Christopher John Fuller is an emeritus professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

. He has studied and written extensively about the people of India, particularly with regard to subjects such as

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, the caste system, and the relationship between

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

and the middle-classes.

Career

Fuller was a lecturer in the Department of Social Anthropology at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

prior to holding a similar position as lecturer in anthropology at the London School of Economics (LSE) between 1979 and 1987. He was a reader in anthropology at the LSE between 1987 and 1994 and has been an emeritus professor of anthropology there since 2009. Fuller's primary area of

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fi ...

has been the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, particularly between 1976 and 2001 at the Hindu temple in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

that is dedicated to

Minakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...

. His first fieldwork was among the

Nair The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

and Syrian Christian communities of Kerala in 1971–72. Fuller has also conducted fieldwork in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

(middle-class managers and software professionals, 2003–05) and on

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana in addition to other regions of India. The ...

s (2005–08). Other areas of research have examined popular Hinduism and

Hindu nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of . It is better descri ...

, the caste system and the history of anthropology in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Fuller was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2007.

Publications

Fuller's publications include: * * * (co-editor, with

Véronique Bénéï Véronique can refer to: * Véronique (given name), a French female name * Véronique River, a river in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. * Véronique (rocket), a French sounding rocket * ''Véronique'' (operetta), compose ...

) * * * (with Haripriya Narasimhan) * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Chris Fellows of the British Academy People associated with the University of Manchester Academics of the London School of Economics British social anthropologists Historians of India Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)