معرفی
Charles Heller is an SNF Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bern, where he leads the 'Circumference of Violence research' project (2024–2028). He is also the Director of Research at Border Forensics, a Geneva-based investigation agency he co-founded in 2021. His work bridges academic research, human rights advocacy, and visual documentation, focusing on the politics of migration and border violence in Europe.
His research centers on the transformation and normalization of violence at the EU's external borders. He employs anthropological, geographic, and critical forensic methods to analyze how border practices and legal processes shape migrant experiences across diverse contexts—from the Mediterranean Sea to urban racial boundaries in Europe.
Heller's influential investigations, such as the 'Forensic Oceanography' project, have produced landmark human rights reports including 'Left-to-Die Boat' and 'Death by Rescue'. These works have been instrumental in strategic litigation and are exhibited internationally at institutions like MoMA, the Venice Biennale, and HKW Berlin. His publications reveal a consistent focus on state accountability, migration policy, and the use of digital and visual evidence in human rights advocacy.
He has been involved with Forensic Architecture since its early stages and completed his PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London. His work has significantly impacted migration studies, border activism, and interdisciplinary forensic research.
As Director of Research at Border Forensics, Heller leads a team developing new methodologies to investigate the continuum of migrant violence, from desert crossings in Niger to racialized bordering within European cities. The agency aims to scale up and adapt forensic techniques to broader contexts of displacement and state violence.
