Profile

Nicholas Dirks

• Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology
  Committee on Global Thought
  Columbia University
• Professor of History
  Columbia University

Nicholas Dirks is the Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and Professor of History at Columbia University, where he is also Vice President of Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Dirks came to Columbia in 1997 when he was asked to chair and rebuild the department of Anthropology. Before coming to Columbia, Dirks was Professor of History and Anthropology at the University of Michigan, where he had also been the founding Director of the Interdepartmental Ph.D. Program in Anthropology and History, Director of the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, and Director of the Advanced Study Center of the International Institute. Dirks is the author of numerous books on South Asian history and culture, primarily concerned with the impact of British colonial rule. His most prominent works include The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom (1987), Castes of Mind (2001), and Scandal of Empire (2006). In these works Dirks has advanced research on how the character of British rule shaped the Indian subcontinent to come, as well as how Britain's development came to be influenced by its colonies. Dirks has published more than forty articles on subjects ranging from the history and anthropology of South Asia to social and cultural theory, the history of imperialism, historiography, cultural studies, and globalization. He has done extensive archival and field research in India as well as in Britain. He is currently working on a book concerning imperial sovereignty with special reference to the historical relationship between Britain and India. He also serves on numerous national and international bodies, as advisor or member of the board, and is a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.