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Kriti Kapila

Dr Kriti Kapila

Lecturer in Social Anthropology and Law

Currently on sabbatical until August 2024

Biography

Kriti Kapila is a Lecturer in Anthropology and Law at King's India Institute and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. She is currently on sabbatical as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (2023-24). She is Visiting Professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris and was previously Visiting Professor at the Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale at the College de France (January - June 2022).

Kriti did her PhD at the London School of Economics and her master's at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Prior to working at King's, she held a Senior Research Associate position at the Institute of Global Health, University College London, and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Kriti chairs the Society for Ethnographic Theory.

Research

  • Anthropology of the State
  • Law and Anthropology
  • Ethnographic Theory
  • Anthropology of Science and Technology
  • Anthropology of the Digital
  • Contemporary India

Kriti is the author of Nullius: The Anthropology of Ownership, Sovereignty, and the Law in India (HAU Books, Chicago, 2022) and has written extensively on the politics of recognition and indigeneity. She is currently completing a book manuscript on the anthropology of ancient DNA and genomic medicine in India. Her new research focuses on digital statemaking in India in the wake of biometrics (Aadhaar).

Teaching

Kriti has previously taught a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including The Politics of Medicine, The Politics of Life and Death, Law and Social Change in India, and India in the World: Anthropological Perspectives.

PhD supervision

Kriti welcomes PhD applications within her research areas and cognate topics.

Further details

See Kriti's research profile

    Research

    CMP Logo-72dpi
    Culture, Medicine & Power research group

    Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.

    News

    King's academic wins prize for book on anthropology of South Asia

    Dr Kriti Kapila won the Bernard S Cohn prize for her book on the anthropology of ownership, sovereignty and the law in India.

    Nullius Book Cover

    King's academics selected as members of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton

    Professor Ann Kelly and Dr Kriti Kapila were selected as 2023-24 members of the Institute which is a leading centre for theoretical research in sciences and...

    Professor Ann Kelly (left) and Dr Kriti Kapila (right)

    India Institute academic releases new book about ownership in India

    Kriti Kapila, Lecturer in Social Anthropology and Law, has released her latest book, ‘Nullius: The Anthropology of Ownership, Sovereignty, and the Law in...

    Book cover of Nullius. Image of an old oil mill used to punish prisoners.

    From microfinance to advising policymakers in India – the journey of a Chevening alumnus

    Jayshree Venkatesan, an alumnus of the Chevening Financial Services Leadership programme, supported India's adoption of social impact bonds.

    Jayshree Venkatesan, an alumnus of the Chevening Financial Services Leadership programme

    Events

    21Junsouth asia satellite2

    Change and continuity in South Asia: Unpacking identity, security and technology

    Join Kriti Kapila and Rohan Mukherjee for the keynote address, opening the 2022 King's India Institute Graduate Conference.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    10FebBook cover of Nullius

    Nullius: The Anthropology of Ownership, Sovereignty, and the Law in India

    A discussion with the author Dr Kriti Kapila

    Please note: this event has passed.

    18MarBook cover The Greater India Experiment

    The Greater India Experiment: Hindutva and the Northeast

    A book discussion event with the author Arkotong Longkumer.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    Features

    Partnerships, Power, Potential: GHSM on from 10

    This exhibition takes a look at the research being undertaken by GHSM academics and students across the world.

    GHSM on from 10 photo (1)

      Research

      CMP Logo-72dpi
      Culture, Medicine & Power research group

      Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.

      News

      King's academic wins prize for book on anthropology of South Asia

      Dr Kriti Kapila won the Bernard S Cohn prize for her book on the anthropology of ownership, sovereignty and the law in India.

      Nullius Book Cover

      King's academics selected as members of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton

      Professor Ann Kelly and Dr Kriti Kapila were selected as 2023-24 members of the Institute which is a leading centre for theoretical research in sciences and...

      Professor Ann Kelly (left) and Dr Kriti Kapila (right)

      India Institute academic releases new book about ownership in India

      Kriti Kapila, Lecturer in Social Anthropology and Law, has released her latest book, ‘Nullius: The Anthropology of Ownership, Sovereignty, and the Law in...

      Book cover of Nullius. Image of an old oil mill used to punish prisoners.

      From microfinance to advising policymakers in India – the journey of a Chevening alumnus

      Jayshree Venkatesan, an alumnus of the Chevening Financial Services Leadership programme, supported India's adoption of social impact bonds.

      Jayshree Venkatesan, an alumnus of the Chevening Financial Services Leadership programme

      Events

      21Junsouth asia satellite2

      Change and continuity in South Asia: Unpacking identity, security and technology

      Join Kriti Kapila and Rohan Mukherjee for the keynote address, opening the 2022 King's India Institute Graduate Conference.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      10FebBook cover of Nullius

      Nullius: The Anthropology of Ownership, Sovereignty, and the Law in India

      A discussion with the author Dr Kriti Kapila

      Please note: this event has passed.

      18MarBook cover The Greater India Experiment

      The Greater India Experiment: Hindutva and the Northeast

      A book discussion event with the author Arkotong Longkumer.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      Features

      Partnerships, Power, Potential: GHSM on from 10

      This exhibition takes a look at the research being undertaken by GHSM academics and students across the world.

      GHSM on from 10 photo (1)