Scott MacLochlainn

Scott MacLochlainn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), affiliated with the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Michigan
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Max Planck Institute (Germany)

Research Focus: Explores ethical contestations arising from language, media, and legal formations in the Philippines, U.S., and Ireland. Central themes include abstraction in social categories (e.g., death classifications, bureaucratic processes), the role of generic social forms, and intersections of religion, law, and media. Current projects examine ethics of abstraction around death in the Philippines, including extrajudicial killings, biodiversity loss, and indigenous death bureaucracies.

Key Work: His book The Copy Generic (2022, U Chicago Press) rethinks the sociocultural role of generic forms, analyzing Bible translation, sign language, legal discourses, and postcolonial infrastructure design in Manila. It won the 2023 SLA New Voices Book Prize.

Futures/Interests: Ongoing research on Filipino Sign Language evolution, natural language processing, design theory, corporate collectivities, and social housing.

Advising/Grants: No specific grants or advisees listed, though his research implies active mentorship in anthropology and related interdisciplinary fields.

Labs/Teams: Not explicitly detailed, but collaborations with institutions like the Max Planck Institute suggest networked research affiliations.