Ulf Hannerz, (born June 9, 1942, in Malmö) is a Swedish anthropologist known for his pioneering work on globalization, urban anthropology, multi-sited ethnography, and cultural theory. He is currently an Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University.^[1]

In 2000, Hannerz delivered the Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture at the University of Rochester,^[2] considered by many to be the most important annual lecture series in the field of Anthropology.^[3] He is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.,^[2][4] the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from The Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo.^[5]

Early life and education[edit]

Hannertz was born in Malmö on 9 June 1942.

At the age of 14, Hannerz became a minor celebrity in Sweden when he appeared on the first episode of the television game show Kvitt eller dubbelt - 10.000 kronorsfrågan (literally: Double or Nothing - The 10,000 Kronor Question), which was based on the American television show The $64,000 Question.^[7] Hannerz was introduced with a nickname, Hajen (The Shark), and quizzed on the "tropical aquarium fish." At one point, the judge asked him which of seven displayed fish had lids. He answered—correctly—"hundfisk" (mudminnow). "No," the judge said, "it's slamkrypare (mudskipper)" and though he moved to dismiss Hannerz from the game show, the boy would receive the 10,000 kronor prize. In turn, slamkrypare (mudskipper) entered the Swedish language as a term for a cocksure, but incorrect, assertion.^[6][8]

Hannerz matriculated at Stockholm University, where he originally planned to study zoology.^[9] His plans changed, however, when he took a course on ethnography. He would spend the coming years as a regular presence at the Department of Comparative and General Ethnography, earning a BA in 1963.

After completing his BA, Hannerz moved to the United States to study at Indiana University in Bloomington. He completed an MA in Anthropology there in 1966.^[9] The following years would see him move back and forth between Sweden and the United States, as he would complete two years of ethnographic fieldwork among African-Americans in Washington, DC for tthe dissertation that would earn him a PhD at Stockholm University in 1969. That same year, he published Soulside: Inquiries into Ghetto Culture and Community, a monograph based on research in the United States.

Books[edit]

• (1969, 2004) Soulside: Inquiries into Ghetto Culture and Community 2004: ISBN 0-226-31576-2
• (1974) Caymanian Politics: Structure and Style in a Changing Island Society
• (1980) Exploring the City: Inquiries Toward an Urban Anthropology, ISBN 0-231-08376-9
  • (2006) Spanish translation: La exploracion de la ciudad, ISBN 84-375-0369-8
• (1992) Cultural Complexity: Studies in the Social Organization of Meaning
• (1996) Transnational Connections: Culture, People, Places
  • (1998) Spanish translation: Conexiones transnacionales - Cultura, gente, lugares, ISBN 84-376-1629-8
  • (2006) Polish translation: Powiązania transnarodowe: kultura, ludzie, miejsca, ISBN 83-233-2183-3
• (2000, with Kjell Goldmann, Ulf Hannerz, Charles Westin, eds.) Nationalism and Internationalism in the Post-Cold War Era
• (2000) Flows, Boundaries and Hybrids: Keywords in Transnational Anthropology
• (1992) Culture, Cities and the World
• (1986, with Ulla Wagner) Anthropology of Immigration in Sweden
• (2004) Foreign News: Exploring the World of Foreign Correspondents
• (2010) Anthropology's World: Life in a Twenty-First Century Discipline ISBN 978-0-7453-3047-1
• (2016) Writing Future Worlds: An Anthropologist Explores Global Scenarios. New York.
• (2017) Small Countries: Structures and Sensibilities. (ed., with Andre Gingrich) Philadelphia.
• (2019) World Watching: Streetcorners and Newsbeats on a Journey through Anthropology. London.
• (2021) Afropolitan Horizons: Essays toward a Literary Anthropology of Nigeria.

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]