Jean-Baptiste Pettier

Prof. Jean-Baptiste Pettier is a social and cultural anthropologist at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Germany, specializing in moral sentiments, ethics, and human-nonhuman relationships in East Asian societies. He serves as Director of the Elite Master Program 'Standards of Decision-Making Across Cultures' (SDAC) and holds a W2 Professorship in Social and Cultural Anthropology of East Asia. His research focuses on China and Madagascar, examining topics such as marriage markets, affective economies, and wildlife trade.

Education:

• PhD in Social Anthropology (EHESS Paris, 2015)
• BA/MA in Chinese Studies, Political Science, and Sociology (INALCO, Sciences Po Paris, Université Lyon 2)

Research Interests:

His work investigates moral economies, affective trade in wildlife (e.g., seahorse trade between Madagascar and China), gender/sexuality dynamics, and the reinvention of traditional practices like matchmaking. He employs ethnographic methods to bridge anthropology with interdisciplinary debates on globalization and moral frameworks.

Teaching & Leadership:

He leads courses on decision-making across cultures, Chinese social dynamics, and anthropological perspectives on love and marriage. Previously, he held roles including Visiting Professor at UCLA and Postdoc Fellowships at Freie Universität Berlin and University of Cologne.

Labs/Initiatives:

Co-organizes the 'Anthropology and China(s)' network (DFG-funded) to establish reflexive, pluralist Chinese anthropology in German academia. Current projects include DFG-funded research on affective trades and wildlife values conflicts.