
75 Years Max Planck Society
Insight must precede application. (Max Planck)

Hatem Elliesie
The fundamental idea underlying my research is the desire to better understand the diversity of values and legal perceptions within a society.

Claudia Lang
I am interested in how people rethink mental health in times of increasing digitalization and changing environments.

Lukas Ley
Anthropology allows me to unravel and build towards other futures.

Abduletif Kedir Idris
Anthropology allows me to explore the role of law in the struggle for justice in contexts devoid of rule of law.

Arne Harms
Anthropology enables me to understand how people live with transforming environments.

Bayar Dashpurev
My work examines the effects of environmental rights in the south Gobi, where mining is the dominant activity.

Hanna Nieber
My research centers on astronomers in Madagascar whose research on outer space connects them to the world and places them on Malagasy grounds.

Sophie Nakueira
With ethnographic methods I can capture how laws and policies are experienced by people in particular contexts and provide insights into why policies work or fail.

Samiksha Bhan
Anthropology enables me to explore how people make sense of disease and demand care in situations of marginality.

Biao Xiang
I wish to explore what kinds of change are possible when we face deep uncertainty and structural stagnation at the same time.

Jing Jing Liu
My research centers on an anthropology of Africa-Asia to question the endurance of Western hegemony and to imagine new futures for global citizens.

Andrew Haxby
I continue to see anthropology as a lens for understanding the meaning of everyday life, one that is well suited for making sense of how our world is transforming.

Desirée Kumpf
I study how people engage with environmental politics in their daily lives – for example, Green Growth or new conservation approaches like rewilding.

Christoph Brumann
Urban development, UN operations, Buddhist economies – anthropology helps me to make sense of modern institutions and their contradictions.

Julia Vorhölter
Anthropology allows me to question the taken-for-granted; it reminds me that things could be different and helps me to understand why they are not.
News
The Alumni Interview: 10 Questions for Anita von Poser
March 30, 2023
At irregular intervals we publish interviews with alumni of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. We find out where they are living and working now, what they are conducting research on ...
Ursula Rao, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, has been appointed as a member of the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR). This body advises ...
Good Intentions and Missed Opportunities: The Educational Experiences of Young Refugees
November 15, 2022
When thousands of refugees began arriving in Europe in 2015, they were received with an outpouring of solidarity and assistance. Particular concern was directed towards the needs of children and ...
Workshop Report "Colonialism and Transgenerational Memory in Europe"
November 15, 2022
The workshop “Colonialism and Transgenerational Memory in Europe” was held at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology on 21–22 September 2022. The workshop convener was Markus Wurzer from the ...