George E. Marcus

George Marcus is Chancellor’s Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. He joined UCI in 2005, following many years at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Anthropology and co-founded the Center for Cultural Studies. At UCI, Marcus established the Center for Ethnography, dedicated to charting and reimagining the conventions of ethnographic research in light of new collaborative forms and the influence of design thinking.

Marcus has reshaped anthropological theory and method. He co-edited Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography (1986) and co-authored Anthropology as Cultural Critique (1986), two volumes that helped spark anthropology’s “experimental moment.” Through the Late Editions series of annuals in the 1990s, Marcus convened conversations on emergent social forms and ethnographic innovation. He has also co-authored Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary (2008), written with Paul Rabinow and others, and co-edited Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be (2009) with James Faubion.

Known as both a theorist and an institution builder, Marcus has shaped generations of anthropologists through his teaching and mentoring. His work consistently pushes the discipline toward experimental, collaborative, and forward-looking practices of inquiry.