Dr Shirley Campbell

Dr Shirley Campbell is an anthropologist with considerable understanding of Pacific and Indian Ocean cultures who, until her recent retirement, was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Australian National University. Her specialisation is the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea where she conducted doctoral field research in the Trobriand Islands, in particular Vakuta Island, for a period of eighteen months, learning the language and living in the village. She has described her research in several peer-reviewed papers and a book titled, ‘The Art of Kula’. She received her PhD from the Australian National University in Canberra, where she has taught for many years, particularly about the people of Papua New Guinea, Australian Aboriginal people and human environmental and economic adaptations. Shirley has specialised in the anthropology of art, convinced that by understanding the way people represent their ideas through art, a valuable insight into how people live their cultures and how they perceive the world around them can be revealed. Shirley’s other life exists within the fitness industry as a senior instructor, presenter, trainer and assessor.  She has also moved into teaching yoga, and is a senior teacher in two studios in Canberra.