Michael Lambert

Michael Lambert is a Professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary and an A.M. and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University. His research focuses on migration, borders, belonging, political protest, colonialism, decolonization, and global indigeneity, with a particular emphasis on Africa and North America.

Lambert's work includes landmark studies such as Longing for Exile (2002), exploring Senegalese migration, and Up From These Hills (2011), a collaborative auto-ethnography on Cherokee identity. His current project, Landscaping Africa, examines spatial politics and migration in Senegal. He previously directed UNC-CH’s African Studies Center from 2005-2015.

His publications span anthropological theory, colonial critique, and mental health assessment in cross-cultural contexts. Recent work interrogates land acknowledgment rituals and their impact on Indigenous representation. Lambert’s interdisciplinary approach bridges ethnography, history, and policy analysis to address issues of identity, displacement, and decolonization.