معرفی
Filip De Boeck is a full professor in Social and Cultural Anthropology at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He is a member of the LUSI - KU Leuven Urban Studies Institute and serves on the Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences. His research focuses on urban anthropology, visual anthropology, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly Kinshasa. He leads projects such as ‘Colonial Graverobbing’ and ‘Dakar-Bamako: Waiting for a train ride back to the future.’
De Boeck’s work bridges ethnography and art, collaborating with visual artist Sammy Baloji on projects like Suturing the City. His recent publications include studies on Kinshasa’s urban futures, infrastructure politics, and decolonial knowledge frameworks. He has supervised PhD candidates such as Charlotte Veithen and Niels Van Doninck.
His research highlights themes like urban marginality, postcolonial urbanism, and the interplay between art and anthropology. Key projects include the Frontier Files book and exhibition exploring Congo-Angola border dynamics. De Boeck’s work is supported by grants including KU Leuven’s Sabbatical Program and the Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds.
He actively engages with global academic networks, presenting at institutions like the British Academy and University of Lisbon. His teaching includes courses on urban anthropology, power dynamics, and decolonizing anthropology. Current projects address infrastructure politics in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and the socio-spatial transformations of Kinshasa’s Malebo Pool wetlands.