Michael Taussig

Michael Taussig, Ph.D., is an anthropologist known for his provocative ethnographic studies and unconventional style as an academic. He is currently a professor of anthropology at both Columbia University and the European Graduate School (EGS) in Switzerland. In spite of his numerous publications in his field, especially in medical anthropology, Taussig is most acclaimed for his commentaries on Karl Marx and Walter Benjamin, especially in relation to the idea of commodity fetishism. Michael Taussig is the author of the following books: What Color is the Sacred? (2009); Walter Benjamin’s Grave (2006); My Cocaine Museum (2004); Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza in a Colombian Town (2003); Defacement (1999); Magic of the State (1997); Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses (1993); The Nervous System (1992); Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing (1987); and The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America (1980). Michael Taussig is the author of numerous articles, including: “What Do Drawings Want?” (Culture, Theory and Critique: 2009); “The Corn Wolf: Writing Apotropaic Texts” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); “Zoology, Magic, and Surrealism in the War on Terror” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); “Redeeming Indigo” (Theory, Culture & Society: 2008); “Getting High with Walter Benjamin and William Burroughs” (Cabinet: 2008); “Zoology, Magic, and Surrealism” (Critical Inquiry: 2008); and many more.