Andrew David "Mugsy" Spiegel is an Emeritus Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cape Town and the Treasurer of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES). An activist educator, his career embodies a commitment to "exposé anthropology," using rigorous ethnographic fieldwork to uncover the socio-economic impacts of apartheid and advocate for a politically engaged academic discipline across Southern Africa.

His research areas include rural and urban poverty, migrant labour, and post-apartheid policy critiques, alongside historical analyses of South Africa's fractured academic lineages. He has published widely on these themes, including the co-authored book South African Anthropology In Conversation (2015) and influential critiques of apartheid-era academic discourse. Today, he remains an active voice in assessing democratic social policies, municipal infrastructure, and global anthropological development.