معرفی
Constantine V. Nakassis is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on linguistic anthropology, semiotics, and media studies with a regional emphasis on Tamil Nadu, India. Key interests include Tamil cinema, trademark law, youth culture, and the intersection of branding with neoliberalism.
He is the author of Doing Style: Youth and Mass Mediation in South India (2016) and is currently completing Onscreen/Offscreen, a book analyzing Tamil cinema. Nakassis organizes the annual Chicago Tamil Forum workshop, fostering interdisciplinary discussions on South Indian media and culture.
His work bridges film theory with anthropological inquiry, examining topics like cinematic presence, indexicality, and the ontological politics of media images. Notable contributions include studies on Tamil cinema's use of spoof imagery, the semiotics of counterfeiting, and the role of brands in contemporary society.
Nakassis has held editorial roles including co-editing the Cultural Anthropology special issue on 'Brand Neoliberalism' (2013). His publications span journals such as Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Signs and Society, and Current Anthropology, with a focus on media anthropology and semiotic theory.
