Charles D. Piot

Charles D. Piot is a Professor and Bass Fellow in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University's Arts & Sciences. His work spans contemporary culture and politics, histories of slavery and colonialism, and transnational African diasporic studies.

• Ph.D., University of Virginia (1986)
• M.A., University of Virginia (1982)
• B.A., Princeton University (1973)

Research focuses on francophone West Africa, particularly Togo, with theoretical contributions to modernity, biopolitics, postcolonialism, and transnational migration. He explores how globalization, NGOs, and religious movements reshape sovereignty and social structures. Recent work examines urban informality and economic resilience in African microenterprises.

His publications include award-winning books Nostalgia For the Future (2010) and Remotely Global (1999), alongside peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from visa lottery systems to ethnographic theory. As co-editor of Cultural Anthropology (2011-2015), he advanced open-access publishing initiatives.

Scientific awards include the

• African Politics Conference Group Award for Best Book on African Politics (2010)
• Royal Anthropological Institute's Amaury Talbot Prize (1999)
• African Studies Association's Herskovits Prize finalist (1999)