Profile

Philippe Messier
Name:
Philippe Messier
Email:
phmessier@upei.ca
Position:
Assistant Professor
Department:
Sociology and Anthropology
Island Scholar:
Island Scholar Biography

Assistant Professor (Anthropology)

BSc (Montréal); MA (Laval); PhD (McGill)

I am a sociocultural and visual anthropologist who primarily researches the relationship between economic and technological transformations in South Asia. My work questions superficial contrasts made between high- and low-skill workers and their contribution to South India’s growing technology economies. I conduct fieldwork research and produce collaborative video production with both computer engineers and stonecutters in Hyderabad, in the newly formed state of Telangana. In India and beyond, I am also interested in the impacts of audiovisual infrastructures, automation, and artificial intelligence in workplaces and organizations.

Research projects:

SSHRC Insight Grant (2022-2027): “Coping with Infrastructural Curves: Marginalized Citizens Challenging State Plans in India and Vietnam.” Principal Investigator (with co-investigators: Karine Gagné, Sarah Turner, and Jean Michaud.

SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2019-2023) “Connecting People Positively? The Infrastructure of Mobility in Democratic India and Socialist Vietnam” Principal Investigator (with co-investigators: Karine Gagné, Sarah Turner, and Jean Michaud.

Courses offered at UPEI:

ANTH1050 Introduction to Anthropology

SAN2080 Socio-cultural Imagination

SAN2590 Peoples of Southeast Asia

SAN3590 Cultures and Futures of Work

ANTH3210 Field Methods

SAN4625 Media and Infrastructure

Students are welcome to contact me to discuss their ideas for directed studies, honours, and graduate studies projects. PDF copies of my publications are available for free upon request.

Relevant Links