Thomas Hansen

Thomas Hansen is the Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University, where he also founded and directed the Center for South Asia (2010–2017). His research focuses on political life, ethno-religious identities, violence, and urban dynamics in South Asia and Southern Africa. He is renowned for analyzing Hindu nationalism, postcolonial urbanism, and the intersections of power, memory, and identity.

Key research themes include the anthropology of sovereignty, the rise of illiberal democracies, and 'vernacular urbanism'—examining social segregation and community-based capitalism in South Asian cities. Hansen's major works include The Saffron Wave (1999), Wages of Violence (2001), and Melancholia of Freedom (2012). Current projects explore global notions of popular sovereignty and the transformation of provincial cities in South Asia.

His theoretical contributions bridge political theory, continental philosophy, psychoanalysis, and comparative religion. Hansen’s ethnographic work spans Mumbai’s communal conflicts, Durban’s Indian township dynamics, and Delhi’s legal-political landscapes. Office hours and meetings can be scheduled via Calendly, with availability in July 2025.