Origins & Early Life

Nancy Scheper-Hughes (born 1944) is an American anthropologist. She is the Chancellor's Professor Emerita of Anthropology and the director and co-founder (with Margaret Lock) of the PhD program in Critical Medical Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her writing on the anthropology of the body, hunger, illness, medicine, motherhood, psychiatry, psychosis, social suffering, violence and genocide, death squads, and human trafficking. Scheper-Hughes is the author of several books, including Death Without Weeping: the Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil (UC Press)[1]; Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics: Mental Illness in Ireland (UC Press, in three editions); Commodifying Bodies (UK Sage) with Loic Wacquant; Violence in War and Peace (Wiley-Blackwell) with Philippe Bourgois; and, most recently, Violence in the Urban Margins (Oxford University Press), with P.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Bourgois and J. Auyero. Scheper-Hughes conducted anthropological fieldwork in Northeast Brazil, Argentina, Israel, South Africa, Moldova, the Philippines and the US. As founding director of Organs Watch, she is a consultant on human organ trafficking for the European Union, Interpol, United Nations...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Aimee Semple McPherson — Contemporary (Died in 1944) (1944): Pioneering Pentecostal evangelist, famous for founding the Foursquare Church.
• Alan Parker — Contemporary (Born in 1944) (1944): Acclaimed English filmmaker known for genre versatility and numerous BAFTA and Golden Globe wins.
• Ali Sayad Shirazi — Contemporary (Born in 1944) (1944): Key Iranian military commander during the Iran-Iraq War, assassinated in 1999.
• Ambrogio Spinola — Shared historical date (09-25 · Died) (1630): Italian-Spanish nobleman and general, renowned for his military prowess in the Spanish Empire.
• Assata Shakur — Shared historical date (09-25 · Died) (2025): Black American activist, revolutionary, and fugitive known for her political militancy.
• Ban Ki-moon — Historical peer (Born in 1944) (1944): South Korean diplomat who served as the UN Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016.
• Barry White — Historical peer (Born in 1944) (1944): Iconic R&B, Soul, and Disco Singer known for his powerful bass voice.
• Carlos Ruiz Zafón — Shared historical date (09-25 · Born) (1964): Acclaimed Spanish novelist, celebrated for 'The Shadow of the Wind'.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones — Shared historical date (09-25 · Born) (1969): Acclaimed Welsh actress known for her versatility across stage and screen.
• Christopher Reeve — Shared historical date (09-25 · Born) (1952): Esteemed actor and tireless advocate for disability rights.
• 1944 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1944
• September 25 (09-25) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on September 25