While at the London School of Economics, Evans-Pritchard was taught by the well-known C.G. Seligman and B. Malinowski and influenced by Alfred Radcliffe-Brown all of whom were important anthropologists. Evans-Pritchard, unlike his teachers, saw anthropology as less of a natural science and more about understanding culture and explaining history. Evans-Pritchard soon became known for studying the peoples of Eastern Africa. His PhD thesis was about the Azande people of modern South Sudan. He would continue to study and work with the Azande and other Eastern Africans throughout his life. He spent his time during the Second World War in Sudan and was able to study other East African peoples like the Sansui of Cyrenaica during his military service.