Dr. Biginagwa, Thomas John
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Biography
Biginagwa is a historical archaeologist, well-trained in zooarchaeology (the study of animal remains from archaeological sites). His research interest is on long-term historical ecology of East African landscape over the last c. 500 years, the period that coincides with the main era of direct European engagement with this region. Biginagwa completed his BA degree in Archaeology at the University of Dar es Salaam (2002), followed by an MA degree in Development Studies from the same university (2004), and later a PhD from the University of York, UK (2012). Biginagwa’s PhD research examined animal economies practiced by local communities against the context of caravan trade expansion in eastern Africa during the nineteenth century. He continues to work with a series of projects investigating the consequences of the nineteenth-century caravan trade on human environment and subsistence strategies in East Africa.
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Career
Biginagwa has worked as an archaeologist for the last thirteen years having completed his bachelor degree in archaeology since 2002. He worked with the Department of Antiquities in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism as Conservator of Antiquities from August 2003 to May 2006, serving as the desk officer for UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Tanzania. Biginagwa joined the University of Dar es Salaam in June 2006 to take up an assistant lectureship in archaeology. In October 2007, he was awarded a three-year Early Stage Researcher fellowship on the project Historical Ecology of East African Landscape (HEEAL) hosted by the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, United Kingdom - leading to a PhD. In May 2012, he defended successfully his PhD thesis titled ‘Historical archaeology of the nineteenth-century caravan trade in north-eastern Tanzania: a zooarchaeological perspective’. Biginagwa returned to UDSM in June 2012 and he intends to stay. Currently he is a Volkswagen Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Humanities (2013-2016), while also serving as the position of Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies in the College of Humanities, UDSM.
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Designation/title = Lecturer (by PhD, The University of York, UK)
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Contacts/email = bigi@heeal.eu +255 713 432 435
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Qualifications = PhD (York), MA (UDSM), BA (UDSM)
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Teaching areas
Biginagwa teaches undergraduate and master’s courses in both fields of Archaeology and Heritage Management. He teaches ‘Faunal Analysis in Archaeology’ (2nd year); ‘Conservation of Faunal Material’ (2nd year); ‘Archaeology of Tanzania’ (3rd year); ‘Recent Approaches in Archaeology’ (3rd year); ‘Heritage Laws and By-Laws’ (3rd year); and ‘People and Cultures in Africa’ (3rd year). For masters, he teaches ‘Heritage Laws’ as well as ‘Cultural Heritage Management’.
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Areas of research interest: Animal economies, Environmental Archaeology/Historical Ecology, Material Culture, and Cultural Heritage Management
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Awards
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European Union Marie Curie Excellence Grant (2007-2010) – Early Stage Researcher & PhD Scholarship = € 98,000
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Africa Humanities Program, AHP (2012 – 2013) – Postdoctoral Research Fellow = $ 19,000
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Volkswagen Stiftung (2013 – 2016) - Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities for Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa = € 118,600
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British Academy International Partnership and Mobility Scheme (2013 – 2016) -Spatial dynamics of the Swahili coast: applying GIS to research and education = £ 26,001