Johannes Fabian was a German anthropologist who served as professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. His ethnographic and historical research focused on religious movements, language, work, and popular culture in the Shaba mining region of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while his theoretical and critical work addressed questions of epistemology and history in anthropology, most notably in his influential book Time and the Other (1983), which became a classic in the field.
Facts
Birth DateSourced to the subject's own account Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account Death DateSourced to the subject's own account Death YearSourced to the subject's own account BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountGlogau (then Germany, now in Poland) 1 Nationality / CultureSourced to the subject's own account Defining ContributionSourced to the subject's own accountAuthor of Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object (1983), a work that changed how anthropologists think about their relationship with the people they study and is considered an important work of postcolonial critique within anthropology. 1 Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountTime and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object (1983) 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Johannes Fabian
Source Wikipedia: Johannes Fabian
Source Wikipedia: Johannes Fabian
Practices Studied
Source Wikipedia: Johannes Fabian
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Johannes FabianLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 3Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Johannes Fabian (19 May 1937 – 6 January 2026) was a German anthropologist who was professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Johannes Fabian
WikipediaEarly life section, first sentence
Johannes Fabian was born on 19 May 1937 in the German town of Glogau (now in Poland).
Death notice
Fabian died on 6 January 2026, at the age of 88.
Lead paragraph, first sentence
was a German anthropologist who was professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.
Lead paragraph, work description
Fabian is most famous for his book Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object (1983), a classic in the field of anthropology that had changed the way that anthropologists think about their relationship with the people they study and is an important work of postcolonial critique within anthropology.
Associated With: University of Chicago, Article text
His experiences in Austria led him to study anthropology in Munich, before undertaking a master's degree (1965) and PhD (1969) at the University of Chicago.
Associated With: Northwestern University, Article text
After receiving his PhD, he took up appointments at a series of universities: in 1968 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; in 1973 at the University of Zaire; in 1974 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; and finally moved to the University of Amsterdam in 1980, where he was a professor and chair of the department of cultural anthropology until his retirement in 2002.
Associated With: University of Amsterdam, Article text
Johannes Fabian (19 May 1937-6 January 2026) was a German anthropologist who was professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.
Practices Studied: Religion, Lead section
His ethnographic and historical research focuses on religious movements, language, work, and popular culture in the Shaba mining region of Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo).
View the Source Wikidata: Johannes Fabian
Wikidata Q15641418, class allow-list match, case-insensitive label variant (w-bbfill-smallsix2-0926/resolve_ci.ps1)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.