John Comaroff

John Comaroff
Born	(1945-01-01) 1 January 1945 (age 80) Cape Town, South Africa
Alma mater	University of Cape Town London School of Economics
Scientific career
Fields	Anthropology
Institutions	Harvard University
Doctoral advisor	Isaac Schapera

John L. Comaroff (born 1 January 1945)^[1] is a retired professor of African and African American Studies and of anthropology. He is recognized for his study of African and African-American society. Comaroff and his wife, anthropologist Jean Comaroff, have collaborated on publications examining post-colonialism and the Tswana people of South Africa. He has written several texts describing his research and has presented peer-reviewed anthropological theories of African cultures that have relevance to understanding global society.^[2]

In 2020, Comaroff was placed on paid administrative leave from his position at Harvard University after allegations of sexual harassment. In January 2022 he was placed on unpaid leave before resuming teaching in September.^[3] In 2023, a student lawsuit against Harvard for inadequately responding to the allegations moved to mediation before being settled in 2024. The same year, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences extended a one-time retirement option to all tenured professors aged 73 and above. Comaroff took advantage of this opportunity, formally notifying Harvard on March 8. His retirement became effective on June 30, 2024.^[4][5]

Early life and education

Comaroff was born in Cape Town, South Africa, the only child of Jane Miller Comaroff and Louis (sometimes known as Lionel) Comaroff. His father's family was from Russian Empire, Ukraine: his grandfather migrated in the early 1890s from Ukraine to England, and his father, Louis, was born in Rhodesia.^[6] Comaroff's mother's family migrated to South Africa from Russian Empire, Lithuania in the early 1900s.^[6]

Comaroff was the first person in his family to attend university. He attended the University of Cape Town, where he developed his interest in anthropology. In his second year at the university, he met his classmate and future wife, Jean. They completed their bachelor's degrees and part of their Honors year at the University of Cape Town. The second part of their Honors year was completed at the London School of Economics.

Career

Comaroff has conducted most of his field research in South Africa. From 1969 to 1970 he spent 19 months studying society, culture, politics, and law among the Barolong boo Ratshidi, part of the Tswana chiefdoms along the South Africa-Botswana Borderland. From 1972 to 1973, he went back to the Mafeking District, of the Barolong boo Ratshidi, for supplementary research on society and culture for filming Heal the Whole Man, which looks at healing and other religious practices of the Barolong boo Ratshidi.^[7] He then focused his research on the social and cultural aspects of economic development of the Barolong in Botswana for 15 months in 1974 and 1975. From 1977 to 1978 for three months, he focused on this group again but looked at the rise of agrarian capitalism. During the summers of 1990–1998, Comaroff returned to South Africa to conduct research in various places such as Bophuthatswana, better known as the North West Province. From 1999 to 2001, he again studied in the North West Province, looking at occult-related violence. He researched this topic for 15 months. Then from 2002 to 2001, he studied crime and policing in this area. During 2005–2010 he did comparative research  on the ways in which ethnic identity and cultural property have become commoditized, focusing on the Tswana and San peoples as case studies.^[8]

Comaroff joined the American Bar Foundation in 1991 as a research fellow until 2012. He is no longer an affiliated scholar at the American Bar Foundation.^[9]

Since 2009, Comaroff has worked on the project Ethnicity Inc., follow-up research being conducted in connection with the Comaroffs' book Ethnicity Inc. The project focuses on why ethnic groups have become increasingly like corporations, why culture has become more like intellectual property, and what about the contemporary world has made it that way.^[6]

In 2012 the Comaroffs published a book, Theory from the South, which explores the way in which research conducted in Africa helps us to understand emerging patterns in global economy and society.^[10]

John and Jean Comaroff spent 34 years teaching at the University of Chicago. In 2012, he and Jean Comaroff took teaching positions at Harvard University.^[4]

Research interests

Much of Comaroff's early work was focused on African politics and law. His first book, Rules and Processes: The Cultural Logic of Dispute in an African Context, co-authored with Simon Roberts, explored the nature of Tswana legal processes.^[11]

Witchcraft has been a topic of long-standing interest for the Comaroffs as well. They became particularly interested in this phenomenon after they returned to South Africa in the 1990s, shortly before and after apartheid had ended in South Africa, when the northern provinces experienced a rise in witch-related killings.^[12]

Global capitalism also serves as a topic of interest for both Comaroffs. Their Ethnicity Inc. (2009) focuses on the topic of global capitalism and its impact on social identity. So does their work on the concept of lawfare, which investigates how the law has been used to perpetrate, and to counter the perpetration of, violence. The concept is developed in their book Law and Disorder in the Postcolony (2006).^[13]

In their book, Of Revelation and Revolution, the Comaroffs look closely at hegemony. Their definition states, "We take hegemony to refer to that order of signs and practices, relations and distinctions, images and epistemologies – drawn from a historically situated cultural field – that come to be taken for granted for as the natural and received shape of the world"(Comaroff, 1991).

In addition to holding professorships at Chicago and Harvard, Comaroff has been a lecturer in social anthropology at the University College of Swansea, University of Wales (1971–1972) and the University of Manchester (1972–1978). He has also been a visiting professor at the University of California Riverside (1981–1982), Duke University (1989), Tel Aviv University (2000), University of Basel (2005), and the University of Vienna (2007). Additionally, Comaroff was an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Manchester in the International Centre for Contemporary Cultural Research (1994–1995) and in the Department of Social Anthropology (1996–1998). In 1988 and 1995 he was an Associate Director of Studies at the Ecole des Haute Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Furthermore, Comaroff was a visiting scholar at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin (1998), a visiting fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advance Study in South Africa (2010 and 2011), And between 2004 and 2020,an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town.

Awards and honors

• Jensen Memorial Lectures, Frobenius Institute, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (2001)^[14]
• Monica Wilson Memorial Lecture, University of Cape Town (2004)
• Carl Schlettwein Lecture, Zentrum für Afrikastudien Basel, University of Basel (2005)
• Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Chicago (2002)^[15]
• Anders Retzius Gold Medal, Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, presented by the King of Sweden (2007, with Jean Comaroff)
• Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize, Law and Society Association, for career-long contributions to the study of law (2008, with Jean Comaroff)

Sexual harassment allegations

In May 2020, The Harvard Crimson reported that multiple students had filed Title IX complaints alleging harassment and professional retaliation by Comaroff; he was subsequently placed on paid administrative leave for a semester.^[16][17]

In January 2022, Harvard completed two internal reviews and placed Comaroff on unpaid leave for one semester, finding a violation of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' sexual and professional conduct policies arising out of what was adjudged to be inappropriate verbal communication.^[18] He was barred temporarily from teaching required courses and taking on new advisees, although he continued to teach his graduate advisees.^[19][20]

Three graduate students filed a lawsuit in February 2022 against Harvard, alleging the university failed to respond adequately to longstanding harassment and retaliation claims^[21]; Comaroff and Harvard each denied the allegations.^[22] The case entered mediation in late 2023 and, in 2024, dismissed with prejudice and without costs.^[22][23][22]

After Comaroff returned from administrative leave, on September 6, 2022, students walked out of his classroom before the first lecture of the semester was to begin. The Harvard Graduate Students Union then staged a protest outside the building, criticizing Harvard's decision to not fire Comaroff. They also circulated a petition demanding that Harvard be more transparent about how it conducted sexual harassment investigations and decided upon sanctions.^[24] Comaroff faced a similar walkout and protest at his first class of January 2023.^{[25][3][4][5]}

Dean Hopi Hoekstra confirmed in October 2023 that a few sanctions were still in place, and under consideration, including restrictions on some of Comaroff’s teaching assignments, but these came to an end with his retirement.^{[22][26][27][4][5]}

Bibliography

• Comaroff, J. & Comaroff J. (1991). Of Revelation and Revolution Volume 1: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa. Illinois, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2006). Law and Disorder in the Postcolony. Illinois, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2009). Ethnicity Inc. Illinois, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2011). Theory from the South: Or, How Euro-America is Evolving Toward Africa. Colorado, Boulder: Paradigm.
• Comaroff, John L., & Roberts, S. (1986). Rules and Processes: The Cultural Logic of Dispute in an African Context. Illinois, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Comaroff, J., Comaroff, J., & James, D. (2007). Picturing a Colonial Past: The African Photographs of Isaac Schapera. Illinois, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Notes

1. Europa Publications, International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004 (Routledge, 2003: ISBN 1-85743-179-0), p. 111.
2. "John L. Comaroff". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
3. Kim, Ariel H.; Xu, Meimei (21 January 2022). "Harvard Anthropology Prof. John Comaroff Placed on Leave Following Sexual Harassment, Professional Misconduct Inquiries". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2 February 2022. Cite error: The named reference "Crimson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
4. Robinson, Tilly R. (2 August 2024). "Embattled Harvard Professor John Comaroff Retires Without Emeritus Status". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 11 October 2024. Cite error: The named reference "CrimsonRetire" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
5. Jiménez, Jesus (15 August 2024). "Harvard Settles Lawsuit Over Claims of Sexual Harassment by a Professor". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024. Cite error: The named reference "NYTdismissal" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. Comaroff, Jean (2009). Ethnicity, Inc. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-11472-9.
7. Comaroff, Jean (1980). "Healing and the Cultural Order: The Case of the Barolong Boo Ratshidi of Southern Africa". American Ethnologist. 7 (4): 637–657. ISSN 0094-0496.
8. Comaroff, John L. (1974). "Chiefship in a South African Homeland: A Case Study of the Tshidi Chiefdom of Bophuthatswana". Journal of Southern African Studies. 1 (1): 36–51. ISSN 0305-7070.
9. "American Bar Foundation Scholars and Staff". ABF. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
10. Comaroff, Jean; Comaroff, John (25 February 2012). "Theory from the South: A Rejoinder". Society for Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
11. "Rules and Processes: The Cultural Logic of Dispute in an African Context" (PDF). Void Network.
12. Redding, Sean (26 March 2019), "Witchcraft in Africa: Political Power and Spiritual Insecurity from the Precolonial Era to the Present", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4, retrieved 5 November 2025
13. "The concerted, cowardly #MeToo attack on Harvard professor John Comaroff". World Socialist Web Site. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
14. "John Comaroff". Harvard Department of Anthropology. Harvard University. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
15. "Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching". UChicago.
16. Bikales, James (29 May 2020). "Protected by Decades-Old Power Structures, Three Renowned Harvard Anthropologists Face Allegations of Sexual Harassment". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
17. Gluckman, Nell (25 August 2020). "The Patron". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
18. Gluckman, Nell (20 January 2022). "Harvard Professor Is Put on Unpaid Leave After University Finds He Violated Sex-Harassment Rules". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
19. Cho, Isabelle B.; Kim, Ariel H. (4 February 2022). "38 Harvard Faculty Sign Open Letter Questioning Results of Misconduct Investigations into Prof. John Comaroff". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
20. Brown, Vincent A.; Johnson, Alison F.; Weld, Kirsten A. (8 February 2022). "A Response Letter from 73 Faculty Members". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
21. Gluckman, Nell (8 February 2022). "3 Women Accused a Harvard Anthropologist of Harassment and Retaliation. Now They're Suing". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
22. Hartocollis, Anemona (8 February 2022). "A Lawsuit Accuses Harvard of Ignoring Sexual Harassment by a Professor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
23. Folmar, Chloe (8 February 2022). "Harvard accused of ignoring sexual harassment in new suit". The Hill. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
24. Cho, Isabella B.; Kim, Ariel H.; Xu, Meimei (7 September 2022). "Harvard Grad Student Union Protests Comaroff's Return to Teaching After Sexual Harassment Findings". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
25. Boit, Darley A.C.; Hamid, Rahem D.; Schisgall, Elias J. (25 January 2023). "More than 100 Students Walk Out of Embattled Harvard Professor Comaroff's First Class of Semester". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
26. Kim, Ariel H.; Xu, Meimei (10 February 2022). "35 Harvard Professors Retract Support for Letter Questioning Results of Comaroff Investigations". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
27. Krantz, Laura (8 February 2022). "Three graduate students file sexual harassment suit against prominent Harvard anthropology professor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

External links

• Harvard bio
• John L. Comaroff author site