Erwan Dianteill

Erwan Dianteill (born 1967) is a French sociologist and anthropologist, graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, holder of the aggregation in the Social Sciences, Doctor of Sociology and professor of Cultural and Social anthropology at the Sorbonne (Paris Descartes University). He is also a Senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France since 2012

Dianteill's work explores anthropological and sociological theories about religion and interconnections between political and religious powers. It also includes the study of symbolic origins of domination and resistance.

He has done researches on Afro-American cultures (Cuba, United States, Brazil), on the evolution of autochthonous religions in West Africa (Benin) and on new Christian churches. He published two books on Afrocuban religions in Havana and one book on the African American Spiritual Church in New Orleans.

Erwan Dianteill is presently completing this Afro-Atlantic research with a fieldwork in West Africa : he has been conducting a fieldwork since 2007 in Porto-Novo (Benin) on the transformation of the Fa/Ifá divination in a modern African city (in 2009, film of a Fa/Ifá initiation and complete recording of the myths attached to the Fa/Ifá divination signs). He also conducts a critical reading of the history of anthropology and sociology of religions (three books co-authored with Michael Löwy).

Erwan Dianteill is the head of The Center of Cultural and Social Anthropology – CANTHEL – component of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences – Sorbonne. Along with Francis Affergan, he founded CARGO – International journal of Cultural and Social anthropology, in 2011.

He was a visiting professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Tulane University (New Orleans), the University of Buenos Aires, the National University of Honduras, the University of Havana, the University of Vienna and Harvard University (Divinity School) in 2016.