Centre for Nomadic Studies
Housed in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London, the Centre for Nomadic Studies is dedicated to studying the political economy of nomadic cultures, with a particular focus on early 20th-century ethnographic accounts.
In addition to conducting interviews with people living a semi-nomadic existence, the Centre for Nomadic Studies also makes available primary sources from explorers and travel writers who experienced nomadic cultures or lifestyles.
Featured People
Explore documents and photographs from notable 20th century travel writers and explorers documenting their experiences with nomadic cultures.
Wilfred Thesiger
Sir Wilfred Thesiger was a British travel writer and explorer whose two best-known books, Arabian Sands and The Marsh Arabs documented life among nomadic Bedouin and Madan tribes. Thesiger’s writings celebrated the friendships and cultures of Bedouin he traveled with, recording valuable information regarding the Middle East…
T. E. Lawrence
This page displays resources for those interested in the ideas of T. E. Lawrence. Lawrence’s personal papers are held by archives at the University of Texas, Austin, Harvard University, University of Illinois Carbondale, and elsewhere. Typescripts of the Lawrence letters held at University of Texas, Austin are held in the King’s College London Liddell Hart Papers.
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick Fermor was a travel writer best known for his trilogy describing his “long trudge” across Europe between the World Wars. Fermor has been described by William Dalrymple as “the greatest writer of non-fiction English prose of the last century.” Fermor’s trilogy, A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, and the The Broken Road, describe his experiences walking across Europe. Beginning in London’s…
Interviews
The Centre for Nomadic studies conducts interviews with people continuing to lead a semi-nomadic existence, as well as with those that recall memories of nomadic life prior to its transformation by modernization.
Collection
Our digitized archives feature rare ethnographic field notes, personal correspondence from early 20th-century explorers, and an extensive library of travel accounts documenting nomadic life across continents.