Philippe Descola

Professor of Anthropology. Social anthropologist and major figure in anthropology who holds the chair of anthropology at the Collège de France. Author of nine books, several translated into many languages, and more than one hundred articles and book chapters. Most of his field-work was conducted among the Achuar Jivaro of the Ecuadorian Amazon with whom he spent over three years (1976 to 1979) and where he has returned for shorter periods ever since. Conducted field work in Chiapas, Mexico and Southern France. Topically and theoretically, is one of the most original thinkers on nature and ecology, including relationships between humans and non-humans. More recently, his interest extended to the ontologies of making images, with stunning comparative perspectives, from the Australian aborigines to the Dutch painters and French impressionists. Fellow of the British Academy.