Anya Eber

DPhil Criminology

Biography

Anya is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford investigating the role of specialised art and antiquities law enforcement units in preventing the illicit antiquities trade in the United Kingdom and the United States. Her research considers how guardianship is established within the art market in the UK and US, both by specialised police units and by other agencies. Anya’s research is based at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Criminology, and is supervised by Professor Ian Loader. 

Anya brings a strong interdisciplinary background to her research on cultural heritage protection and transnational crime. She holds an MSc degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, and an Art History MSc degree in Collecting and Provenance in an International Context from the University of Glasgow (distinction). Further, Anya holds an AB in Archaeology and Art History from Brown University, magna cum laude. During her degrees, Anya has held the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, the Funds for Women Graduates Grant, and the University of Glasgow’s Country Scholarship. She is currently a recipient of the St Anne’s College Graduate Scholarship and the Oxford Law Faculty’s Graduate Research Scholarship. 

Alongside her research, Anya is a Sessional Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Reading and acts as a Co-Chair for the University of Oxford’s Policing Research Group. She has worked as a Consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and assisted in developing a series of Anti-Corruption Modules for the UNODC’s Education for Justice Initiative. Anya also worked as a Teaching Assistant for the University of Glasgow’s Antiquities and Art Crime Course. In 2020, Anya discussed her research on Policing the Illicit Antiquities Trade for the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis Art Crime Course and podcast series for the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis: Fighting the Illicit Trade Series. Anya’s doctoral research at Oxford seeks to bring together her knowledge of the art market and her degrees in Archaeology, Criminology, and Art History to investigate law enforcement responses to the illicit antiquities trade.

Research Interests

Transnational Crime, policing, white collar crime, and cultural heritage protection. 

Research projects & programmes

Centre for Criminology