Didier Fassin

Didier Fassin is Professor at the Collège de France holding the chair for 'Moral Issues and Political Stakes in Contemporary Societies,' where he develops critical moral anthropology examining both the affects and values agents mobilize in practices and the moral economies built around societal problems.

His research spans diverse fields including assistance to the poor, reduction of inequalities, punishment of crime, and reception of exiles. Fassin employs ethnographic methods combining interviews, observation, and participation, with his work demonstrating how social questions have become coupled with moral ones in contemporary societies.

• Moral anthropology examining societal problems
• Human rights and humanitarian action
• Refugee studies and migration policies
• Gender relations and victim status recognition
• Bioethics laws and research ethics
• Political economy of morality

Fassin was awarded the prestigious Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute in 2024, recognizing his significant contributions to anthropology.

He maintains an active academic schedule with multiple lectures and seminars planned through 2026, particularly focusing on Foucault's legacy with his 'Présences de Foucault' and 'Thinking with Foucault' series scheduled from May to June 2026 at the Collège de France.