Deborah Reed-Danahay

Professor Deborah Reed-Danahay is a cultural anthropologist at the University at Buffalo, holding the Professor rank in the Department of Anthropology within the College of Arts and Sciences. She previously held the Jean Monnet Chair (2015-2018) funded by the European Commission and served as the founding Director of the Center for European Studies (CEUS) (2010-2015). Her research focuses on migration, social space, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory, and diaspora studies, with recent work on French migration to London and Brexit’s sociopolitical implications.

Education: PhD in Anthropology from Brandeis University (1996) and BA from the University of Delaware (1987).

Research Interests include migration dynamics, social theory, ethnographic narrative, and citizenship studies. Notable projects include studies of the Vietnamese diaspora in Texas and rural French communities. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with ethnographic fieldwork, emphasizing spatial and relational analyses.

Publications span books like Bourdieu and Social Space (2020) and Sideways Migration (2024), alongside articles on Brexit’s impact on mobility and migrant narratives. She co-edits the Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology series.

Awards & Grants: Named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (France, 2019), and recipient of grants from NSF, NEH, Fulbright, and the Russell Sage Foundation. She has held fellowships at Magdalene College, Cambridge (2012).

Grants & Leadership: Former president of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe (2010-2012) and council member of the Council for European Studies. Currently not accepting new graduate students.

Labs/Teams: Her work has been integral to UB’s CEUS initiatives, fostering interdisciplinary research on Europe and migration.