Peter Geschiere

Peter Lein Geschiere is a Dutch anthropologist, Africanist and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. He studied at the Free University of Amsterdam obtaining a MA in history in 1967, a MA in anthropology in 1969, and a PhD in anthropology in 1978. Geschiere performed field work in Tunisia, Zaire, French- and English-speaking Cameroon and Senegal (1968-2001), and was a lecturer (1969-1978) and senior lecturer (1978-1988) at the Free University of Amsterdam. Then he held a professorship in Non-Western History at Erasmus University Rotterdam (1985-1988) and was a researcher at the African Studies Centre Leiden (1986-1988). At Leiden University Geschiere worked as Professor of Anthropology and Sociology of Sub-Saharan Africa (1988-2002). From 2000 onward he was Professor of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. Geschiere specialised on Cameroon and the comparative study of processes of change in Africa. In 2002 he won the Distinguished Africanist Award from the US-based African Studies Association.