Research Bio

Lawrence Cohen is a medical and political anthropologist whose research explores the body, health, politics, and social change in South Asia. His research straddles many areas, most notably the study of old age and neuropsychiatric disorder; of sexual and gender difference and community on the economic and social margin; of alternative medicine, in particular Ayurveda; of the practice and regulation of organ transplantation and other surgeries that emerge as sites of public concern; of biometric governance and data security as sites of political and medical transformation; of the comparative study of public concern in the wake of the Covid pandemic. He is well-known for the book No Aging in India, which was the recipient of multiple awards internationally. The book examines aging, memory, and family care in India across gender and caste in the context of postcolonial transformation.  Cohen is Professor of Anthropology and South & Southeast Asian Studies . 

Research Expertise and Interest

social and cultural anthropology, medical anthropology, critical gerontology, feminist and queer theory, Science and Technology studies