Didier Fassin

Didier Fassin is Professor at the Collège de France, where he holds the Chair of Moral Questions and Political Issues in Contemporary Societies (2022-present). He also serves as Director of Studies in Political and Moral Anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and is a member of the School of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Previously, he held the annual chair in public health at the Collège de France (2019-2020).

Professor Fassin's research pioneers a critical moral anthropology that examines both the affects and values agents mobilize in their practices and the moral economies constituted around societal problems. His work spans from assistance to the poor to the reduction of inequalities, from the punishment of offenses to the reception of exiles. His theoretical investigations are grounded in ethnographic work combining interviews, observation, and participation.

His recent publications demonstrate a consistent engagement with contemporary moral and political dilemmas across multiple domains including migration, public health, and social justice. Fassin's scholarship reveals how moral frameworks shape political responses to social issues, connecting anthropology with sociology, public health, and ethics in innovative ways.

His distinguished recognition includes:

• Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (2024)
• Gold Medal for Anthropology at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2016)
• Nomis Distinguished Scientist Award (2018)
• Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Liège (2021)
• Doctor Honoris Causa from the Université libre de Bruxelles (2023)

Professor Fassin has delivered prestigious lectures worldwide including the Tanner Lectures at UC Berkeley, the Adorno Lectures at Goethe University Frankfurt, and the Raphael Lemkin Inaugural Lecture at Rutgers University. He serves on numerous ethics committees including the National Consultative Ethics Committee and has held leadership positions in organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (former Vice-President) and Comede, the Committee for the Health of Exiles (current chair).

As co-founder and first director of Iris, the Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Social Issues (Université Paris 13-EHESS-CNRS-Inserm), Fassin has established himself as a leading figure in interdisciplinary research bridging anthropology, sociology, public health, and ethics.