Jemima Pierre

Jemima Pierre is a Professor at the University of British Columbia, holding a dual affiliation with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice (GRSJ) and the Department of Anthropology. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Race, Gender and Class at the University of Johannesburg. Her work focuses on the intersection of race, political economy, migration, and critical analyses of Western knowledge production. Dr. Pierre’s research spans Africa, the African diaspora, and postcolonial contexts, with notable contributions to understanding capitalism, imperialism, and racial formations.

Trained in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, she has authored The Predicament of Blackness: Postcolonial Ghana and the Politics of Race, recognized with the Elliot Skinner Book Award (2014). Her upcoming work, Of Natives, Ethnics, and True Negroes: A Counter-History of Anthropology, critiques disciplinary norms in anthropology. Teaching and research interests include critical racial feminism, decolonizing methodologies, and anti-colonial thought.

Her accolades include the Elliot Skinner Award and BOCAS Literary Prize nomination. Pierre’s interdisciplinary approach bridges anthropology, gender studies, and postcolonial theory, reflecting her commitment to challenging systemic inequalities rooted in colonialism and white supremacy.