She pioneered research into sectoral change in Africa, looking primarily at 'transnational families' and coining the terms 'de-agrarianisation' and 'mineralized urbanization'.
[1] Born in the United States, Bryceson moved to Tanzania in 1971, where she obtained a BA and MA in Geography at the University of Dar es Salaam.
[3] Following her departure from the Africa-studiecentrum in Leiden, Bryceson took up the roles of Senior Lecturer and Reader at the Universities of Birmingham (2003–2004), Glasgow (2009–2013), respectively.
[2] Deborah Bryceson's main topics of study focus on the transformation of social and economic life in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Bryceson's contributions to the field are found across the range of her publications – with her most notable being the definition of the concepts of 'de-agrarianization', 'transnational families' and 'mineralized urbanization'.