Jennifer Lorin

Jennifer Lorin is a Post-doctoral Researcher at Uppsala University's Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology. Her work focuses on political anthropology, particularly the study of kingship systems in West Africa. Prior to this role, she served as a lecturer at the University of Paris-Est Créteil and completed her PhD at the University of Paris Cité, which was awarded the prestigious Quai Branly Museum thesis prize. Her research explores the intersection of power, religion, and historical continuity in royal institutions, with a specific emphasis on southern Benin and Nigeria.

Her doctoral research involved extensive ethnographic fieldwork analyzing the construction of royal power amid political decentralization, challenging assumptions about 'invented' kingdoms through a historical lens. Current projects examine the influence of religious practices on Nigerian royalty, supported by grants from French and CNRS institutions. She has contributed to collaborative research on body politics and organized academic conferences, including events at the Société des Africanistes.

Key achievements include publishing a research report (2020) and co-editing a collective work (2022) on body-related themes. Her work bridges classical anthropological theory with contemporary case studies, emphasizing the fluidity of royal authority in modern contexts.