Dr. Thomas Hansen

Biography

Thomas Hansen is the Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. He founded and directed Stanford’s Center for South Asia from 2010 to 2017. His work as an anthropologist focuses on political life, ethno-religious identities, and violence in urban contexts within South Asia and Southern Africa. Hansen’s early fieldwork during the tumultuous conflicts of the 1990s highlighted the dynamics of Hindu militants and Muslims, shaping national narratives that led to violent clashes. His publications include influential works such as 'Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India' (1999) and 'Wages of Violence: Naming Identity in Postcolonial Bombay' (2001), which explore Hindu nationalism and identity formations in the context of socioreligious conflict. Hansen has also investigated themes of religious revival and racial conflict, leading to his book 'Melancholia of Freedom: Social Life in an Indian Township in South Africa' (2012). His current research delves into the global distribution of popular sovereignty concepts and the rise of illiberal democracies, alongside long-term ethnographic studies on vernacular urbanism in rapidly developing South Asian cities.

Research Interests

Courses