Jonathan S Anjaria

Jonathan S Anjaria is a Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University, affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences. He serves as Faculty Director of Professional Development in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). His research focuses on urban mobility, public space politics, informal economies, and South Asian urbanization, with a particular emphasis on India. Anjaria holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has held multiple prestigious fellowships from ACLS and AIIS.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
• M.A. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
• B.A. from Harvard University

Research Interests:
Professor Anjaria examines how urbanization shapes everyday life in South Asia, especially through studies of street vendors, bicycling infrastructure, civic activism, and the contested politics of public space. His work bridges cultural anthropology with urban sociology, emphasizing the material and spatial dimensions of social inequality.

Awards:

• 2005 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
• 2007 & 2009 Mellon/ACLS Early Career Fellowships
• 2015-16 Senior Research Fellowship (AIIS)
• 2019-20 Mellon/ACLS Scholars & Society Fellowship

Teaching & Service:
He teaches courses on urban studies, ethnographic methods, applied anthropology, and South Asian societies. As GSAS Professional Development Director, he supports graduate student career development.

Research Outputs:
His scholarship includes monographs on Mumbai's street food culture and co-edited volumes on South Asian urbanism. Recent work explores cycling infrastructure in India and the entanglements of aesthetics and urban governance in Delhi.