Maple Razsa

Maple Razsa is a Professor and Chair of the Global Studies Department at Colby College. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Visual Media from Harvard University, alongside an M.A. in Social Anthropology and B.A. in International Studies from Vassar College. His work focuses on social movements, human rights, and political documentaries, particularly in postsocialist Europe and transnational migration contexts. Razsa is renowned for his films such as Bastards of Utopia and The Maribor Uprisings, which have garnered international acclaim, including the Best Feature Film award from the Society for Visual Anthropology. His research explores the autonomy of migration and border struggles, notably through collaborations like the ACLS-funded Insurgent Mobilities project with Prof. El-Shaarawi.

His current research investigates migrant and activist efforts to challenge European border regimes through the Balkan Route. Razsa has held fellowships at Stockholm University, Harvard, and Amherst College, and has been funded by organizations like IREX and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. His publications span academic books, peer-reviewed articles, and documentary films, consistently bridging ethnography with radical political imagination.

Razsa’s awards include the William A. Douglass Prize for his book Bastards of Utopia and multiple film festival recognitions. His teaching includes courses like Decolonizing Europe and Liberation Struggles. He actively collaborates with global activists and scholars, emphasizing participatory methods and visual anthropology to document social movements.