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John Comaroff

John Comaroff headshot

Affiliated Research Professor

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

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…

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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

Projects

Popular Justice, Communal Violence, and Alternative Policing in the New South Africa (2004-2008)
Latest finding: Jan 22, 2008, with Jean Comaroff
South Africa is currently beset by so-called “vigilantism,” a term that covers a range of different kinds of “alternative” policing, retributive violence, and popular justice,…

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Publications

“Foreword, in W. Garriott, ed., Policing and Contemporary Governance: The Anthropology of Police in Practice"
Palgrave Macmillian
"Teoría desde el sur: O cómo los países centrales evolucion hacia África" (with J. Comaroff)
Paradigm Publishers
“Theory from the South: or, How Euro-America is Evolving Toward Africa”
Anthropological Forum

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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

Links

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