Thomas Barfield

Thomas Barfield is a Professor of Anthropology at Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences. Specializing in social anthropology, his research focuses on Afghanistan, nomadic peoples, and imperial history. He conducted fieldwork in Afghanistan during the 1970s and has authored influential works like Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (2010) and Shadow Empires (2023). Barfield has held leadership roles including President of the American Institute for Afghanistan Studies since 2005.

Education: PhD, MA (Harvard University); BA (University of Pennsylvania). His research spans nomadic governance systems, Central Asian empires, and Afghanistan's political ecology. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship (2006) and an American Library Association award (2011).

Teaching focuses on Afghanistan studies, imperial history, and legal anthropology. Major publications include Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang (2008) and Afghanistan: An Atlas of Indigenous Domestic Architecture (1991). Recent work addresses post-Taliban governance and comparative imperial formations.

Advocates for multidisciplinary approaches to Afghanistan's challenges, emphasizing historical context in modern policy. Active in both academic publishing and policy-oriented analyses of regional stability.