Yael Navaro

Yael Navaro is Professor of Social, Political and Psychological Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow and Director of Studies at Newnham College. Her research explores the intersections of politics, the state, and political violence through affective, spatial, and material approaches, focusing on Turkey, Cyprus, and Antakya.

• Brandeis University, BA in Sociology (1991)
• Princeton University, MA (1993) and PhD (1998) in Anthropology
• Lecturer at University of Edinburgh (1997-1999)
• Cambridge faculty since 1999

Her work embeds ethnographic fieldwork in postwar environments, examining the affective and material legacies of mass violence. She has pioneered methodologies that integrate social, political, and psychological anthropology, with a focus on representation, erasure, and sovereignty.

Recent publications analyze violence reverberations, affective spaces, and the materiality of sovereignty. Key projects include Living with Remnants, which investigates postwar memory and ruination. Her named lectures (Malinowski, Marett, Berndt) reflect significant recognition in the field.

• Fellow of the British Academy (2025)
• Malinowski Memorial Lecture (2007)
• Marett Memorial Lecture (2023)
• Berndt Lambert Memorial Lecture (2025)

Navaro's research spans political subjectivities, affect theory, and the ethics of ethnographic practice, with applications in conflict zones, post-Soviet societies, and crisis-driven academic inquiry.