John Comaroff

John Comaroff headshot

Affiliated Research Professor

Harvard University
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 496-2658
Contact

Joint appointment

Professor of African and African American Studies and of Anthropology, Oppenheimer Fellow in African Studies, Harvard University; Honorary Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town

Education

Ph.D., Anthropology, University of London

Curriculum vitae

Bio

John Comaroff is an ABF Affiliated Research Professor and Professor of African and African-American Studies and Anthropology at Harvard University. Before joining the Department of African and African American Studies, John Comaroff was the Harold H. Swift Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, Honorary Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cape Town, and…

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Research focus

Crime, policing, and the workings of the state in Africa, democracy and difference in post-revolutionary societies, and postcolonial political economy in the global south

Publications

The Truth about Crime: Sovereignty, Knowledge, Social Order: University of Chicago Press
Writing Theory from the South: The Global Order from an African Perspective: The World Financial Review
“Foreword, in W. Garriott, ed., Policing and Contemporary Governance: The Anthropology of Police in Practice": Palgrave Macmillian

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Commentary

John & Jean Comaroff discuss the phenomenon of "Ethnicity, Inc."

Apr 30, 2010

Listen to the podcast from BBC 4's "Thinking Allowed" program, broadcast Februay 8, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qcjwn (Comaroff segment begins at 12.40) Ethno-theme parks, Native…

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Presentations

The Return of Khulekani Khumalo, Zombie Captive: Imposture, Personhood, and the Law in South Africa: Apr 2013
Reflections on Theory from the South: Feb 2013
Divine Detection: Crime and the Metaphysics of Disorder: Feb 2013

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Professional Service & Recognition

Mellon Learning Associate, Bates College
Awarded the Anders Retzius Gold Medal from the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, presented by the King of Sweden, April 2007
Member, Standing Committee on African Studies and Standing Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights, Harvard University
Member, Editorial Group, Journal of Anthropological Research
Member, Editorial Group, Annual Review of Law and Social Science
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Hagar:International Social Science Review
Member, Editorial Board, Afrika Spectrum
Member, International Review Committee, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany
Member, International Advisory Board, Social Dynamics
Member, International External Panel of Reviewers, Kuwait University
Member, College of Reviewers, Canada Research Chairs Program, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Awarded Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize, Law and Society Association
Associated Scholar, Center on Law and Globalization, American Bar Foundation and the University of Illinois College of Law
Patron, Organisation of Intra-Cultural Development
Phi Beta Kappa Scholar, 2013-14
Member, Board of Directors, Human Rights Program, University of Chicago
Honorary Professor, University of Cape Town, 2010-2015