Helene Basu

Prof. Dr. Helene Basu is a Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Münster, where she previously served as Vice Dean for Research, Young Scientists and International Affairs. She has maintained an active teaching schedule for many years, offering courses on research fields, mental health, decision-making, translocal relationships, and South Asian anthropology.

Her academic background includes a Habilitation in Ethnology from Freie Universität Berlin in 2001, a Ph.D. in Social & Cultural Anthropology from Freie Universität Berlin in 1993, and an M.A. in Social & Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, and Religious Studies from Freie Universität Berlin in 1985.

Prof. Basu's research spans multiple theoretical and regional specializations. Theoretically, she focuses on Cultural & Social Theory, Anthropology of Religion, Kinship & Gender, Emotion, Historical Anthropology, Anthropology of Finance, Migration and Diaspora Studies, Anthropology of Mental Health, and Visual Anthropology. Regionally, her expertise encompasses South Asia, East Africa, Indian Ocean Spaces, and South Asian Islam and Hinduism. Her work often explores the intersections between religion, mental health, and decision-making processes, with particular attention to ritual healing practices and their relationship with modern psychiatric approaches in India.

Her recent publications demonstrate a sustained engagement with decision-making processes, mental health practices, and religious rituals, particularly in South Asian contexts. A significant portion of her work examines how traditional healing practices, especially those involving spirit possession and Sufi shrines, interact with and sometimes challenge secular psychiatric approaches. She has also made important contributions to understanding financial practices, migration patterns, and the cultural dimensions of voice and sound in religious contexts.

Prof. Basu has supervised numerous doctoral students whose work reflects her diverse research interests, including projects on Brazilian Spiritism, gender and psychiatry in India, Sunni Vohras in Gujarat, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, and the role of voice in Indian religious practices. She has been involved in significant research collaborations, including the SFB 1150 'Cultures of Decision-making' and the Cluster of Excellence 'Religion and Politics.'

Her ethnographic films, including 'Kabul Kiya - Do you accept?', 'Spirits of Envy,' and 'Drugs & Prayers,' document important aspects of her research on mental health, decision-making, and religious healing practices, providing valuable visual resources for anthropological study.