Associate Professor in Social Anthropology
Fellow of St Antony's College
Claudio Sopranzetti’s research interests sit at the nexus of theorizations of capitalism, urbanism, environmental transformation, and social movements in Southeast Asia and Southern Europe. He received his PhD in Social Anthropology from Harvard University in 2013 and, before moving to department, held a postdoctoral research fellowship at All Souls College and an Associate Professorship at the Central European University.
He is the author of two monographs: Red Journeys: Inside the Thai Red Shirts Movement (Silkworm and Washington University Press, 2012) and Owners of the Map: Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Mobility, and Politics in Bangkok (University of California Press 2018) that was awarded the 2019 Margaret Mead Award.
In 2021, in collaboration with visual artist Sara Fabbri and editor Chiara Natalucci, he published The King of Bangkok (Toronto University Press) his first anthropological graphic novel.The book was translated in Italian, Thai, French and German (forthcoming) and received the the 2020 Thai Editor Choice Award, The 2021 PROSE award Best Non-fictional Graphic Novel, the 2022 INDIES Award for Best Humanities Graphic Novel, the 2023 ICAS Best Read for the General Public Accolade, and the 2024 Kate Browne Creativity in Research Award and GAD New Directions in Anthropology Award.
Claudio also writes regularly for international media outlets, magazines, and activists’ publications. Currently, he is conducting a new research project in southern Italy exploring the aftermath of a phytopathological epidemic that killed more than 21 million olive trees in the last decade.
