Nina Sylvanus

Nina Sylvanus is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Northeastern University's College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Her research focuses on political and economic transformations in West Africa, particularly China-Africa relations, material culture, and neoliberal globalization. She holds a PhD from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris and has held fellowships at UCLA and the University of Hong Kong. Her book Patterns in Circulation explores African print cloth as a lens for understanding colonial and postcolonial economies. Currently, she is writing Harboring the Future, examining new port infrastructures and labor dynamics in West Africa.

Education: PhD in Anthropology, EHESS Paris (2006). Postdoctoral training at UCLA and Reed College before joining Northeastern in 2010.

Research Interests:

• Capital and labor dynamics in neoliberal contexts
• Infrastructure and technology's role in global economics
• Material culture studies (textiles, fashion)
• China-Africa economic and cultural interactions
• Urban social stratification and identity

Recent publications analyze port privatization, sartorial politics, and Chinese trade networks in West Africa. Her work appears in journals like African Studies Review and Cahiers d’Etudes Africaines.

Awards: Sai Wai-Kin Junior Fellowship (2018), Northeastern Research Development Grant (2017-2018), Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011-2012).

Teaching: Courses on consumer cultures, global markets, and anthropological theory. Office hours Wednesdays 9-11 AM.