Bani Gill

Bani Gill is a Junior Professor in Urban Futures of the Global South at the Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Tübingen. She is based in Tübingen, Germany, and her work bridges urban anthropology, migration studies, and postcolonial theory. She has held research affiliations with the University of Oxford, University of Copenhagen, and Utrecht University, reflecting her transnational academic profile.

• PhD in Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen (2015–2019), funded by the DFF ‘Emerging Worlds’ project
• MA in Migration and Intercultural Relations, Erasmus Mundus (2011–2013)
• MA in Modern History, Jawaharlal Nehru University (2008–2010)
• BA in History, University of Delhi (2005–2008)

Her research focuses on South-South migration, particularly the experiences of African migrants in urban India. She explores themes of race, racialization, gender, illegality, and state surveillance through ethnographic methods. Her work critically examines urban governance, migration infrastructures, and the everyday coexistence of marginalized communities in postcolonial cities. She also investigates the transnational trade in human hair between India and Africa, highlighting unexpected connections across the Global South.

Her recent publications, including in American Anthropologist and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, analyze migrant illegality, proximity, and urban futures. Her co-edited volume Proximity as Method (2024) advances interdisciplinary approaches to coexistence. The articles reflect a consistent focus on ethnographic depth, critical race theory, and the intersection of migration, urban space, and power.

• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022, to begin 2023)
• DFF International Postdoctoral Grant (declined, 2022)
• John Fell Research Fund, University of Oxford (2020–2022)
• DFF ‘Emerging Worlds’ PhD Scholarship (2015–2018)
• Erasmus Mundus MA Scholarship (2011–2013)

Bani Gill has advised and mentored emerging scholars through her role as editor of Refugee Review and as a member of the Executive Committee of ESPMI. She has secured multiple grants for fieldwork and research, including from Danish and UK-based foundations. Her current work continues to explore the sensory and embodied dimensions of migration, supported by interdisciplinary collaboration and public engagement through policy briefs and podcasts.

She is a member of the curatorial board of Majha House, a cultural center in Amritsar, India, and has co-organized academic seminars and workshops on race, migration, and performance at Oxford and Copenhagen. Her research is deeply collaborative, often involving co-authored publications and collective editorial work, reflecting a commitment to building scholarly networks across the Global South.