Renowned anthropologist, poet and writer, Professor Michael D Jackson, will receive an honorary Doctor of Literature degree in Victoria University of Wellington's May graduation celebrations.

Originally from Nelson and a Victoria University graduate, Professor Jackson was Professor of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen until July 2005 when he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor in World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.Renowned anthropologist, poet and writer, Professor Michael D Jackson, will receive an honorary Doctor of Literature degree in Victoria University of Wellington's May graduation celebrations.

Originally from Nelson and a Victoria University graduate, Professor Jackson was Professor of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen until July 2005 when he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor in World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.A distinguished anthropologist, Professor Jackson's work has been strongly influenced by critical theory, American pragmatism and existential-phenomenological thought. His recent research has focused on the politics of storytelling, post-war Sierra Leone and the anthropology of events, violence and ritualisation.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Walsh, says Professor Jackson has excelled in his academic and literary pursuits while teaching at some of the top universities in Europe, Australia and the United States.

"It is always a pleasure to see our alumni working with the best in their field, and Professor Jackson is no exception. Harvard Divinity School is one of the oldest and most highly-regarded Schools in the United States."

Professor Jackson received his undergraduate degree from Victoria in 1961 and obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Auckland in 1967, before commencing his PhD at the University of Cambridge in 1972. He was the Stout Research Fellow at Victoria in 1998.

During his academic career he has undertaken field research in Sierra Leone, Queensland and the Northern Territory, focusing on Kuranko and Aboriginal societies and culture, which has resulted in a number of prize-winning publications, including Paths Towards a Clearing (1989) and At Home in the World (1995).

Professor Jackson is also a respected and prize-winning poet and writer. Dead Reckoning, a collection of poems and The Accidental Anthropologist, a memoir, will be published in 2006. He has received a number of national and international accolades, including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1976 and the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Writing Fellowship in 1983.

Professor Jackson will be visiting New Zealand in May.