Joseph P. Masco

Joseph P. Masco is the Samuel N. Harper Professor of Anthropology and of the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on technoscience, ecology, and social theory, particularly examining how technological advancements and national security frameworks have shaped ecological conditions, risk perceptions, and concepts of citizenship and race since 1945. He holds faculty appointments in the Committee for Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, the Committee on Environment, Geography, and Urbanization, and the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory.

Education: PhD in Anthropology from the University of California San Diego (1999).

Research Interests: Masco explores the interplay between technological revolutions, national security, and existential danger. His work spans nuclear nationalism, climate emergencies, and the psychosocial dimensions of threat perception. Key themes include planetary politics, visualization of risk, and the temporalities of futurity. His trilogy—The Nuclear Borderlands, The Theater of Operations, and The Future of Fallout—analyzes the long-term impacts of nuclear policies and petrochemical capitalism on collective life.

Grants & Awards: Supported by the ACLS, MacArthur Foundation, NEH, and Wenner-Gren Foundation. Major recognitions include the Merton Prize, Carson Prize, Staley Prize, and a teaching excellence award. He has held fellowships at the School for Advanced Research, University of Bristol, and Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study.

Current Projects: Directs the Engineered Worlds research project (Neubauer Collegium-funded), collaborating with Tim Choy, Jake Kosek, and M. Murphy. This project retheorizes environmental conditions amid industrial aftermaths.

Service: Served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology (2019–2022) and has edited volumes on sovereignty and conspiracy theories.