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William T. S. Mazzarella is the Neukom Family Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000. Mazzarella's research spans the transdisciplinary intersection of classic social anthropology, critical theory, media studies, theology, psychoanalysis, and South Asian studies, with a particular focus on the nuances of esotericism. His published studies explore the dynamics of advertising and consumer citizenship in postcolonial India, the implications of Indian cinema, and the intersections of technology and sovereignty in colonial and postcolonial contexts. His work engages deeply with themes of political theology in relation to reactionary and revolutionary populisms globally. Mazzarella's theoretical and methodological pursuits interrogate the dialectics of social force and form, addressing the tensions between intimate interactions and impersonal structures. He is particularly interested in the enigmatic meanings surrounding charisma and mass publicity, as well as the complexities of crowd affect, which he describes as a social pharmakon – both life-giving and toxic. His ongoing research trajectory investigates the Möbius strip-like interchange between the 'inner' (esoteric) and 'outer' (exoteric) dimensions of social life.
Department of Philosophy