R. Watts (eds), Human-River Relationships in the 21st Century, Special Issue, River Research and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.4137

Strang. V. 2023. ‘Relating to the River: new bio-cultural diversities in human engagements with water’, kritisk etnografi/Swedish Journal of Anthropology, 6(1) pp. 33-47.

Strang, V. 2023. ‘The Hard Way: volatility and stability in the Brisbane River delta’, T. Hylland Eriksen and F. Krause (eds), Making and Unmaking Volatility: contextualising crises in deltaic lifeworlds, Special Issue, Social Anthropology, 31(2), pp. 14-38. https://doi.org/10.3167/saas.2023.04132301  

Kopnina, H. and Strang, V. 2022. ‘Water Management: examining pragmatic and ethical issues for species-inclusive and sustainable water policies’, in She Hawke and Reingard Spannring (eds) ‘Critical Inter-disciplinary Approaches to Water Sustainability and Climate Change Issues’. Special Issue, Visions of Sustainability, 18, 7079 pp. 01-21. http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/visions

Strang, V. 2022. ‘Elemental Powers: water beings, nature worship, and long-term trajectories in human-environmental relations’, Swedish Journal of Anthropology, 4(2) pp.15-34. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-463871.

Strang, V. 2021. Gender and Pan-Species Democracy in the Anthropocene, in C. Notermans and A. Tonnaer (eds) Gender, Nature and Religious Re-enchantment in the Anthropocene, Special Issue, Religions, 12:x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx

Strang, V. 2021. ‘A Sustainable Future for Water’, Aqua: Journal of the International Water Association. 70(4) pp. 404-419. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2020.101

Kopnina, H. and Strang, V. 2020. ‘Re-imagining Water Management on World Water Day’, Nature Research Sustainability Community, commissioned for World Water Day March 22nd. https://sustainabilitycommunity.nature.com/users/345065-helen-kopnina/posts/63674-re-imagining-water-management-on-world-water-day

Strang, V. 2020. ‘Re-imagining the River: new environmental ethics in human engagements with water’, Commentary, One Earth, 2 (3). pp. 204-206. March 20th 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.02.011  

Strang.  V. 2019. ‘Anthropological conversations with Karl Wittfogel’s ghost’, Epilogue, in Krause, F. and Ley, L. Water, Power, Infrastructure – Ethnographic Conversations with Karl Wittfogel, Special Issue Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space.  

Rival, L. (ed), Harvey, P. Lambert, H. and Strang, V. 2019. Ethnography, Anthropology and Interdisciplinarity, Discussion in Social Analysis, special issue.  

Strang, V. 2019. ‘Relaciones Infraestructurales: agua, poder político y el surgimiento de un nuevo régimen despótico’, in Revistas De Institutio de Colombiana de Anthropología e Historia: Antropologías del agua, 55(1): 167-212. Transl. of 2016. ‘Infrastructural Relations: water, political power and the rise of a new ‘despotic regime’, in Water Alternatives, Special Issue. Water, Infrastructure and Political Rule. 9(2): 292-318.

McLeish, T. and Strang, V. 2016. ‘Evaluating Interdisciplinary Research: the Elephant in the Peer-Reviewers' Room’, in Palgrave Communications. August 2016. DOI 10.1057palcomms2016/55  

Strang, V. 2016. ‘Infrastructural Relations: water, political power and the rise of a new ‘despotic regime’, in Water Alternatives, Special Issue. Water, Infrastructure and Political Rule. 9(2): 292-318.  

Abram, S. Acciaioli, G., Baviskar, A., Kopnina, H., Nonini, D. and Strang, V. 2016. ‘Dichotomies: Yes We Need Them, But Not as Much as We Think’, in Anthropological Forum, Plenary Debate from the IUAES World Congress 2013: Evolving Humanity, Emerging Worlds 5-10th August 2013. Published online, January 2016. Taylor and Francis. Article ID: CANF 1246084  

Krause, F. and Strang, V. 2016. Introduction. ‘Thinking Relationships Through Water’, in Society and Natural Resources, 29 (6): 633-638. DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2016.1151714  

Strang, V. 2015. ‘On the Matter of Time’, in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 40(2) pp 101-123.  

Strang, V. 2014. ‘Fluid Consistencies: meaning and materiality in human engagements with water’, in Archaeological Dialogues. Cambridge University Press. 21 (2) pp 133–150.  

Strang, V. 2014. ‘Relative Materialities: bringing the concept of flow down to earth’, Commentary on F. Krause ‘Reclaiming Flow for a Lively Anthropology’, in Suomen Anthropologi: Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society. 39 (2) pp 92-96.   

rang, V. 2014. ‘The Taniwha and the Crown: defending water rights in Aotearoa/New Zealand’, in WIREs Water. Wiley. 1. pp 121-131. DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1002  

Strang, V. 2014. ‘Lording it Over the Goddess: water, gender and human-environmental relations’, in Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 30(1) pp 83-107.  

Strang, V. 2013. ‘Going Against the Flow: the biopolitics of dams and diversions’ in F. Krause and V. Strang (eds) ‘Living Water: the powers and politics of a vital substance’, in Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture and Ecology Special Issue. pp 161-173.  

Krause, F. and Strang, V. 2013. Introduction to Special Issue: ‘Living Water’, in Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture and Ecology, Special Issue, 17 (2). pp 95-102.  

Strang, V. 2011. ‘Representing Water: visual anthropology and divergent trajectories in human environmental relations’, in Anuário Antropológico. pp 213-242. https://doi.org/10.4000/aa.1175  

Strang, V. 2010. ‘Water, Culture and Power: anthropological perspectives from ‘down under’, in Insights, Journal of the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Durham. 3(14) pp 2-26.  

Strang, V. 2010. ‘The Summoning of Dragons: ancestral serpents and indigenous water rights in Australia and New Zealand’, in Anthropology News, Special Issue, The Meaning of Water, February 2010. pp 5-7.  

Strang, V. 2009 [2007]. ‘Integrating the Social and Natural Sciences in Environmental Research: a discussion paper’, in Journal of Environment, Development and Sustainability. 11 (1) pp1-18.  

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Cosmopolitan Natures: paradigms and politics in Australian environmental management’, in B. Campbell (ed) ‘Environmental Cosmopolitans’, Special issue of journal, Nature and Culture. 3(1). pp 41-62.  

Strang, V. 2006. ‘Water Recycling: an issue of substance’, in Water, the Journal of the Australian Water Association, 33(8) pp 6.  

Strang, V. 2006.A Happy Coincidence? Symbiosis and synthesis in anthropological and indigenous knowledges’, in Current Anthropology. Vol 47. No 6. pp 981-1008.  

Strang, V. 2006. ‘Turning Water Into Wine, Beef and Vegetables: material transformations along the Brisbane River’, in Transforming Cultures, 1 (2) pp 9-19. Sydney: Sydney University of Technology. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/TfC.  

Strang, V. 2005.Water Works: agency and creativity in the Mitchell River Catchment’ in special edition of The Australian Journal of Anthropology, ‘Australian Anthropologies of the Environment’, eds. J.Mulcock. C. Pocock and Y. Toussaint. Special Issue 17, Vol 16:3. pp 366-381.  

Strang, V. 2005. ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You: Aboriginal and Euro-Australian concepts of nature as self and other’, in Worldviews 9.1. pp 25-56  

Strang, V. 2005. ‘Common Senses: water, sensory experience and the generation of meaning’, in Journal of Material Culture 10 (1) pp 93-121.    

Strang, V. 2002. ‘Life Down Under: water and identity in an Aboriginal cultural landscape’, Goldsmiths College Anthropology Research Papers. No. 7. London: Goldsmiths College.  

Strang, V. 2001. ‘Of Human Bondage: the breaking in of stockmen in Northern Australia’ in Oceania, Vol 72. No 1. September 2001.pp 53-78.  

Strang, V. 2000. ‘Showing and Telling: Australian land rights and material moralities’, in Journal of Material Culture. Vol 5(3): 275-299.  

Strang, V. 1999. ‘Familiar Forms: homologues, culture and gender in Northern Australia’ in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Society, Vol 5. No 1. March 1999. pp 75-95.  

Strang, V. 1998.  'The Strong Arm of the Law: Aboriginal Rangers and Anthropology', in Australian Archaeology, December 1998, No 47. pp 20-29.   

Contributions to Edited Volumes  

Strang, V. 2022. ‘Seeing Through the Rainbow: Aboriginal Australian concepts of an ordered universe’ in Order Into Action: large-scale categories of order in the pre-modern world. Cursor mundi series, eds. K. Oschema and Christoph Mauntel, Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers. pp. 263-289.

Strang, V. 2022. ‘Identity and Agency’, in Cambridge University Press Handbook of Material Culture Studies, eds. L. De Cunzo and C. Roeber, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Strang, V. 2021. ‘Leadership in Principle: Uniting Nations to recognize the cultural value of water’, in Hydrohumanities: water discourse and environmental futures, eds. K. De Wolff, R. Faletti and I. López-Calvo, California: University of California Press. pp. 215-241.

Strang, V. 2021. ‘Foreword’ in Split Waters: the idea of water conflict, eds. L. Cortesi, and K. J. Joy, London: Routledge. pp. xvi-xix

Strang, V. 2021. ‘Human and Non-Human Rights to Water’, in Oxford Research Encylopedia of Anthropology, ed. M. Aldenderfer Oxford: Oxford University Press.  

Strang, V. 2020. ‘Materialising the State: the meaning of water infrastructure’, in Shifting States: new perspectives on security, infrastructure and political affect, eds. A. Dundon and R. Vokes, ASA Monograph, London, New York: Bloomsbury Press. pp 43-61.  

Strang, V. 2020. ‘The Rights of the River: water, culture and ecological justice’, in Conservation: integrating social and ecological justice, eds. H. Kopnina and H. Washington, New York: Springer. pp 105-119.  

Strang, V. 2019. ‘Water’, in Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology, eds. F. Stein, S. Lazar, R. Stasch, J. Robbins, A. Sanchez, M. Candea and H. Diemberger, Cambridge University: open access. http://doi.org/10.29164/19water  

Strang, V. 2019. ‘The Meaning of Water to Health: antipodean perspectives on the ‘substance of life’’, in Blue Space, Health and Wellbeing, eds. R. Foley, R. Kearns, T. Kisteman, B. Wheeler. Geographies of Health Book Series, London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis. pp 21-37.  

Strang, V. 2018. ‘Foreword’, in Water, Meaning and Creativity: multidisciplinary understandings of human-water relationships, eds. E. Roberts and K. Phillips, London: Routledge.   

Strang, V. 2018. ‘Water Rights’ in The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, ed. H. Callan, New Jersey: John Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1852  

Strang, V. 2017. ‘The Gaia Complex: ethical challenges to an anthropocentric ‘common future’’, in The Anthropology of Sustainability: beyond development and progress, eds. M. Brightman and J. Lewis, London, New York: Palgrave. pp. 207-228. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-56636-2_12  

Strang, V. 2017. ‘Re-Imagined Communities: the transformational potential of interspecies ethnography in water policy development’, in The Oxford Handbook on Water Politics and Policy, eds. Ken Conca and Erika Weinthal, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 142-164.  

Strang, V. 2016. ‘Justice for All: inconvenient truths and reconciliation in human-non-human relations’ in Routledge International Handbook of Environmental Anthropology, eds. H. Kopnina and E. Shoreman-Ouimet, London, New York: Routledge. pp 263-278.  

Strang, V. 2016. ‘Justice for All: inconvenient truths and reconciliation in human-non-human relations’ in Major Works in Anthropology: Environmental Anthropology, Volume 2. London: Taylor and Francis. pp 263-278. Reprinted from Routledge International Handbook of Environmental Anthropology, eds. H. Kopnina and E. Shoreman-Ouimet, 2016. Abingdon, New York: Routledge. pp 263-278.  

Strang, V. 2015. ‘Reflecting Nature: water beings in history and imagination’, in Waterworlds: anthropology in fluid environments, eds. K. Hastrup and F. Hastrup, Oxford, New York: Berghahn. pp 248-278.  

Strang, V. 2013. ‘Conceptual Relations: water, ideologies and theoretical subversions’, in Thinking With Water, eds. C. Chen, J. Macleod and A. Neimanis, Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press. pp 185-211.  

Strang, V. 2013. ‘Dam Nation: Cubbie Station and the waters of the Darling’, in The Social Life of Water in a Time of Crisis, ed. J. Wagner, Oxford, New York: Berghahn. pp 36-60.  

Strang, V. 2012. ‘Water, Land and Territory’, in A Handbook of Social Anthropology, eds. R. Fardon, O. Harris, T. Marchand, M. Nuttall, C.  Shore, V. Strang and R. Wilson, Association of Social Anthropologists of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, London: Sage. pp 312-328.  

Strang, V. 2012. ‘Extremely Private: water trading and the commoditization of water’, in Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: emerging trends, sustainable futures? eds. Johnston, B., Hiwasaki, L., Klaver, I., Ramos-Castillo, A., Strang, V., Paris: UNESCO. pp 257-260  

Strang, V. 2012. ‘Diverting Water: cultural plurality and public water features in an urban environment’, in Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: emerging trends, sustainable futures? eds. Johnston, B., Hiwasaki, L., Klaver, I., Ramos-Castillo, A., Strang, V., Paris: UNESCO. Paris: UNESCO. pp 97-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1774-9

Strang, V. 2011. ‘Elusive Forms: materiality and cultural diversity in the ownership of water’, in Property Rights and Sustainability: the evolution of property rights to meet ecological challenges, eds. D. Grinlinton and P. Taylor, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV.  

Strang, V. 2011. ‘Fluid Forms: owning water in Australia’, in Ownership and Appropriation, eds. V. Strang and M. Busse, ASA Monograph, Oxford, New York: Berg. pp 171-195.  

Busse, M. and Strang, V. 2011. ‘Introduction’, in Ownership and Appropriation, eds. V. Strang and M. Busse, ASA Monograph. Oxford, New York: Berg. pp 1-20.  

Strang, V. 2010. ‘Mapping Histories: cultural landscapes and walkabout methods’, in Environmental Social Sciences: methods and research design, eds. I. Vaccaro, E.A. Smith and S. Aswani, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp 132-156.  

Strang, V. 2009. ‘Water Sports: a tug-of-war over the river’, in Tourism Power and Culture: anthropological perspectives, eds. J. Carrier and D. Macleod, Bristol: Channel View Press. pp 27-46.   

Strang, V. 2009. ‘Water and Indigenous Religion: Aboriginal Australia’ in The Idea of Water, eds. T. Tvedt and T. Oestigaard, London: I.B Tauris, pp 343-377.  

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Wellsprings of Belonging: water and community regeneration in Queensland’ in Water Ways: competition and communality in the use and management of water, eds. V. Strang and S. Toussaint, Special Issue of Oceania. 78 (1) pp 30-45.  

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Introduction’ in Water Ways: competition and communality in the use and management of water, eds. V. Strang and S. Toussaint, Special Issue of Oceania. 78(1) pp 1-4.  

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Blue, Green and Red: combining energies in defence of water’ in Deep Blue: critical reflections on nature, religion and water, eds. S. Shaw, and A. Francis, London: Equinox Publishing. pp 253-274.                                                                                                             

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Uncommon Ground: landscapes as social geography’, in Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, eds. B. David and J. Thomas, World Archaeological Congress (WAC) Research Handbook Series, Walnut Creek CA: Left Coast Press. pp 51-59.

Strang, V. 2008. ‘The Social Construction of Water’, in B. David and J. Thomas (eds) Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, World Archaeological Congress (WAC) Research Handbook Series, Walnut Creek CA: Left Coast Press. pp 123-130.  

Strang, V. 2006. ‘Aqua Culture: the flow of cultural meanings in water’, in Water: histories, cultures, ecologies, eds. M. Leybourne and A. Gaynor, Nedlands: University of Western Australia Press. pp 68-80.  

Strang, V. 2006. ‘Substantial Connections: water and identity in an English cultural landscapes’, in Fluidscapes: water, identity and the senses, eds. V. Strang and A. Garner, Special issue of Worldviews. Vol 10. No 2. Brill Academic Publishers. pp 155-177.

Strang, V. and Garner, A. 2006. Introduction, in Fluidscapes: water, identity and the senses. eds. V. Strang and A. Garner, Special issue of Worldviews, Vol 10. No 2. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands pp : 147-154.  

Strang, V. 2005. ‘Meaningful Differences: dis-integrated management in the Mitchell River catchment, in Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Environments, ed. M. Minnegal, Melbourne: Sage.  

Strang, V. 2005. ‘Taking the Waters: cosmology, gender and material culture in the appropriation of water resources’ in Water, Gender and Development, eds. A. Coles and T. Wallace, Oxford, New York: Berg. pp 21-38.  

Strang, V. 2004. ‘Raising the Dead: reflecting on Native Title process’ in Crossing Boundaries: cultural, legal, historical and practice issues in Native Title, ed. S. Toussaint, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp 9-23.  

Strang, V. 2004. ‘Close Encounters of the Third World Kind: indigenous knowledge and relations to land’, in Development and Local Knowledge: new approaches to issues in natural resources management, conservation and agriculture, eds. A. Bicker. J. Pottier and P. Sillitoe, London: Routledge. pp 93-117.  

Strang, V. 2004. [2001] ‘Poisoning the Rainbow: cosmology and pollution in Cape York’ in Mining and Indigenous Lifeworlds in Australia and Papua New Guinea, eds. A. Rumsey and J. Weiner, Wantage: Sean Kingston Publishing. pp 208-225.  

Strang, V. 2003. ‘An Appropriate Question? The Propriety of Anthropological Analysis in the Australian Political Arena’, in The Ethics of Anthropology: debates and dilemmas, ed. P. Caplan, New York: Routledge. pp 172-194.  

Strang, V. 2003. ‘Moon Shadows: Aboriginal and European heroes in an Australian landscape’, in Landscape, Memory and History, eds. P. Stewart and A. Strathern, London: Pluto Press. pp 108-135.  

Strang, V. 2001. ‘Negotiating the River: cultural tributaries in Far North Queensland’, in Contested Landscapes: movement, exile and place, eds. B. Bender and M. Winer, Oxford, New York: Berg. pp 69-86.

Strang, V. 2001. 'Aboriginal Women and Sacred Landscapes in Northern Australia' in Women as "Sacred Custodians" of the Earth, eds. E. Low and S. Tremayne, Oxford, New York: Berghahn. pp 63-80.  

Strang, V. 2001. ‘Oceania’ in Mythologies of the World, eds. M. McKenzie, R. Prime, L. George, and R. Dunning, London: Hodder. pp 140-151.  

Strang, V. 2001. ‘Showing and Telling: Australian land rights and material moralities’, in Ethnoarchaeology and Hunter-gatherers: pictures at an exhibition. eds. K.J. Fewster and M. Zvelebil, BAR Int. Series 955: Oxford. pp 101-112.  

Strang, V. 2000. ‘Not So Black and White: the effects of Aboriginal Law on Australian legislation’, in Mythical Lands, Legal Boundaries: rites and rights in historical and cultural context, eds. A. Abramson and D. Theodossopoulos, London: Pluto Press. pp 93-115.  

Strang, V. 1998. 'Competing Perceptions of Landscape in Kowanyama, North Queensland' in The Archaeology and Anthropology of Landscape: shaping your landscape, eds. P. Ucko, and R. Layton, London: Routledge. pp 206-218.  

Strang, V. 1997. 'Cultural Theory and Modelling Practice', in Energy Modelling Beyond Economics and Technology, eds. B. Giovannini and A. Baranzini, Geneva: Centre Universitaire D’Etude des Problemes de L’Energie.  

Strang, V. 1996. 'Sustaining Tourism in Far North Queensland' in People and Tourism in Fragile Environments, ed. M. Price, London: John Wiley. pp 51-67.  

Strang, V. 1987. ‘Common Shares in the Environment: Submission of the Ontario Government to the World Commission on Environment and Development’, in Our Common Future, The World Commission on Environment and Development, [The Brundtland Report]. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.  

Reports and other publications  

Strang, V. 2022. Independent Expert Anthropologist’s Report in the matter of Dennis Murphy Tipakalippa (Applicant) v National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and Santos NA Barossa Pty Ltd (Santos).

Strang, V. 2017. Contribution to Draft UN Preamble and Principles for Water, The Hague: United Nations High Level Panel on Water.  

Strang, V. 2017. Valuing the Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions of Water, Report to the United Nations High Level Panel on Water.  

Strang, V. and McLeish, T. 2015. Evaluating Interdisciplinary Research: a practical guide, Durham: Durham University, Institute of Advanced Study.  

McLeish, T. and Strang, V. 2015. ‘Recognising the Value of Interdisciplinary Research’, Research Fortnight, e-publication. August 5th, 2015.    

Strang, V. and McLeish, T. 2015. ‘How to Value Interdisciplinary Research’, TheConversationUK, e-publication. https://theconversation.com/how-to-value-research-that-crosses-more-than-one-discipline-45324  

McLeish, T. and Strang, V. 2014. Leading Interdisciplinary Research: transforming the academic landscape, Stimulus Paper, The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/  

McLeish T. and Strang, V. 2014. ‘Interdisciplinarity should be at the Heart of the Academy’, TheConversationUK, e-publication.  

Strang, V. and Bell, S. 2013. Navigating Interdisciplinarity, e-publication. Durham University: Institute of Advanced Study.    

Strang, V. 2012. Responses to Crown Counsel, Waitangi Tribunal, Maori Water Claim WAI 2358, July 2012. New Zealand.

Strang, V. 2012. Responses to Crown Counsel, High Court and Supreme Court, New Zealand, Māori Water Claim WAI 2537. July 2012. New Zealand.

Strang, V. 2012.  Comparative International Claims to Water and Water Management by Indigenous Peoples, Advisory report for Māori claimants, WAI 2358, Waitangi Tribunal, High Court, Supreme Court. July 2012. New Zealand.  

Strang, V. and Busse, M. 2009. Taniwha Springs - Indigenous Rights and Interests in Water: comparative and international perspectives, advisory report for Ngā Puna Wai o Te Tokotoru (Māori Council) Auckland, New Zealand.     

Strang, V. 2008. ‘Privatisation of Assets Never Cut and Dry’, Opinion piece in New Zealand Herald Thursday Dec 4th 2008. pp13.   Strang, V. 2008. ‘Owning Water’, Viewpoint in The University of Auckland News, 21st November 2008. p5.  

Strang, V. 2008. Commentary in River Journeys, S. Scheibenbogen (ed), International River Foundation Book, Australia: IRF. p51.  

Strang, V. 2007. A Conceptual Framework for UNESCO’s Ecohydrology Programme. Paper prepared for Scientific Advisory Committee, UNESCO International Ecohydrology Programme.  

Strang, V. 2006. Social Ecohydrology: integrating the social and natural sciences, Research Paper prepared for Scientific Advisory Committee, UNESCO International Ecohydrology Programme.  

Strang, V., Toussaint, S., Seeman, M. 2004.  ‘Humans, Water Use and Resource Management’, in Social Innovations in Natural Resource Management: a handbook of social research in natural resource management in Queensland, C. Richards and L. Aitken, (eds), Queensland: Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Government. pp 81-83.  

Strang, V. 2002. ‘Water - the Concept’, in Water Magazine, January 2002, No 139/140. London: Water UK.  

Strang, V. 2001. [2000] Evaluating Water: cultural beliefs and values about water quality, use and conservation, London: Water UK.  

Strang, V. 2001. Country Bla We: Kunjen Country on the Cape York Peninsula. North Queensland: Kowanyama Community Council.  

Strang, V. 1996. Environmental Values and the EU Energy Label: a qualitative and quantitative analysis, Report to the Department of the Environment, Oxford: Energy and Environment Programme, Environmental Change Unit, Oxford University.

Strang, V. 1995. 'The Adoption and Implementation of an Environmental Policy at Oxford University', advisory paper to Oxford University Hebdomadal Council.  

Strang, V. 1995. 'Cultural and Behavioural Issues in Domestic Energy Use' in Domestic Equipment and Carbon Dioxide Emissions (DECADE) Second Year Report, 1995, Oxford: Energy and Environment Programme, Environmental Change Unit, Oxford University.  

Strang, V. 1994. 'Behavioural Issues in Domestic Energy Use', in Domestic Equipment and Carbon Dioxide Emissions (DECADE) First Year Report, 1994, Oxford: Energy and Environment Programme, Environmental Change Unit, Oxford University.  

Strang, V. 1994. Kunjen Country: Aboriginal landscape in the Alice-Mitchell Rivers National Park Area, North Queensland: Kowanyama Community Council.  

Strang, V. 1993. Preliminary Report on the Cultural Mapping of the Alice-Mitchell Rivers National Park, North Queensland: Kowanyama Community Council.  

Strang, V. 1988. Annual Report of the Environmental Assessment Board, Toronto: Government of Ontario Press.  

Strang, V. 1986. Acidification: Warning Signs, Ministry of the Environment, Environmental Education Series, Toronto: Government of Ontario Press.  

Strang, V. 1985. Support Your Lake, Ministry of the Environment, Environmental Education Series, Toronto: Government of Ontario Press.  

Exhibitions  

2013. In St Cuthbert’s Time, Holy Cross Chapel, Durham Cathedral, sound installation, CD and visual material, collaborative project with Chris Watson, Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University.  

2012. About Face: pastels by Henry Tonks, Durham Light Infantry Museum, project supported by Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University,  

2011. AQUA: A Journey into the World of Water, Auckland War Memorial Museum, collaboration/advice on exhibition design, Auckland University.  

2005-6. RiverFestival, advisory group, Brisbane RiverFestival organisation.  

2002. Cultural Heritage Collection, collaboration/advice for Kowanyama Land and Natural Resources Management Office, Kowanyama Aboriginal Community, Cape York, Australia.  

2001. Firth Photographs: a photographic exhibition at Raymond Firth’s Centenary, in collaboration with Peter Loizos, LSE. Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth, New Zealand House, London.  

Invited Keynotes, Public Lectures, Seminars and Debates

2024. Water Beings as Agents of Change in Human-Environmental Relations, online event, Wisdoms of Water: an exploration in memory, mythology and freedom, June 4th 2024.

2024. The Dorset Otter-Dragon: water beings, art and agency in the Stour River Valley. Keynote, international conference, Sacred Waters: an international and transdisciplinary conference, Buxton, UK. June 30th -July 3rd 2024.

2024. Serpent Tales: water beings and transformational narratives in contemporary environmental activism. Keynote. International Conference. The 19th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research, Folk Narratives in the Changing World, Riga, University of Latvia, June 17th-24th, 2024.

2024. Degrees of Difference: interdisciplinary flows in human-water relations. Lectio Magistralis, Guest lecture for graduation ceremony, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice. May 23rd, 2024.

2024. A City Built With Water: elemental co-creativity in the Venetian lagoon. Keynote lecture, International Conference, Inland Waterscapes, Udine University. May 22nd-25th, 2024.

2024. Water Beings: aquatic deities in diverse cultural and historical contexts, Invited lecture. University of South Florida, Tampa, April 1st 2024.

2024. Personifying the River: the creative agency of water beings, Paper, international symposium, Riverine: a multi-species approach to decolonising landscapes, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, March 25th-30th, 2024.  

2024. Divine Alternatives: water beings and their transformational potential in human-non-human relations, Keynote, International Conference, Being with Water Otherwise: sacred knowledge and sustainable water-human relations, University of Cambridge, April 15th-16th, 2024.

2024. Nāga Sagas: the creative journeys of water beings across Asia, Keynote, International Conference, Water management in Inner Asia: from Anthropocene to ‘Lusadocene’?, University of Cambridge, March 15th-16th, 2024.

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Seminar paper, Centre for Water Cultures, University of Hull, Dec 6th, 2023.

2023. The Anthropology of Wonder: exploring human responses to water and light, Public lecture, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, November 6th, 2023.

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Public lecture/book launch, Charles University, Prague, October 11th, 2023.

2023. Water Beings: aquatic deities and hydro-poetics in diverse cultural and historical contexts, Keynote lecture, international conference, Hydro-poetics: an ecocritical perspective on Eastern European Arts (1960s-1990s). Berlin, October 5th, 2023.

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Public lecture, Arbroath, Hospitalfields Festival, ‘Water and Time’, Aug 5th, 2023.

2023. From Legal Rights to Social and Material Sustainability in Human-Non-Human Relations, Invited paper, international colloquium on The Non-Human Turn in Law, June 19th-20th, 2023, Queen Mary, University of London. 

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Book launch, Chr. Michelson Institute, University of Bergen, May 26th, 2023.

2023. Rising from the Deep: the role of indigenous water beings in conflicts over water, invited lecture, Bergen University, May 25th, 2023.  

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Book launch, Royal Anthropological Institute, London, May 18th, 2023.

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Public lecture, Cerne Abbas, Dorset, April 28th, 2023.

2023. Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis, Book launch, Linacre College Oxford, April 20th, 2023.

2023. Achieving Social and Ecological Justice Through Disciplinary Equality: a view from Anthropology, Workshop plenary, Aalborg University, March 27th, 2023.

2023. Making Waves: the power of indigenous water beings in contemporary debates about water ownership and governance, Seminar paper, School of Geography and the Environment and the Oxford Water Network, February 22nd, 2023.

2023. Equitable Relations: re-imagining sustainability from a non-anthropocentric perspective, International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Decentering Sustainability: towards local solutions for global environmental problems. Ljubljana, February 1st-3rd, 2023.

2022. Turning the Tide: indigenous water beings and multi-species democracy, Keynote lecture, Taranoa Forum, Venice Biennale, Venice. October 11th-13th, 2022.

2022. Living With the River: new ways of thinking about water, public lecture, Blandford Stour Valley Project, Blandford, Dorset, September 16th 2022.  

2022. Interdisciplinarity and Equality,  Presentation. Polymer Physics Meeting - Retirement Conference for Dame Athene Donald, Cambridge University, September 12-13th, 2022.

2022. Water, Democracy and Diversity: bringing new voices and values into contemporary water governance, Water and Value Workshop, Living Sustainably with Water: an interdisciplinary challenge, Glasgow University, May 13th 2022.

2022. Relating to the River: new bio-cultural diversities in human engagements with water, Public lecture, Vega Day, Swedish Society of Anthropology and Geography, Royal Castle in Stockholm, April 25th. 2022. 

2022. Biocultural Heritage: a non-anthropocentric perspective on heritage and the global commons, Symposium paper, Commoning, Appropriation and Dispossession: heritage as claim making, University of Bergen, April 24-25th, 2022. 

2022. Water, Equality and Diversity: an interdisciplinary approach to inter-species relations, Online seminar series, Water Institute Water Talks, University of Waterloo, Canada, April 21st, 2022.

2021. Water Beings in the City: re-imagining urban environments in partnership with the river, Online keynote lecture, symposium, Urban nature, Urban Culture: rethinking water in Japan’s cities, Sophia University, Tokyo. October 24th, 2021.

2021. We Are Water: aquatic deities and non-human powers, Online public lecture, I Am Water Exhibition, Eco Art Space, Santa Fe, New Mexico. July 22nd 2021.

2021. The Power of Water, Keynote lecture, GroundWork Gallery, Kings Lynn. June 25th. 2021.

2021. Volatile Waters: living with floods in the Brisbane River Delta, Online Public lecture, Alterra Global Education Initiatives, USA. June 7th, 2021.

2021. Sensitive Streams, Public panel discussion with Matterlurgy artists at Arts Catalyst event, May 27th, 2021.

2021. The Purity of Water, Keynote lecture, GroundWork Gallery, Kings Lynn. May 21st, 2021.

2021. The Hard Way: volatility and stability in the waters of the Brisbane River delta, workshop paper, Making and Unmaking Volatility: contextualising crises in deltaic lifeworlds, Cologne, January 13-15th, 2021.

2020. Water Beings: from nature worship to the current environmental crisis. Feature seminar in London School of Economics’ Social Life of Climate Change seminar series.  December 1st.  

2020. Key Ingredients for Successful Interdisciplinary Research, Keynote presentation online, Memorial University, Newfoundland, November 23rd, 2020.

2020. A Cup of Water, Introductory online keynote for Object America, with follow up video Q&A. March 27th, www.objectamerica.org

2020. Rethinking Policy and Practice: a new ethical model for sustainable engagements with water, invited lecture, Oxford Water Talks, Oxford University, March 12th, 2020.    

2020. Provoking Questions: seeking consistency in the evaluation of interdisciplinary research, Keynote lecture, 4th Annual Research Excellence Framework Forum, London. Inside Government. March 3rd, 2020.  

2020. ‘Wisdom Begins With Wonder’: evolutionary and cultural perspectives on human engagements with water and light. Invited seminar paper, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University, January 31st, 2020.  

2019. Challenges in Assessing Interdisciplinary Research, Public lecture. CIRCUS, Uppsala University, Sept 24th, 2019.   

2019. Working With Water: from dominion to conviviality in human-environmental relations. Public lecture, conference, Aquatic Cultures and the Digital Environmental Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, 9th-10th August, 2019.  

2019. Serpentine Skies: celestial journeys with hydrotheological water beings. Invited keynote lecture, Symposium. Explorer Notre Rapport à L’eau du Ciel, École Polytechnique, Paris. 12-15th June, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw2u1YGtpyQ .  

2019. Future Life with Water: a vision of more convivial human-environmental relations, Invited keynote lecture, Symposium, Life With water: a transdisciplinary summit on future challenges and visions, Art Hub Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 11-12th June 2019.

2019. The Lore of the Land. Public Seminar. Horniman Museum, London. May 2nd 2019.  

2019. Meanings of Water: looking backwards to move forwards. Invited keynote lecture, Colloquium, New Knowledges and Practices in the UK Water Sector: learning and sharing across the interpretive social sciences, Manchester, March 25th, 2019.  

2019. Bringing the Anthropology of Water into International Policy: a project with the United Nations. Invited seminar paper, Manchester University Department of Anthropology, February 11th, 2019.  

2018. Looking Out From Ethnography: celebrating cultural diversity and cross-cultural comparison. Invited paper, Conference of the American Anthropology Association, San Jose, Nov 14th-18th 2018.  

2018. Water infrastructure and how it governs relations between people, the state and non-human beings. Invited keynote. Future Water Symposium, Cape Town, September 14th 2018.  

2018. An Urgent Global Conversation: the United Nations and the value of water. Seminar paper, Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town, September 6th, 2018.  

2018. The River as a Person: water and ecological justice in New Zealand. Seminar, Department of Anthropology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, September 4th, 2018.   

2018. Bringing Diverse Cultural and Spiritual Values in Relation to Water into Infrastructural Decision-Making. Invited keynote presentation for NAIAD (United Nations) workshop, Understanding and Capturing the Value of Nature Based Solutions for Water Risks Management, Montpellier, July 11th-12th, 2018.  

2018. Paradise Lost: from veneration to alienation in human-non-human relations. Invited keynote lecture for workshop, Gender and Nature, Netherlands Association of Gender Studies and Feminist Anthropology, Radboud University Nijmegen, June 15th, 2018.  

2018. What Will it Take to Ensure a Future Liveable Earth? The Anthropology of sustainability, Roundtable, Centre for the Anthropology of Sustainability, University College London. May 10th, 2018.    

2018. ‘Wonderful’ Water: the transformative potential of aesthetic engagements with water and light, invited seminar, Gothenberg University, April 26th, 2018.  

2018. Softly Softly: interdisciplinarity doesn’t have to be hard, Invited presentation, ‘Thinking Big’ workshop, School of Advanced Research, University of London, Senate House Jan 18th-19th 2018.  

2017. Politics in Principle: bringing cultural values into the mainstream with the UN High Level Panel on Water, Invited keynote, AAS, ASA, ASAANZ joint international conference, Adelaide University, Dec 9th-15th.  

2017. Water Beings: historical and contemporary religious beliefs in the powers of water. Invited public lecture, The British Museum, in relation to exhibition Faith and Society/Living with Gods

2017. ’Trust Me I’m a Doctor‘: the role of experts in public debates, Invited public lecture, Dulwich, St Barnabas Public Forum, London, September 21st.  

2017. Empowering Infrastructures: water, steel and stone, Invited keynote. 5TH International symposium ‘Why the World Needs Anthropologists’, Powering the Planet, Durham University, October 28-29th, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPJd18M63t8  

2017. Water: Ways of Knowing and Being, Invited keynote. Conference, University of California, Merced. April 7-8th.  

2017. Changing Water Ways: bringing new epistemological flows into international water policy, Invited keynote. University of Maynooth, Ireland, March 22nd 2017.  

2017. Finding the Source: how cultural values flow into water use and management, Invited public lecture. Water Corporation of Western Australia, Perth Australia, February 27th, 2017.  

2017. Watershed. Invited public discussion. Perth International Artists‘ Festival, Perth Australia, February 23-26th, 2017.  

2017. Catalysing academic reform through interdisciplinary practice, Invited keynote. Leeds Trinity University, January 27th, 2017.

2016. Creating an Interdisciplinary Environment: Durham University’s Institute of Advanced Study. Invited paper. HEFCE Interdisciplinary Research: policy and practice. Conference, British Academy, December 8th, 2016.    

2016. Water Crisis: catastrophe and community, Invited panel discussant, American Anthropological Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, November 16th-20th, 2016.  

2016. Just Water By Design: collaborations between anthropologists, engineers, and communities, Invited roundtable presentation, American Anthropological Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, November 16th-20th, 2016.   

2016. From the Inside Out: interdisciplinary practice as a catalyst for reform. Invited keynote paper, Academy of Social Sciences, Conference on Interdisciplinarity, October 11th, 2016.  

2016. Seeing Through the Rainbow: Aboriginal Australian concepts of an ordered universe. Invited paper, Heidelberg ‘Cluster of Excellence’ Research Programme Conference, Large-scale Categories of Order in the Pre-modern World. University of Heidelberg, Germany, November 10th-12th, 2016.  

2016. Challenging Polarities: rethinking interdisciplinary collaborations between the social and physical sciences. Invited lecture. Coimbra Workshop, Turku, Finland. September 15th-16th, 2016.  

2016. Social Construction and Senses of Water, Invited panel discussant, 4th International Landscape Archaeology Conference, Uppsala University August 23rd-25th 2016.    

2016. Infrastructural Relations: water, political power and the rise of a new ‘despotic regime’. Invited paper. European Association of Social Anthropologists Biennial Conference, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20th-23rd July, 2016.   

2016. The Role of the Institute of Advanced Study, and Creating an Interdisciplinary Environment, Invited presentations, UBIAS into Impact: Networking our academics to meet global challenges, UBIAS international meeting. University of Birmingham and Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-Upon-Avon, June 20th-21st, 2016.  

2016. Hydrotheological Cycles: water serpent beings and religious spatio-temporalities. Invited seminar paper, Water and Religious Life in the Roman and Late Antique Near East, Workshop, Durham, March 23rd, 2016.  

2016. Innovative Approaches to the Water/Energy Nexus, Invited paper, NSF National Science Foundation Research Seminar, School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 22nd-26th, 2016.  

2016. Complex relations: interdisciplinary research and human-non-human relations in river catchment research, Invited seminar. University of York, February 12th, 2016.  

2015. The Gaia Complex: bioethical challenges to an anthropocentric ‘common future‘. Invited paper. Centre for the Anthropology of Sustainability, Inaugural Conference, February 12-14th 2015.  

2014. Anthropology and Interdisciplinarity: making use of social skills in collaborative research, Invited public lecture, University of Helsinki, September 10th 2014.  

2014. Water Rights and Bioethical Relations: a case study from Aotearoa/New Zealand.  Invited lecture. University of Lausanne, May 22nd 2014.  

2014. Navigating Interdisciplinarity in River Catchment Research. Invited presentation, UNESCO International Ecohydrology Workshop, Paris, May 20-21st 2014.   2013. Water: sustaining harmonious human-environmental relations, Invited plenary. Beijing Forum, November 2013.  

2013. Justice for People Must Come Before Justice for the Environment, Hallsworth Plenary Debate, IUEAS Conference, University of Manchester, August 7th, 2013.  

2013. The Taniwha and the Crown: defending water rights, indigenous values and the ‘common good’ in New Zealand. Invited public lecture, Greenwich Water Talks, Greenwich University, June 20th 2013.  

2013. On The Matter of Time, Conference. Invited plenary, Temporal Regimes, Keynote, University of Oslo, June 5th-8th, 2013.

2013. Lording it over the Goddess: water, gender and human-environmental relations. Invited keynote, Sociology of Religion Conference, Durham, April 9th-11th, 2013.  

2013. One Sunday Morning: history, materiality and the Lambton Worm. Invited public lecture, Castle Cutting Edge Public Lecture Series, February 14th, 2013.  

2012. Moving Water: ideology and hydrology in human-environmental relations. Invited lecture, Climate Change Seminar Series, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Dec 5th 2012.  

2012. Fluid Consistencies: meaning and materiality in human engagements with water. Invited lecture, University of Kent, Canterbury, Dec 4th, 2012.  

2012. Water, Culture and Sustainable River Management. Invited keynote, International Symposium, Korea Environment Institute (KEI), Seoul. September 13th-14th 2012.  

2012. Fluid Consistencies: meaning and materiality in human engagements with water. Invited lecture, Waterworlds Workshop, Copenhagen, Sept 3rd-5th, 2012.  

2012. Anthropology and Interdisciplinarity: making use of social skills in collaborative research. Invited plenary, Anthropology in the World Conference, Royal Anthropological Institute, British Museum, London June 8-10th 2012.  

2012. Matters of Substance: meanings and materiality in human-environmental relations. Invited lecture, Colloquium, The Anthropology of Resources, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada, April 12-15th, 2012.  

2011. The Political Ecology of Fountains. Invited public lecture, Yunnan University, June 23rd, 2011.  

2011. Living Water, Living Culture: the rainbow serpent and Aboriginal heritage in Cape York. Invited public lecture, International Day for Monuments and Sites, Cairns Institute, the Ministry of Environment and Resources and the International Council on Monuments and Sites, James Cook University, Cairns, April 18th 2011.  

2010. Cultural Aspects of Water Management and Community Involvement in Decision-Making. Invited Keynote Lecture. Annual Conference of the Australian Water Association, March 7-10th, 2010.  

2010. Global Issues – Water. Invited public Lecture, University of Auckland, March 24th, 2010.  

2009. Water, Culture and Power: anthropological perspectives from ‘down under’. Invited public lecture, St John’s College, Durham University, November 19th, 2009.   

2007. Social Ecohydrology: anthropology, ecology and hydrology in the Brisbane River catchment. Invited public lecture, University of La Plata, Argentina, March 7th 2007.  

2006. Under the Surface: water, culture and power. Inaugural lecture, University of Auckland, October 10th, 2006.  

2005. Social Agency and Water Use in South Queensland. Invited presentation, Environment Waikato, Hamilton NZ, November 2005. 

2005.  Turning Water Into Wine, Beef and Vegetables: material transformations along the Brisbane River. Invited, plenary, International River Symposium, Brisbane, September 2005.  

2004. Social Flows: anthropological perspectives on water use and management in Queensland. Invited public lecture, Australian Water Association Forum. Brisbane, October 2004.  

2003. Holding Water: an anthropological approach to water resource conflicts. Inaugural lecture, Auckland University of Technology, November 2003.  

Media Interviews/Consultations

2024. Interview with Luke Clancy, Lyric FM. The Culture File Weekly: Water Beings, January 19th, 2024. https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/22344921-the-culture-file-weekly-200124-water-being-and-we/

2023. Interview with Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 4. Thinking Allowed. September 13th, 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001qdyq

2023. Interview with Gerardo Nicoletta for Environmental Ideologies website, MISTRA Environmental Communication Research Programme, Charles University of Prague. June 23rd, 2023. https://eidmap.commedia.wiki/

2023. Podcast, ‘Water Beings, Human-Nature Relations and the Environmental Crisis’, interview with Sidsel Marie Henriksen, Anthropology on Air, University of Bergen. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5b9gOxuEb8J0YTcDFQ8WNl?si=62b879a432064844 Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/anthropology-on-air/id1676462743?i=1000616792814  May 25th, 2023. Republished on Regnfang (https://regnfang.nu) September 2023.

2023. Interview with Slovenia National Radio, Sustainability. Ljubljana University, Feb 3rd, 2023.

2023. Tin Drum, interview for Medusa project. A Conversation with Yoyo Munk. London: Hurtwood.

2022. Radio Art Zone. Collaborative sessions in Riverrun Radio Show, David Buckland. July 8th-9th, 2022.

2019. BBC Radio 4. Sunday, interview on Aboriginal culture and Uluru. October 27th, 2019.  

2019. BBC Radio 3. Free Thinking, interview with Jaqueline Smith on ‘Water’.  

2019. BBC Radio 3. March 31st. Free Thinking Festival, interview with Rana Mitter on ‘Emotion: 20 Words for Joy’. Sage Theatre, Gateshead.  

2018. Expert advice for PBS Water series, ‘The Molecule that Made Us’. Charlotte Lathane, Associate Producer, Passion Pictures. May 31st, 2018.  

2018. Interview with Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education Supplement, Jan 18th, Thinking Big event at London University School of Advanced Study. Reported in ‘Interdisciplinarity and global view ‘priorities for humanities’’. Jan 20th, 2018.  

2017. Blog for British Museum website. A Winding Trail: following serpents, dragons and other water beings around the world.  

2017. Media interview on water and energy. Antropología 2.0. October 29th. Powering the Planet conference, Durham UK.  

2017. Consultation with Arts Catalyst, London. Project on canals.  

2016. Interview for article about ‘Durham’s Institute of Advanced Study’ in Bulgarian popular magazine, BBC Knowledge (ББС Знание). June 2016.  

2016. Interview about ‘Water and Health’, with Franziska Draeger, for article in Apotheken Umschau, February 3rd,   

2015. BBC Radio 4. Sunday November 22nd. Pick of the Week, section from Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival, interview with Rana Mitter on ‘Old Ways, New Directions’. November 8th. Sage Theatre, Gateshead.  

2015. BBC Radio 3. November 8th. Free Thinking Festival, interview with Rana Mitter on ‘Old Ways, New Directions’. Sage Theatre, Gateshead. Programme broadcast on Radio 3. November 16th.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p037vbv9  

2015. Nature, interview with Heidi Ledford, for feature on Interdisciplinary Research. August 10th. Published September 16th.  

2015. Consultation on ‘Ownership’ for BBC Radio 4 series Future Proofing, interviewer/producer Marnie Chesterton. 4.8.15.  

2015. Geographical Magazine, interview with Tom Hart, on Water: culture and nature. January 20th 2015.

2014. Nautilus Magazine, interview with science writer Caspar Henderson, Why Light Inspires Ritual, Issue 11.  http://nautil.us/issue/11/light/why-light-inspires-ritual   

2014. 7th May. BBC Tees. News programme, interview with Mike Parr.  

2013. 26th June. BBC 4. Today Programme, interview with Evan Davis and Justin Webb.  

2013. Thinking With Water, The Freshwater Blog interview, Paul Jepson. www.biofreshblog.org  

2013. Global Overheating web site, Global Resource Use, interview, Lorenz Khazaleh. http://www.sv.uio.no/sai/english/research/projects/overheating/news/  

2010. May 8th, New Zealand Celsias, http://www.celsias.co.nz/article/academic-wades-water-debate/

2008. Tautoko FM, Interview with Lani Souter,  

2008 2nd Dec. BFM, Auckland. Ready, Steady, Learn, interviewer Adam Puttick.  

2006. April 27th, Radio NZ. The Science Programme, Interviewer, Dean Williams.  

2005.  New Zealand Herald on Sunday interview, Theresa O’Connor.  

2006. Feb 4th, Radio NZ. This Way Up, interview, Simon Morton.  

2006. April 23rd The Truth Files, interview, Great Southern Television, New Zealand.  

2005. Discovery Channel, advisory work for Cineflix documentary The Greatest Ever.  

2004. Planet FM Radio, Auckland. Water and Cultural Meaning, interview Andrew Melville.  

2003. Indigenous FM. Australia, interview, Water and Indigenous Issues.  

2003. TVNZ (New Zealand), Flipside: Rites of Passage, interview Vanessa Clarke.  

2003. ABC Radio Australia, interview, The Meaning of Water.   1

999. BBC Radio 4. Turning World: Indigenous Rights, interview Jenni Murray.  

1995. BBC World Service. Shapes of Power, interview, Elizabeth Edwards.  

1994. BBC World Service. Animals of Power, interview, Elizabeth Edwards.  

Conference/Workshop Organisation  

2017. Scales of Governance: how we rule ourselves and each other, IAS Public Debate, June 22nd, 2017, Chartered Accountants Hall, London.  

2017. Anthropology and Engineering, in collaboration with anthropologists and engineers from School of Advanced Research, Santa Fe, University of Florida, Manchester University, UCL and Newcastle University. Workshop, May 22nd-25th, Durham University, Institute of Advanced Study.  

2017. The Human Mind, in collaboration with Colin Blakemore and Mattia Gallotti and The Human Mind Project at the School of Advanced Research, London. Workshop, May 11th-12th. Durham University, Institute of Advanced Study.  

2016-17. Sociality, Matter, and the Imagination: re-creating Anthropology, Collaborative role in development of ASA 2018 Conference, with School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME), the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, and the Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University. 18th-21st September 2018, Oxford.  

2016. Evidence On Trial: weighing the value of evidence in academic enquiry, policy and everyday life, International Decennial Conference, Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, July 12th-14th 2016.   

2015. Valuing and Evaluating Interdisciplinary Research, in collaboration with Tom McLeish. A two-day workshop for RCUK and related organisations. Durham University, March 23rd-24th, 2015.  

2014. Mind and the Other, Workshop, in collaboration with Hearing the Voice project and the University of Helsinki, Sept 10th, 2014.  

2014. Transformation and Transfusion, the creative potential of interdisciplinary knowledge exchange. International conference, Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, July 15th-17th 2014.  

2012- Navigating Interdisciplinarity, Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University. Bi-annual one-day workshop co-designed with Sandra Bell, for Institute Fellows and Durham researchers, and for advanced post-graduate training.   

2008. Ownership and Appropriation, Joint international conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth, the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Australian Anthropological Society. University of Auckland, December 8th-12th, 2008.  

Conference panels

2022. Unsettling Waterscapes: visualising change in material relations with water, with Franz Krause, University of Cologne. Panel for the American Anthropology Association annual meeting, Seattle, November 8th-13th, 2022.

2018. Locating the Mind: social and material agencies in the matter of the mind. Panel for conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth, University of Oxford, September 18th-21st 2018.

2016. Collaborative Evidence: the role of research institutes in supporting successful interdisciplinary approaches to evidence, Co-convened with Brad Gregory. Conference Roundtable at the Decennial Conference of the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University. Evidence On Trial: weighing the value of evidence in academic enquiry, policy and everyday life, July 12th-14th, 2016, Durham University.

2016. Re-imagined Communities: pooling evidence on human-non-human relations in river catchment research.  Conference Roundtable at the Decennial Conference of the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University.

2016. Evidence On Trial: weighing the value of evidence in academic enquiry, policy and everyday life, July 12th-14th, 2016, Durham University.

2014. Re-imagined Communities: emergent human-non-human relations in river catchment areas, Conference Roundtable IAS international conference, Transfusion and Transformation: the creative potential of interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, July 15-17th 2014.

2014. Interdisciplinary Knowledge and Institutes of Advanced Study in International Contexts, Conference Roundtable. Co-convened with Brad Gregory. IAS international conference, Transfusion and Transformation: the Creative Potential of Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange, Durham, July 15-17th 2014.

2013. Water: sustaining harmonious human-environmental relations, in collaboration with Liping Zhou. Beijing Forum, Peking University. Beijing, November 3rd-5th, 2013.

2011. Water: the powers and politics of a vital substance. In collaboration with Franz Krause, panel for conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth, University of Wales, Lampeter, September 12th-16th 2011.  

2008. Owning Water: elusive forms and alternate appropriations. Panel for joint international conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth, the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Australian Anthropological Society. Ownership and Appropriation. University of Auckland, December 8th-12th, 2008. 

2006. Water Knowledges: spectrum or rainbow. In collaboration with Sandy Toussaint. Session for Australian Anthropological Society Annual Conference, Cairns, September 29th, 2006.

2004. Responding to the Water’s Flow: fluid maps of time, space and environments. In collaboration with Sandy Toussaint. Session for Annual Conference of the Australian Anthropological Society, University of Melbourne, September 2004.

2004. Fluid-scapes: places of motion and change. In collaboration with Andrew Garner. Session for Annual Conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth, Durham University, March 2004.

2002. Cross-Currents. In collaboration with Sandy Toussaint. Session for Annual Conference of the Australian Anthropological Society.

Conference proceedings

Strang, V. 2003. Hunter Gatherers and the Politics of Representation: an introduction, CD-rom, Conference Proceedings. Edinburgh: 9th International Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies.

Strang, V. 1997. 'Contextualising Values and Behaviour' in Proceedings of the 1997 ECEEE Summer Study, (eds) The Danish Energy Agency, Copenhagen: The European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

Strang, V. 1995. 'Quantifying Human Behaviour', in Proceedings of the 1995 ECEEE Summer Study: sustainability and the reinvention of government - a challenge for energy efficiency, (ed) A. Persson, Stockholm, Sweden: The European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy

Strang, V. 1995. ‘Deconstructing the Edifice: environmental activism at Oxford University’, Conference Proceedings of the Annual International InterDisciplinary Conference on the Greening of Higher Education, Sept. 1995. Oxford: Greening of Higher Education Council.

Conference papers (selected)

2022. Making Waves: the Rainbow Serpent and Australian water governance, Australian Anthropological Society, annual conference, Geelong University, Melbourne, November 23rd-26th, 2022.

2022. Hope Springs Eternal: the role of Māori taniwha in envisioning future relationships with water, Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand annual conference, Victoria University, Wellington, Nov 14th-16th 2022.

2022. From Rivulet to Flood: water beings on minor and major scales, American Association of Anthropologists, annual meeting, Seattle, Nov 8th-13th, 2022.

2021. Living Kindness: re-imagining kinship in the Anthropocene, Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth conference, Responsibility. University of St Andrews, March 29th to April 2nd, 2021.

2021. The Hard Way: volatility and stability in the waters of the Brisbane River delta, conference, Making and Unmaking Volatility: contextualising crises in deltaic lifeworlds Cologne, January 13th-15th, 2021. 

2019. Rising Up: representations of water serpent beings in contemporary indigenous activism, Conference paper. Australian Anthropological Association conference. Canberra, Dec 2-5th, 2019.

2018. Locating the Mind: social and material agencies in the matter of the mind, Conference paper. Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and the Commonwealth conference. Sociality, Matter and the Imagination: re-creating anthropology, Oxford, 18th-21st September 2018.

2017. Materialising the State: the meaning of water infrastructure, paper, International joint conference of the ASA, AAS, ASAANZ, University of Adelaide, Australia. Dec 9th-15th.

2017. Expert Meeting on Valuing Water, United Nations workshop, Discussant. The Hague, Netherlands, February 2nd, 2017. 

2016. Wittfogel, Water and Power: the emergence of new despotic regimes, Conference Paper, EASA Conference, July 20th-26th University of Milan

2016. Common Origins, Distinction and the Taste of Interdisciplinarity, Conference roundtable presentation, ASA Conference, July 4-7th, 2016, Durham University.

2016. Water ownership, political power, and the rise of a new ‘despotic regime’.  Paper. IUAES Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia May 4-9th, 2016.

2016. Interdisciplinary Research, Panel for Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies Workshop, Interdisciplinarity in Nineteenth-Century Studies, Durham University, February 16th, 2016.

2015. The Flow Between: the essential role of water serpent beings, AAA Conference, Familiar Strange, Denver, Colorado, November 18th-22nd 2015.

2015. Cosmopolitanism in the Academy: the creative potential of engagements with the disciplinary ‘other‘, ASA conference, April 13th-16th, 2015, Exeter University.

2014. Lights and Shadows of International Collaborative Research. Conference roundtable presentation, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, December 3rd-7th, 2014. Washington DC, USA.

2014. Spinning Anthropology: why and how we must integrate theoretical and applied approaches to meet environmental challenges, discussant, roundtable, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, December 3rd-7th, 2014. Washington DC, USA.

2014. Re-imagined Communities and Perpetual Peace: extending oikeiosis to the non-human other, conference paper. Joint International Conference of Australian Anthropological Society and Association of Social Anthropologists of New Zealand/Aotearoa, Cosmopolitan Anthropologies, Queenstown, New Zealand, November 10-13th 2014.

2014. Re-imagined Communities: emergent human-non-human relations in river catchment areas , conference roundtable presentation. IAS international conference, Transfusion and Transformation: the Creative Potential of Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange, Durham, July 15-17th 2014.

2014. Durham University Institute of Advanced Study, conference roundtable presentation. IAS international conference, Transfusion and Transformation: the Creative Potential of Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange, Durham, July 15-17th 2014.

2014. Wonderful Light: affect and transformation in engagements with light and water, conference paper. ASA Conference, Edinburgh, June 19-23rd, 2014

2014. Wonderful Light: affect and transformation in engagements with light and water, symposium paper, Symposium on ‘Wonder’, Trevelyan College, Durham.

2013. The Flow Between: water, materiality and inter-species ethnography, conference paper, American Anthropological Association, Chicago, November 2013.

2013. Discussant, SIEF Annual Conference, Tartu, June 30th-July 4th, 2013.

2013. Becoming Visible: water, mind and materiality, conference paper, IUEAS Conference, University of Manchester, August 5th-10th, 2013.

2012. Emergent Relations: meanings and materiality in human-environmental relations, paper, ‘Emergence’ Workshop, Kyoto University, November 27th-29th, 2012

2012. Fluid Consistencies: meaning and materiality in human engagements with water, conference paper, Annual Conference of the Australian Anthropological Society, Brisbane, September 25th-28th 2012.

2012. Employing Social Skills in Cross-Disciplinary Translation: an Institute of Advanced Study initiative at Durham University, conference paper, for Understanding Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice: an international conference, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, June 12th-14th, 2012.

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Reviews

[2] WATER, CULTURE AND NATURE (2015) Thomas Wright, Human Ecology: ‘Strang presents a passionate account of literary, historic, religious and scientific devotions to water… If a reader is looking for a carefully selected, poetically written account of how different peoples across eras and continents relate to and conceptualise this life-giving entity, this book will provide a rich and engaging resource’.

[3] GARDENING THE WORLD (2009) Emily O’Gorman, Anthropological Forum: ‘The scope of the book is huge and it is a testimony to Strang’s expertise and experience that she manages to convey so much complexity in a direct, readable way. Gardening the World is a very timely study of an important issue. It is extremely well researched and has real policy implications. There is no doubt that this book will be of wider interest, and appeal to many people concerned with human-environmental relationships.’ Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, The Australian National University: ‘Strang draws a compelling fluidscape in masterly strokes to show that water belongs in its totality to a context, within a geographical area. She reminds the readers convincingly that water is an integral part of ecological order and describes how cultural values abstract this invaluable and finite natural resource. The meanings of water flow through and across sectoral boundaries to reveal sharp tensions between different uses of it. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to know about water’. Andrea Ballestero, American Anthropologist: ‘An interesting example of how to use the technique of ethnographic juxtaposition to highlight multiplicity… The experimental and evocative style… would make this book especially useful for undergraduate teaching, for courses on the comparative study of water, and for the examination of Australian history and politics’. Kay Milton, Queen's University Belfast: ‘... Addresses an extremely important topic in an interesting way...a valuable contribution to the debate about water as a material and symbolic resource.’ Barbara Rose Johnston, Center for Political Ecology, Santa Cruz. ‘This richly developed, well-argued work is an essential read for environmental scholars, students, and practitioners’. John Bell, Imperial College, London: ‘A fascinating, rich, highly multidisciplinary, volume... I really enjoyed reading this book... I recommend it highly to both the academic world and interested amateurs.’ David Vail, H-Net Reviews: Gardening the World provides fascinating insight to a growing contemporary fear of global water shortages. Strang develops a workable framework for a new international worldview toward water - a worldview that moves beyond the idea that humankind and its economic activities are separate from ‘nature… Gardening the World… illuminates the human-environmental relationships, conflicts, and policymaking that shaped Australia’s water resource management (and mismanagement), which can be used by other scholars/policymakers to address other water resource problems or resolve human-environmental conflicts… Ultimately, Gardening the World makes important advances in understanding how peoples around the world address the tensions between infinite desires and finite resources... It also illustrates the fragility of ecosystems and the consequences of resource exploitation. Strang’s work connects human behaviours and actions at the local level with policymaking at the regional, national, and international levels’.

[4] WHAT ANTHROPOLOGISTS DO (2009) Book News Inc.: ‘This small book contains a surprising amount of information… Strang has a fresh and engaging writing style that readers will enjoy’. Kathryn Tomlinson: What Anthropologists Do provides a valuable panoramic view of wide-ranging work undertaken by anthropologists. Engagingly written and useful for school and anthropology students considering their career options, it will be accessible for any reader wondering what it is that anthropologists really do. Subhadra Mitra Channa in Anthropological Notebooks: A commendable exercise to gather a huge amount of information… and to disseminate this knowledge in a simple and easy-to-understand language… keenly informed by the ethics of anthropology… dispels many stereotypes.

[5] THE MEANING OF WATER (2004) Dimitrios Theodossopoulos, in Worldviews ‘Enticing for the general reader and inspiring for the academic specialist… The book will inevitably become a classic in the field of environmental studies… Her analysis is persuasive and inspirational, a fine example of anthropology’s contribution to the resolution of practical problems and environmental debates’. Fiona Magowan in The Australian Journal of Anthropology: ‘An elegant and engaging study… replete with the voices of individuals…I found this a delightful and critical analysis, stimulating and evocative.’ Geoff Syme in Anthropological Forum: ‘An important contribution to our understanding of the significance of water resources to human welfare… the book is fascinating… the cultural change that may be engendered by exposure to this book will in itself create new ideas for this most difficult area.’ Roy Ellen in The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute: ‘A thoroughly exemplary and novel book… Strang effectively identifies and explores a tension between the modern commoditization of water… and a wide range of cultural meanings... The book deserves to be read by many people who would not normally read anthropology.’ Karen Bakker in Progress in Human Geography: A wide-ranging and absorbing account of water uses and users in contemporary England… Readers interested in water (and the political ecology of resources more generally) will learn much from this work… Strang’s book is to be recommended for its innovative, detailed, and often surprising account of water’s many meanings. Saud Chaudry in the Journal of Developing Areas: The Meaning of Water analyses water conflicts in complex political environments. Her approach is novel… the scope of the study is very broad, but held together by the author’s skill and judicious passion for the issue... a must read for anyone with an interest in contemporary research on water.

[6] UNCOMMON GROUND: CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES (1997) The Australian Journal of Anthropology: ‘Excellent…should have a wide appeal’. American Anthropologist: ‘Absorbing…original theory… informative and creative ethnography…The language is clear and accessible, and Strang excels at making detail engrossing rather than burdensome. Because of its subjects and its many good qualities this is a book that should interest a wide audience’. Anthropology in Action: ‘Provides a theoretical framework through which to make meaningful comparisons’. Canberra Anthropology: ‘Very important grounding work in analysing and understanding relationships to land’. Australian Review of Books: ‘Timely and important…rare…pioneering this field’. Australian Book Review: A careful ethnographic study… Much of the conceptualisation and research for this book was undertaken pre-Mabo, yet the outcomes and conclusions prefigure the ethos of the Mabo judgement… Strang has identified the changes taking place at the deepest levels of human sensibility and understanding.

[7] FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE (2018) This highly innovative, interdisciplinary project exemplifies what institutes of advanced study have the potential to produce. A joyous, informative and life affirming book. Howard Morphy, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia. An enchanting and mesmerizing assembly of voices. Each contributor somehow makes a bit of magic for the next. The result is scintillating. Dame Marilyn Strathern, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK. This is a book to browse and savour, a dizzying and edifying intellectual tour. It is a model of what interdisciplinary thought can be. Dr Philip Ball, Science Writer, UK. An engaging and often moving set of pieces... If you want to think about how the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities might talk to each other, there is much to draw from this work. Stuart Elden, Professor of Political Theory and Geography, University of Warwick, UK.