Curriculum Vitae - Nicholas B. Dirks

ACADEMIC TRAINING

The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1972–78
Ph.D. 1981, Department of History
FIELDS: South Asian History (Modern, Ancient, Medieval); Anthropology

M.A. 1974, Department of History

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. B.A., 1968–72
MAJOR PROGRAM: African and Asian Studies in the College of Social Studies

EMPLOYMENT

Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, 2013-present.

Professor of History, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 2013-present.

Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences, 2009–2012.

Vice President of the Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty, 2004–2009.

Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and History, February 2000–2013.

Professor of Anthropology and History, Columbia University, July 1997–2000.

Professor of History and Anthropology, The University of Michigan, May 1990–June 1997.

Directeur D’Etudes Associé, at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, January–April 1992.

Associate Professor of History, the University of Michigan, September 1987–May 1990.

Associate Professor of History, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, January 1986–August 1987.

Academic Visitor, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, January–De­cember 1986.

Assistant Professor of History, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, September 1980–December 1985.

Instructor in Asian History, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, September 1978–August  1980.

Part-time Instructor in Cultural Anthropology, GeorgeWilliamsCollege, Downers Grove, IL, Autumn 1973.

PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

Member, International Alliance of Research Universities; 2013 -, incoming Chair, 2017-

Chair, Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), World Economic Forum; 2016 – present.

Member, Singapore Ministry of Education, Academic Research Council; 2016 – 2018.

Member, Knowledge Networks Advisory Board, World Economic Forum; 2015 – present.

Member, Global Agenda Council on Global Governance, World Economic Forum; 2014 –

Member, University of the People, Presidential Advisory Board; 2014 – present.

Member, Tanner Lectures Board of Trustees; 2013 – present.

Pac-12 CEO Group and Board of Managers; 2013 – present.

Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, 2005–present.

Trustee, Board of Trustees, Columbia University Press, 2003–2012.

Chair, Faculty Publications Board, Columbia University Press, 2003–2005.

Series Editor, “Cultures of History,” Columbia University Press, 2002–present.

Faculty Board, Columbia University Press, 2001–2003.

Chair, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 1997–2003.

Director, Advanced Study Center of the International Institute at the University of Michigan, 1995–1997.

Director, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, 1992–1995.

Co-founder and Director, Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History at the University of Michigan, 1988-1997

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

Autobiography of an Archive: A Scholar's Passage to India. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015.

The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain. Cambridge: Belknap Imprint, Harvard Universi­ty Press, 2006.

Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 2001; New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002.

In Near Ruins: Cultural Theory at the end of the Century. Ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.

The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom, New Edition, 406 pages. University of Michigan Press, 1993.

Colonialism and Culture. Ed. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1992 (with introduction entitled “Co­lonialism and Culture,” and article, “From Little King to Landlord: Colonial Discourse and Colonial Rule”).

Culture/Power/History: A Reader in Contemporary Social Theory. Eds. Eley, Geoff and Ortner, Sherry. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1993.

The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom. 1st ed. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1987. 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993.

ARTICLES

"Flagships must create new models to preserve the public good" in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jul. 2016 http://chronicle.com/article/Flagships-Must-Create-New/237055

"Challenges create stronger campus and community" in The Daily Californian, May 2016. http://www.dailycal.org/2016/05/09/356626/

"New emphasis on data science valuable to students in all fields" in The Daily Californian, Feb. 2016. http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/01/346188/

“The Evolution of Globalized Higher Education,” with Nils Gilman, in University Priorities and Constraints, Luc E. Weber and James Duderstadt, Eds. Economica, Glion Colloquium Series No. 9: London, Paris, Geneve. 2016

"Berkeley's new approach to global engagement: Early and current efforts to become more international" in the UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education's Research & Occasional Paper Series, Dec. 2015. http://www.cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/berkeleys-new-approach-global-engagement-early-current-efforts-become-more

“The Liberal Arts and the University: Lessons for China in the History of Undergraduate Education In the US and at the University of California” in Experiences in Liberal Arts and Sciences Education from America, Europe, and Asia: A Dialogue across Continents. Ed William Kirby and Marijk van der Wende. Palgrave Macmillan, UK, 2015.

"Campus staff professionals deserve infinite gratitude" in The Daily Californian, Dec. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/12/04/338180/

"Exposure to arts central to undegraduate experience" in The Daily Californian, Nov. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/11/20/exposure-to-arts-central-to-undergraduate-experience/ 

"Our student-athletes can excel on two fronts" in The Daily Californian, Oct. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/10/20/our-student-athletes-can-excel-on-two-fronts/

"Dubois' ideology still relevant today" in The Daily Californian, Sep. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/09/22/du-bois-ideology-still-relevant-today/

"The Liberal Arts and The University: Tracing the Origins and Structure of Undergraduate Education In the US and at the University Of California" in the UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education's Research & Occasional Paper Series, Jun. 2015.

"Intercollegiate athletics crucial to academic values" in The Daily Californian, Jun. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/06/01/intercollegiate-athletics-crucial-to-academic-values/

"Rebirth of the research university" in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 2015. https://chronicle.com/article/Rebirth-of-the-University/229585/

"Discourse on free speech, civility gives us lessons to take forward" in The Daily Californian, Apr. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/04/10/chancellors-corner-discourse-on-free-speech-civility-gives-us-lessons-to-take-forward/

"How we are improving the undergraduate experience" in The Daily Californian, Mar. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/03/06/how-we-are-improving-the-undergraduate-experience/

"Traditions of excellence worth maintaining" in The Daily Californian, Feb. 2015. http://www.dailycal.org/2015/02/06/chancellors-corner-traditions-excellence-worth-maintaining/

"My passage to India" on The Berkeley Blog, Feb. 2015. http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2015/02/02/my-passage-to-india/

"Why I miss the culture wars" in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 2015. http://chronicle.com/article/Why-I-Miss-the-Culture-Wars/151435/

"How are universities adapting to globalization?" on the World Economic Forum blog, Jan. 2015. https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/01/how-are-universities-adapting-to-globalization/

"Leading a global transformation of the American research university" in The Huffington Post, Jan. 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-b-dirks/leading-a-global-transfor_b_6517758.html

“Our global university: What might this mean for Berkeley Students?” in The Daily Californian, November 2014.
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/11/25/global-university-might-mean-berkeley...

“Lead your generation with a vote,” in The Daily Californian, October 2014.
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/10/31/chancellors-corner-lead-generation-vote/

“Reaffirming roles of intercollegiate student-athletes, coaches, staff,” in The Daily Californian, September 2014.
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/09/30/chancellors-corner-reaffirming-roles-...

“Berkeley’s forecast: sunshine after the storm,” in The Times – Higher Education Supplement, October 2014.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/...

“Reflecting on the legacy of the Free Speech Movement,” in The Daily Californian, October 2014.
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/10/10/reflecting-legacy-free-speech-movement/

“Reimagining the future, not just for ourselves, but for all,” in The Daily Californian, August 2014.
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/08/29/chancellors-corner-reimagining-future...

“What Ivory Tower Gets Wrong,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 2014. http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2014/07/22/what-ivory-tower-gets...

“Together, our school can continue to lead,” in The Daily Californian, February 2014. http://www.dailycal.org/2014/02/21/together-school-can-continue-lead/

“Utopian Pasts and Futures,” in The Huffington Post,  January 2014.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-b-dirks/utopian-pasts-and-futures...

“A brighter outlook for higher education in California,” in the Los Angeles Times,  July 2013. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/12/opinion/la-oe-dirks-uc-tuition-2...

“Scholars, Spies, and Global Studies,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 2012.
https://chronicle.com/article/Scholars-SpiesGlobal/133459/

“Franz Boas and the American University: A Personal Account,” in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. vol. 154, no. 1, March 2010.

Foreward in, Fringes of Empire: Peoples, Places and Spaces in Colonial India, Agha, Sameetah and Kolsky, Elizabeth. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2009.

“Autobiography of an Archive,” in The MadrasSchool of Orientalism. Ed. Trautmann, Thomas R. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2009.

“Imperial Sovereignty,” in Imperial Formations. Eds. McGranahan, Carole; Perdue, Peter, and Stoler, Ann Laura. Santa Fe, N.M.: School for Advanced Research Press, 2007.

“Colonial and Postcolonial Histories: Comparative Reflections  on the Legacies of Empire,” in Building Inclusive Societies, Global Background Paper for the Human Development Report. New York: United Nations Publications, 2004.

“Colonial Amnesia and the Old Regime in the Photographs of Linnaeus Tripe,” in Traces of India: Photography, Architecture, and the Politics of Representation, 1850–1900. Ed. Pelizzari, Maria Antonella. Montreal: Canadian Centre for Architecture; New Haven: Yale Center for British Art, 2003.

“Annals of the Archive: Ethnographic Notes  on the Sources of History,” in From the Margins: Historical Anthropology and its Futures. Ed. Axel, Brian. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.

“The Ethnographic State,” in The State in India: Past and Present. Eds. Kimura, Masaaki, and Tanabe, Akio. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2006.

“Discriminating Difference: The Postcolonial Politics of Caste in India,” in The Construction of Minorities: Cases for Comparison Across Time and Around the World. Eds. Burguiere, Andre, and Grew, Raymond. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.

“Postcolonialism and its Discontents: History, Anthropology, and Postcolonial Critique,” in Schools of Thought: Twenty-five Years of Interpretive Social Science. Eds. Scott, Joan, and Keates, Debra. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 2001.

“South Asian Studies: Futures Past,” in The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines. Ed. Szanton, David. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004.

“The Home and the Nation: Consuming Culture and Politics in Roja,” in Pleasure and the Nation: The History, Politics and Consumption of Public Culture in India. Eds. Pinney, Christopher, and Dwyer, Rachel. New Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press, 2001.

“The Sovereignty of History: Culture and Modernity in the Cinema of Satyajit Ray,” in Questions of Modernity. Ed. Mitchell, Timothy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

“The Crimes of Colonialism: Anthropology and the Textualization of India,” in Colonial Subjects: Essays on the Practical History of Anthropology. Eds. Pels, Peter, and Salemink, Oscar. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999.”

“In Near Ruins,” introductory essay in, In Near Ruins: Cultural Theory at the End of the Century, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.

“The Policing of Tradition: Colonialism and Anthropology in Southern India,” in Comparative Studies in Society and History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

“Différence et discrimination. La politique des castes dans l’Inde post-coloniale,” in Annales HSS. Vol. 52, no. 3. 1997.

“The Conversion of Caste,” in Conversion to Modernity (Zones of Religion). Ed. van der Veer, Peter. New York: Routledge Press, 1995.

“Reading Culture: Anthropology and the Textualization of India,” in Culture/Contexture: Explorations in Anthropology and Literary Studies. Eds. Daniel, E. Valentine, and Peck, Jeffrey. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

“Recasting Tamil India: The Politics of Caste and Race in Contemporary Southern India,” in Caste Today. Ed. Fuller, C.J. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

“The Home and the World: The Invention of Modernity in Colonial India,” in Visual Anthropology Review, vol. 9, no. 2, fall 1993, pp. 19–31, revised version in Revisioning History: Film and the construction of a new past. Ed. Rosenstone, Robert. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.

“Glorious Spoliations: Picturesque Beauty, Colonial Knowledge, and Colin Mackenzie’s Survey of India,” in Perceptions of India’s Visual Pasts. Eds. Asher, Catherine Ella Blanshard, and Metcalf, Thomas R. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Introduction to Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, Cohn, Bernard S. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1995.

“Colonial Histories and Native Informants: Biography of an Archive,” in Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament: Perspectives on South Asia. Eds. Breckenridge, Carol and van der Veer, Peter. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.

“Is Vice Versa? Historical Anthropologies and Anthropological Histories,” in The Historic Turn in the Human Sciences. Ed. McDonald, Terrence. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1993.

“Castes of Mind,” in Representations. no. 37, winter 1992.

“From Little King to Landlord: Property, Law, and the Gift Under the Madras Permanent Settlement,” in Comparative Studies in Society and History. vol.  28, no. 2, April 1986. Republished in revised form, “From Little King to Landlord: Colonial Discourse and Colonial Rule,” in Colonialism and Culture. Ed. Dirks, Nicholas. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.

“Ritual and Resistance: Subversion As a Social Fact,” in Contesting Power: Resistance and Everyday Social Relations in South Asia. Eds. Haynes, Douglas and Prakash, Gyan. Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press, 1991; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.

“History as a Sign of the Modern,” in Public Culture. vol.  2, no. 2, spring 1990.

“The Invention of Caste: Civil Society in Colonial India,” in Social Analysis, vol. 29, Autumn 1989.

“The Original Caste: Power, History, and Hierarchy in South Asia,” in Contributions to Indian Sociology, vol.  23, no. 1, Jan.–June 1989. Also in India Through Hindu Categories. Ed. Marriott, McKim. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990.

“Beyond the Fringe: The Nation State, Colonialism, and the Technologies of Power,” in Journal of Historical Sociology (with Cohn, Bernard S.). vol. I, no. 2, 1988.

“Terminology and Taxonomy; Discourse and Domination: From Old Regime to Colonial Regime in South India,” in Studies of South India: An Anthology of Critical Essays on Recent Scholarship. Eds. Frykenberg, R.E., and Kolenda, P. Madras: New Era Publications, 1986.

“The Pasts of a Palaiyakarar: The Ethnohistory of a South Indian Little King,” in Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 41, no. 4, August 1982, pp. 655–683. Reprinted in Temples, Kings, and Peasants: Perceptions of South India’s Past. Ed. Spencer, George W. Madras: New Era Publications, 1986.

“Indian Socio-Economic Development,” in Pacific Affairs, vol. 53, no. 4, winter 1980–1981.

“The Structure and Meaning of Political Relations in a South Indian Little Kingdom,” in Contributions to Indian Sociology, vol. 13, no. 2, July–December 1979.

“Political Authority and Structural Change in Early South Indian History,” in The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. 13, no. 2, April–June 1979.

Miscellaneous Reviews on Books and Films in The American Historical Review, The New York Times, The Journal of Asian Studies, etc.

CURRENT WORK

The University and the World: The Opening of the American Mind. Book project on the nature of global knowledge in the twenty-first century and the challenges of globalization for universities.

Scholars and Spies. Book project on the role of India in the emerging interests of the United States in and after World War II, beginning with an account of the role of the Office of Strategic Services in the development of area studies.

INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES

Clinton Global Initiative University Keynote Address, speech, Berkeley, CA, Apr. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fD9VGSLcDg

Times Higher Education World Academic Summit, keynote, Melbourne, Australia, Oct. 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NkoyHAJiPY

“Internationalizing Higher Education,” lecture, Glion Colloquium, June 2015.

“Online Education: Preparing the Labor Force,” debate with Udacity CEO Sebastian Thrun, The World Affairs Council, San Francisco, CA, October 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPBd3hZVgf8

“The Utopian Past and Future of the Public University,” speech, The Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, CA, March 2014. http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/video/uc-berkeley-chancel...

“Nicholas Dirks on ‘The Worry’ That Plagues Businesses,” interview, The World Economic Forum, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, January 2014.

“Meet the Chancellor: An open Q&A with Nicholas Dirks,” webcast interview, UC Berkeley, January 2014.

"Scholars and Spies: The University and the Predicament of Worldly Knowledge,." lecture, The R. Lowry Dobson Memorial Lecture Presented by the College of Letters and Science, UC Berkeley, December 2013.  

“InFocus: Chancellor Nicholas Dirks,” interview, CalTV Berkeley, December 2013.

"Tenth Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley," speech, Inauguration of Nicholas B. Dirks., UC Berkeley. November 2013.

“In Conversation: Chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks,” interview, UC Berkeley Public Affairs, November 2012.

“Chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks’ First Public Appearance,” speech, UC Berkeley, November 2012.

ARTICLES ABOUT NICHOLAS B. DIRKS

The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. "What's next for Berkeley and UC?" The Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. February 2016. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-future-uc-20160223-story...

Hamlin, Jesse. “Nicholas Dirks: Intimate chats in the public spotlight.” SFGate. Hearst Communications, Inc. September 2014. http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Nicholas-Dirks-Intimate-chat... 

Yoon, Jennie. "Dirks Outlines Goals for First Year at Helm." The Daily Californian. The Independent Berkeley Student Publishing Co., Inc., August 2013.

Asimov, Nanette. "UC Berkeley Emerges from Recession with Confidence." SFGate. Hearst Communications, Inc., August 2013.

Murphy, Katy. "UC Berkeley's New Chancellor Nicholas Dirks Prepares for His First Semester at Cal." InsideBayArea.com. August 2013.

Shuttleworth, Jeff. "New UC Berkeley Chancellor Says School Needs To Rely Less On State, More On Donors." The San Francisco Appeal. Appeal Media, LLC, August 2013.

Asimov, Nanette. "New UC Chancellor Nicholas Dirks Brings Patient Ear to Job." San Francisco Chronicle, The Hearst Corporation, July 2013.

Elder, Sean. "Administering Change." California Magazine, Vol.124, No. 2 June 2013: 26-31.

Butchy, Laura. “Master Multitasker." Columbia College Today May/June 2006: 14-17.

INVITED PAPERS AND CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

“South Asian Studies: Pasts and Futures,” lecture, Harvard University, September 2013.

“Scholars and Spies: Worldly Knowledge and the Predicament of the University,” University Lecture, Columbia University, February 2012.

“The Rise of South Asian Area Studies: From the OSS to the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century,” lecture, University of Virginia, November 2011, and Distinguished Lecture at the Mumbai Global Center, Mumbai, India,  March 2012.

“Scholars and Spies: The Emergence of Area Studies in the United States,” lecture, Sciences Po, Paris, November 2010; Stanford University, January 2011; Free University, Berlin, May 2011, University of California, Berkeley, April 2013.

“The Liberal Arts and Global Higher Education,” plenary speech, Conference on Global Education, Beijing, China, October 2010.

“Postcolonial Studies and the Question of Sovereignty,” lecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, June 2010.

“The British Empire in India: Beginnings and Endings,” lecture, University of Illinois, March 2010.

“Ghurye and the Anthropology of Caste,” inaugural G.S. Ghurye Lecture, Mumbai University, January 2010.

“The Historical Politics of Caste Studies,” lecture and seminar, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India, January 2010.

“Caste after Ambedkar,” keynote lecture, Columbia University conference on the life and work of B.R. Ambedkar, April 2009.

“Scholars and Spies,” lecture, Mellon conference on disciplinary innovation, Cambridge University, April 2009.

“The Modern University and the Challenge of Global Education,” keynote lecture, Reinventions Conference, Washington, D.C., November 2008.

“Empire on Trial,” keynote lecture, British Studies Group, Rutgers University, October 2008.

“Franz Boas,” keynote lecture, American Philosophical Society annual meeting, Philadelphia, May 2008.

“On the Passion of Edmund Burke,” lecture, University of Michigan, November 2008.

“The New India: A Colonial History of the Present,” keynote lecture, India Shining conference in Copenhagen, October 2007.

“Autobiography of an Archive: The Collection of Colin Mackenzie,” lecture, conference, University of Michigan, May 2007.

“Sovereignty and Nationalism: The Nation out of Empire,” keynote address, International Conference, Keio University, Kyoto, Japan, March 2007.

“On Imperial Sovereignty,” lecture, Postcolonialism Seminar, New York University, November 2006.

“Culture and Empire,” lecture, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, December 2005.

“Empire and Sovereignty,” lecture, Conference on Utopias and Dystopias, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, October 2005.

“Burke and Sovereignty,” lecture, Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University, November 2004.

“Imperial Sovereignty,” lecture, Graduate Faculty Seminar, the New School University, September 2004.

“The Ethnographic State: Reflections on Castes of Mind,” keynote lecture, Heidelberg University, July 2004.

Conference organizer, Empire and Terror, Institute for Southern Asian Studies, Columbia University, May 2004.

Lecture, Special Roundtable on Caste and Democracy, University of Delhi, January 2004.

Conference member, Sixth Subaltern Studies Conference, Delhi, India, January 2004.

“Sovereignty and Empire,” paper and conference member, Research Seminar on Empire, School of American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 2003.

“The Trial of Warren Hastings,” paper and conference member, Scotland and Empire, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, September 2003.

“Corruption and Empire,” lecture, International Conference on Empires: Past and Present, University of Thessaloniki, Volos, Greece, June 2003.

Respondent, Special Panel on the Scholarly Impact and Significance of “Castes of Mind,” Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, March 2003.

“The Colonial Context of Midnight’s Children,” lecture, Columbia University Humanities Festival, March 2003.

“The Scandal of Empire,” lecture, Department of Anthropology, HarvardUniversity, February 2003.

“The Ethnographic State: History, Anthropology, and Empire,” Society for South Asian Studies annual lecture, the British Academy, November 2002.

“The Scandal of History,” paper, conference, Clio in the Colonies, University of Michigan, October 2002.

“Caste and Colonialism,” lecture, Institute for Southern Asian Studies, Columbia, October 2002.

“The Ethnographic State,” keynote lecture, conference, Knowledge and its Objects in South Asia, Columbia University, November 2001.

“Caste and Identity in India Today,” plenary address, South Asia annual meetings, University of Wisconsin, Madison, November 2001.

“Historical Anthropology,” and “The Ethnographic State,” lectures, European University, Florence, Italy, April 2001.

“The Ethnographic State: Indirect Rule and Colonial Difference,” keynote lecture, Conference on Indirect Rule in Africa and India, Yale University, March 2001.

“Annals of the Archive,” paper, History and the Archive, American Historical Association annual meeting, January 2001.

“Dreams Chairs Dream,” roundtable, Future of Anthropology, Panel of Anthropology Chairs, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, November 2000.

“Tribute to Bernard S. Cohn,” paper and co-organizer of panel to commemorate the work of Bernard S. Cohn, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, November 2000.

“Violence, Religion, Critique: The Examples of B.R. Ambedkar, and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker,” presented at Conference on Religion and Violence, University of Amsterdam, May 2000.

“Gandhi against the Grain,” presented at Wellesley College, February 2000.

“Slouching Towards Ambivalence: History, Anthropology, and Postcolonial Critique,” plenary address, Conference in the Human Sciences, George Washington University, April 2000; special lecture, University of Rochester, March 2000; University of Iowa, April 2000.

“The Ethnographic State,” presented at International Conference on the State in India, Kyoto University, December 1999 (published in volume of conference proceedings).

“Ambedkar, Nationalism, and the Problem of Governance,” presented to conference on Governance in South Asia, sponsored by the Social Science Research Council, Muree, Pakistan, August 1999.

“Historical Anthropology and the Archive,” presented to Department of Anthropology, New York University, October 1998; for a special seminar on historical anthropology at Emory University, February 1999.

“Homo Politicus: The Politics of Caste,” presented to the Department of Anthropology, City University of New York, November 1998; the Social Science Seminar, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, February 1999.

“Casting the Minority,” presented to Conference on Minorities, Department of History, Princeton University, April 1999.

“Anthropology and the Archive,” presented to Department of Anthropology, Princeton University, February 1998.

“The Crisis in Cultural Theory and the Echo of Postcoloniality,” paper, Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, November 1997.

“Subaltern Studies and African History,” discussant at conference, Problematizing History and Agency, University of Capetown, South Africa, October 1997.

“Annals of the Archive: Ethnographic Notes on the Sources of History,” presented at conference, History After Braudel, Bellagio, Italy, June 1997; South Asia Lecture Series, Columbia University, September 1997.

“Homo Hierarchicus: Colonial Histories and Postcolonial Politics,” lecture, History Department, Princeton University, February 1996.

Invited papers at the Center for Studies in Social Science, Calcutta, January 1996; Film Studies Department, Jadavpur University, January 1996.

Invited lecture in Historical Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, February 1996.

Organizer, discussant, SSRC conference, Violence Against Women in South Asia, Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 1996.

“G.S Ghurye and the Politics of Caste,” lecture, conference, Ethnicity, National-Building, and Pluralism, University of Bombay, December 1995.

“Film and Politics in India,” paper, conference, Popular Culture and Cultural Studies, International Institute of Asian Studies, Leiden, Holland, November 1995.

“The Politics of Caste,” paper, conference, Political Violence in India, Amherst, Massachusetts, September 1995.

“Discriminating Difference,” paper, conference, Minorities, Maison de Science de l’Homme, Paris, June 1995.

“The Home and the Nation,” paper, conference, perspectives in Indian popular culture, School for Oriental and African Studies, the University of London, June 1995.

“Postcolonial Criticism and the Politics of Location,” paper, International Conference on Cultural Analysis, Amsterdam, July 1995.

“The future of area studies,” discussant, Duke University, March 1995.

“The Home and the Nation,” and “Real to Reel,” papers, University of California, May 1995.

“The Music Room,” paper, conference, Cinema of Satyajit Ray, University of California at Santa Cruz, May 1994.

“On Ethnographic Translation,” lecture, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Atlanta, December 1994.

“The Sovereignty of History: Music Rooms and Chess Players,” paper, conference, Culture of Consumption, International Institute of Asian Studies, Amsterdam, December 1994.

Invited lecture, conference, Conversion, University of Amsterdam, June 1994.

Invited lecture, conference, Unwriting Empire, Leiden University, April 1994.

Invited lecture, symposium, Orientalism, University of Amsterdam, April 1994.

“Reel to Real: The Cinematics of Tamil Political Culture,” lecture, M.I.T., March 1993; University of Pennsylvania, March 1994; Columbia, April 1994; Minnesota, April 1994.

Invited Participant, conference, Beyond Orientalism, University of California, Santa Cruz, November 1993.

“The Invention of Modernity in India,” lecture, Tufts University, March 1993.

“Colonial Anthropology and Popular Religion in India,” Cornell University, April 1993.

Invited participant, SSRC conference, Nationalism and Modernity in India, Goa, India, May 1993.

Invited participant, SSRC conference, Comparative Modernities in the Middle East and South Asia, Cairo, May 1993.

Invited participant, conference, Caste Today, London School of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, July 1993.

“Colonial Anthropology and India,” lecture, Heidelberg University, January 1992; Edinburgh University, April 1992; Johns Hopkins University November 1992; University of Washington, January 1993.

“Beyond the Fringe (II): Hyper-myth and the Cinematics of Tamil Political Culture,” lecture, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, San Francisco, November 1992.

“Subaltern Intellectuals and Postcolonial Politics: India,” paper, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, San Francisco, November 1992.

“Home and the World: The Invention of Modernity in Colonial India,” lecture, University of Pennsylvania, November 1992; University of California, Berkeley, December 1992.

“The Biography of an Archive” presented at conference, Myth, Memory and History, University of Virginia, April 1992.

Papers delivered at the Ethnology Seminar, Heidelberg University, January 1992; the London School of Economics, April 1992; the University of Edinburgh, April 1992.

“Myth, Memory, and History in India,” paper, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, April 1992.

“Caste and Race in Tamil India,” presented at the Ethnohistory Workshop, University of Pennsylvania, November 1991.

“Sanskritization and the transformation of Hinduism,” presented at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Chicago, November 1991.

“Colonialism and European Identity,” panel discussant, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Chicago, November 1991.

“The Policing of Tradition,” lecture and seminar, Agrarian Studies Program, Yale University, December 1991.

“The Emergence of Tamil Identities,” presented to the South Asian Seminar, Harvard University, February 1991.

“Comments on History, Experience, and Anthropology: A paper by Joan Scott,” presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, November 1990.

“Castes of Mind,” presented at the Institute for Advanced Study and Harvard University, February 1990; University of Toronto, October 1990; American Anthropological Association annual meeting, November 1990.

“The Policing of Tradition: Anthropology and the Police in Colonial India,” presented to the Ethnohistory Workshop, University of Pennsylvania, November 1989; Subaltern Studies Conference, Calcutta, December 1989; Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, October 1990.

“History as a Sign of the Modern,” presented at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Washington, November 1989.

“Glorious Spoliations: Colin MacKenzie and the Colonial Surveying of India,” presented at a conference on the uses of the Indian Past, Banaras, India, December 1989.

Invited lecture, Forms of Resistance in South Asia, University of Texas, Austin, January 1989.

“Does Social Theory Need History,” presented at the Social Science History Association, Chicago, November 1988.

“Rituals of Colonialism and the Colonialism of Ritual,” presented at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, San Francisco, March 1988.

Invited lectures on Caste in India at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, December 1987; University of Washington, Seattle, March 1988; University of Southern California, April 1988; University of Pennsylvania, October 1988.

“Ritual and Resistance in South Indian Village Rituals,” at the American Historical Association annual meeting, December 1987.

“Forms of Inversion in Modern South Asia,” panel discussant, Annual Meetings on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, Madison, November 1987.

“Ethnography in the Colonial Mirror,” lecture, American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Chicago, November 1987.

“Beyond the Fringe” and “Castes of Mind,” presented at the Mellon Workshops on Cultural Colonialism, California Institute of Technology, April–May, 1987.

Comments on the Subaltern Project, University of California, Santa Cruz, April 1987.

“History and Anthropology,” presented at L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris, November 1986.

“Ethnohistory and the Indian Eighteenth Century,” presented to a special symposium at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, June 1986.

“Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom,” presented at Cambridge University, March 1986; University of Michigan, March 1986; London School of Economics and Political Science, June 1986; École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, November 1986; Oxford University, December 1986; University College, London, December 1986.

“Gifts and Kingship,” presented at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, March 1986.

“Marriage and Rank in Tamil Kinship,” presented to the Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, November 1985.

Discussant on the position of culture in Indian historiography, workshop on the Indian Eighteenth Century, Warwick University, Coventry, August 1985.

“Caste and Kingship: Power, Hierarchy and Social Relations in a Tamil Little Kingdom,” presented at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, March 1985.

“Commodity Fetishism and Political Form: Money and the Old Regime in South India,” presented to Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, November 1984.

“Power, Territory, and Hierarchy: The Kallars of Pudukkottai,” presented to Workshop on Ethnosociology of South Asia at Madison, Wisconsin, November 1984.

“Orthodoxy in the Chinese Tradition and in China Today,” discussant, Southern California Colloquium in Chinese Studies, Anthropological Perspectives in Chinese History, California Institute of Technology, March 1984.

“Ritual Kingship and Civilization: The Political Dynamic of Cultural Change in Medieval South Indian History,” presented to conference, The Historical Experience of Change and Patterns of Reconstruction in Selected Axial Age Civilizations, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, December 1983–January 1984.

“Lineages and Subcastes in a Tamil Little Kingdom: Ethnosociology in a Historical Dimension,” presented to American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Chicago, November 1983.

“Gifts and Kingship,” presented to the 12th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, November 1983.

“Culture and Comparison in South Asian History,” presented to Workshop on Modern South Asian History, University of California at Santa Cruz, June 1983.

“The Structure of Social and Political Relations in a South Indian Little Kingdom,” presented to South Asian Anthropologist’s group meeting, London School of Economics, May 1983.

“The Origins of Local Administration in Ancient China,” discussant, workshop on the political economy of pre­industrial society, Caltech-Weingart Conference, May 1983.

“Land as Political Relation in the Little Kingdoms of Southern India,” presented to Annual Meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Toronto, March 1981.

“The Moral Economy of a Little Kingdom in South India,” presented to South Asia Colloquium on Regional States in South Asia, University of Washington, Seattle, February 1981.

“Topics in Indian Social and Economic History,” paper, Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Salt Lake City, autumn 1980.

“Peasant Rebellion in South India,” presented to Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Salt Lake City, autumn 1980.

“Myth and History in Southern India,” presented to Anthropology Colloquium, State University of New York, Stonybrook, May 1980.

“Indian Socio-Economic Development: Theoretical Surprises and Practical Lessons,” paper, Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, Washington D.C., March 1980.

“Becoming a King in South India,” presented to special seminar on Kingship in Asia at the University of Chicago, January 1980.

“State Ceremonial in Late Imperial China,” paper, Association for Asian Studies annual meeting, Los Angeles, April 1979.

“The Ritual State in Medieval South India,” Anthropology, University of Southern California, February 1979.

SCHOLASTIC AWARDS, HONORS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, 2005 - present.

Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2014.

Old Dominion Fellow, The Humanities Council and the Department of History, Princeton University, Spring 2005.

Lionel Trilling Award for Best Book (Castes of Mind), 2002.

Franz Boas Professor, Columbia University, 2000–2012.

Mellon Foundation, Sawyer Seminar Convener, 1999–2002 (Columbia).

Senior Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows, 1995–1997.

Invited Member, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA.

Mellon Foundation, Sawyer Seminar Co-Convener, 1996–1997 (Michigan).

Julia Lockwood Certain Award, University of Michigan, 1995.

University of Michigan Faculty Recognition Award, 1994.

MIS grant for travel research in India, summer 1993.

Guggenheim Fellow, 1989–1991.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Residential Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1989–1990.

AIIS short term grant, travel and research in India, summer 1989.

NEH Summer Stipend, 1985.

AIIS short term grant, travel and research in India, summer 1991.

Social Science Research Council Postdoctoral Grant, 1985–1986.

American Institute of Indian Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Senior Research Fellow, 1980.

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellow, 1975–1976.

Doctoral Dissertation Grant from Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies, 1975–1977.

American Institute of Indian Studies Summer Language Fellow, 1974.

Kent Fellow, The Danforth Foundation, 1974–1978.

NDEA Title VI, 1972–1973, 1973–1974.

Honors in Social Studies, Wesleyan University.

Cum Laude in General Scholarship, Wesleyan University.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Commissioner, American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on Language Learning, 2015-2016.

Visiting Committee, Asian Studies, Harvard University, spring 2004.

Visiting Committee, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, spring 2004.

Visiting Committee, Department of History, Princeton University, 2003–2008.

Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Grant for new Digital Technologies and Learning Anthropology, developed with the Joint Information Systems Committee and the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Member of Review Committee, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, November 2002.

Special Consultant for the Development of South Asian Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, May 2001.

Member of Review Committee, Program in Asian Studies, State University of New York at Stony Brook, April and September 1998.

Member of Review Committee, Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles, February 1998.

Member, South Asia Regional Area Committee, Social Science Research Council, 1997–1999.

Editor-in-Chief, Comparative Studies in Society and History, July 1996–1997.

Treasurer, Society for Cultural Anthropology, 1995–1996.

Senior Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows, 1995–1999.

Honorary Associate, Center for the Comparative Study of Religion and Society, University of Amsterdam, 1994–2013.

Organizer of Conference on Culture, sponsored by Program in Comparative Study of Social Transformations, University of Michigan, October 1993.

Core member, Midwest Consortium, Center for Psychosocial Studies Chicago.

Member, Joint Committee on South Asia, Social Science Research Council, 1993–1996.

Co-organizer of Conference on “Nationalizing the Past,” sponsored by the Social Science Research Council, Goa, India, May 1993.

Co-editor of Series on Culture/Power/History with Princeton University Press, 1989–2000.

Manuscript Reviews for University of Pennsylvania Press, University of Minnesota Press, Cornell University Press, Princeton University Press, Cambridge University Press, University of Chicago Press, University of California Press, University of Michigan Press, Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Editor of volume and organizer of conference on colonialism for Comparative Studies in Society and History.

Organizer of Mellon Workshops on culture and colonialism, California Institute of Technology, April–May 1987.

Co-organizer of Workshop on the Social History and Relations of Money, Annual South Asia Meetings, University of Wisconsin, Madison, November 1984.

Co-organizer of Workshop on Modern South Asian History, University of California at Santa Cruz, June 3–5, 1983.

Organizer of Panel: “Ethnohistorical Landscapes: Concepts of Land in Southern India,” Association for Asian Studies, spring 1981.

Consultant on A.I.D. sponsored project, coordinated by Professor Jeffrey Nugent, University of Southern California, “Old-Age Pensions and Human Fertility in Rural Areas of Developing Countries (Guatemala, India, Malaysia),” spring 1980.

Editorial Board, Interventions, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Contributions to Indian Sociology.

Member, Advisory Council, Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Member of the Board of Trustees, American Institute of Indian Studies.

Book Review Editor, Comparative Studies in Society and History.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Tamil, French

UNIVERSITY SERVICE (Michigan)

Director, Advanced StudyCenter of the International Institute, 1995–1997.

Director, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, 1992–1995.

Member of Executive Committee, the Program in Film & Video Studies, 1994–1996.

Co-Founder and Permanent Member of Directorial Board, The Interdepartmental Program in History and Anthropology, The University of Michigan.

Member, Search Committee and Director, Film and Video Studies Program, 1993–1994.

Member, Search Committee for Political Science Department, 1992–93.

Member, Divisional Board for Social Sciences and Education, 1991–1993.

Member, Review Committee for Institute for the Humanities, 1991.

Member of Executive Committee, History Department, 1990–1993.

Member of Latino-Studies Evaluation Committee, 1988–1989.

Chair of Publications Committee, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, September 1987–1992.

Member of Graduate Admissions and Fellowship Committee, History Department, 1987–1988.

Member of Comparative Studies Committee, History Department, 1987–2012.

Member of Steering Committee, Program in the Comparative Study of Social Transformations, September 1987–2012.

Member of Media Services Committee, 1987–1988.

University Senate Member, 1988–1991.

Member of Review Committee, Anthropology Department, 1987–1988.

Member of Promotion Committee, Anthropology, 1988–1989.

Member of Mitchell Teaching Award Committee.

Chair of Senior Search Committee, Anthropology, 1988–1989.

UNIVERSITY SERVICE (Columbia)

Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculty, Arts and Sciences, 2009–2012.

Vice President and Dean of the Faculty, Arts and Sciences, 2004–2012.

Trustee, Board of Trustees, Columbia University Press. 2003–2012.

Member, Executive Committee for Institute for Southern Asian Studies.

Chair, Review Committees, Department of History, 2003–2004.

Member, Executive Committee for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 2003–2004.

Member, Presidential Task Force on Globalization, 2003–2004.

Chair, Columbia University Press Board, 2003–2005.

Member, Columbia University Press Board, 2001.

Member, Columbia University Press Director Search Committee, 2003.

Traveler’s Fellowship Committee, GSAS.

Member, Presidential Task Force for Planning, Columbia University, 2003–2012.

Member, Academic Review Committee, 2001–2004.

Chair, Heyman Center Review Committee, 2003.

Chair, Department of Anthropology, 1996–2003.

Member, Provost’s Committee on Libraries and Information Services, 1997–2003.

Convener, Mellon Seminar on the Production of History. 1999–00; 2002–2003.

Ad Hoc Reviews, etc.

Advisory Committee, History Department, 1998–1999.

Personnel Committee, History Department, 1999–00; 2001–2004.

Area Chair, World Group, History Department, 1999–00; 2001–2004.

Member, Search Committee for Senior European Historians, 2001–2012.

Member, Curriculum Reform Committee, History Department, 2002.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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