Personal profile
Personal information
Harry Wels is a long-standing member of the VU academic community, going back to his training in anthropology in the early 1980s. He has not left VU ever since.
Research
Harry Wels' research foci are:
- The role of non-human animals and human-animal relations in Organisation Sciences
- The political economy of private wildlife conservation in southern Africa
- Diversity in higher education in South Africa
Education
Harry Wels was trained as an anthropologist at VU and got his PhD in 2000 with a thesis on processes of organisational cooperation in private wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.
Teaching
Harry Wels' main teaching is on processes of organizational culture and change and qualitative research methodologies.
Ancillary activities
- CERES Research School for Resource Studies for Development | Utrecht | Bestuurder | 2013-09-02 - present
- St. Internationale Samenwerking | Breukelen | Bestuurslid | 2013-12-02 - present
Ancillary activities are updated daily
Ancillary activities
Harry Wels' main ancillary activities are in the domains of international development and wildlife conservation.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 15 Life on Land
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
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Metabolising the maze: towards a ruderal ethnography
Stehouwer, S. & Wels, H., 1 Apr 2025, In: Journal of Organizational Ethnography. 14, 1, p. 103-124 22 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure) -
Changing bodily practices in interspecies communities with dairy cows and white lions: Methodological challenges in co-constructing meaning
Wels, H. & Cornips, L., 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Ethnography.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
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Introduction: Remembering research realities: Celebrating the Research Master's African Studies, Leiden University
Wels, H., Hendriks, T. D., Drengk, D. & Verbuyst, R., 2025, Remembering research realities: Celebrating the Research Master's African Studies, Leiden University. Drengk, D., Hendriks, T. D., Verbuyst, R. & Wels, H. (eds.). Afrika-StudiecentrumResearch output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review
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Camels in the Bedouin community of Oman: Beyond the human-animal binary
Wels, H., Alwahaibi, I. & Dauletova, V., 2023, In: Anthrozoös. 36, 1, p. 1-14 14 p.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile543 Downloads (Pure) -
Challenging patriarchal, colonial patronage in anthropocentric engagements with 'nature conservation': Narratives of white male game rangers in Southern Africa
Shefer, T., Sabelis, I. & Wels, H., 2023, Posthumanism and the Man Question: Beyond Anthropocentric Masculinities. Mellström, U. & Pease, B. (eds.). Routledge, p. 99-112 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review
Courses
Projects
- 1 Active
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Engaged Scholarship against Climate Change
Wels, H. (Project Researcher), Clark, N. E. (Project Researcher), Vrabiescu, I. (Principal Investigator) & Horvath, A. (Project Researcher)
1/10/23 → 30/04/27
Project: Research
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Amsterdam Sustainability Institute Seed Money Grant: "Some we love, some we hate, some we eat"
Roitman, J. (Participant), Smit, P.-B. (Participant), Steenbergh, K. (Participant), Kamsteeg, F. (Participant) & Wels, H. (Participant)
Oct 2021 → Feb 2022Activity: Other
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'We have come out of one place: it is called Omega'. An ethnographic study on the role of context in understanding mental suffering among the !Xun and Khwe of South Africa
Wels, H. (Examiner)
5 Jul 2018Activity: PhD thesis Examination › PhD thesis examination
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Entrepreneurialism in Tourism and economic growth in Rwanda: challenges for policy formulation
Veenswijk, M. (Examiner) & Wels, H. (Examiner)
2 Nov 2017Activity: PhD thesis Examination › PhD thesis examination
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Zuid-Afrika (Journal)
Stehouwer, S. (Member of editorial board) & Wels, H. (Member of editorial board)
2009Activity: Peer review and Editorial work › Editorial work › Academic
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The essence of qualitative empirical research
Wels, H. (Invited speaker)
6 Oct 2000Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic