Christien Philmarc Tompkins

Christien Philmarc Tompkins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University, part of the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS). His research focuses on the critical ethnographic study of technocratic interventions into inequality, particularly in Post-Katrina New Orleans, examining how education reforms shape racialized governance. He holds a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2017), an M.A. from the same institution (2012), and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Lehman College, CUNY (2010).

• Education: PhD, University of Chicago (2017); M.A., University of Chicago (2012); M.S.Ed., Lehman College (2010).

His research interests include race and racialization, political economy, neoliberalism, and urban studies. His forthcoming book, Reconstructing Race, analyzes how post-Katrina education reforms in New Orleans have reconfigured racial governance through privatization and entrepreneurialism. His work has been published in Souls and recognized as a finalist for the University of California Press’s Atelier series.

Dr. Tompkins’ research bridges anthropology and policy studies, critiquing how experimental governance models intersect with racial hierarchies. He previously served as a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA’s Department of African American Studies (2016–2018).

• Awards: Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow (UCLA, 2016–2018).

No formal advisees or grants are explicitly listed in the provided text.