Christian Giordano is a Swiss anthropologist and sociologist born in Lugano

Lugano

Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. Since 1989, he has been Professor of Ethnology and Social Antropology and Head of the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Fribourg

University of Fribourg

The University of Fribourg is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.The roots of the University can be traced back to 1582, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Frobourg...

 in Switzerland.

Giordano is co-founder of Anthropological Journal on European Cultures. He is chief editor of Freiburg Studies in Social Anthropology and part of the editorial board of the journals Ethnologia Balkanica, Focaal, Etudes Rurales, Eastern European Countryside, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas.

Giordano studied anthropology, art history

Art history

Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...

 and Romance languages

Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...

 at the University of Heidelberg, as well as law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 at the University of Bern. He obtained his PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in sociology from Heidelberg University in 1973, habilitation

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

 in cultural anthropology and European ethnology

Ethnology

Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...

 from Frankfurt University in 1987 and doctor honoris causa from the University of Timişoara West University of Timişoara

West University of Timisoara

The West University of Timişoara is a university located in Timişoara, Romania. Established in 1962, it is organized in 11 Faculties.-Organization:...

in 1999.

Main publications

• Handwerker- und Bauernverbände in der sizilianischen Gesellschaft. Zünfte, Handwerkerkonfraternitäten u. Arbeiterhilfsvereine zwischen 1750 u. 1890 (Artisans and Farmers in Sicilian society). Tübingen: Mohr, 1975.
• Die Betrogenen der Geschichte. Überlagerungsmentalität und Überlagerungsrationalität in mediterranen Gesellschaften (The Dupes of History). Frankfurt, New York: Campus,1992.
• Власт, недоверие и наследство: Скептична антропология (Power, Mistrust and Legacy: Sceptical Anthropology). София : Полис, 2006.