David Coplan

David B. Coplan is Professor and Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also held visiting appointments at institutions as diverse as University of Basel, École des Hautes Études Sciences Sociales (Paris), Rice University, NYU, DePauw University, and the University of Cape Town. He acted as the Chief Researcher for the “Mobilising Culture and Heritage for Nation Building” in South Africa’s Arts and Culture Department and worked as an ethnographic research consultant for University of Pennsylvania Museum and International Library of African Music.Professor Coplan has received awards and grants from Fulbright-Hayes, SSRC, NEH, ACLS, Human Sciences Research Council, Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Arts Council of South Africa, and the Ernst Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.
His research interests include African ethnology, history and theory of anthropology, performing arts, urban anthropology, culture change, social organization and border studies.