Mary Douglas

Professor Dame Mary Douglas (1921–2007) was one of the most influential social anthropologists of the second half of the 20th century, and is credited with establishing anthropology as a discipline at UCL. She was well known for her writings on human culture and symbolism, developing a cultural theory of risk. In her groundbreaking book 'Purity and Danger: an Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo', she examined the topic of sacred contagion – how cultures define themselves through their rituals of purity.