Nicholas B. Dirks
| Nicholas Dirks | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 10th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley | |
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In office June 1, 2013 – June 1, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Robert J. Birgeneau |
| Succeeded by | Carol T. Christ |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Janaki Bakhle |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Professor, historian, university administrator |
Nicholas B. Dirks is an American academic and the former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. Dirks is the author of numerous books on South Asian history and culture, primarily concerned with the impact of British colonial rule.
Dirks was born in Illinois but grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, where his father, J. Edward Dirks was a professor at Yale University. When the latter received a Fulbright Scholarship in 1963 to teach at the Madras Christian College, the Dirks family relocated to Madras, where Nicholas's interest in Indian culture first formed. He attended Wesleyan University, where he received a BA in 1972 (College of Social Studies), and the University of Chicago, where he earned a PhD in 1981. At the University of Chicago, he came under the influence of historical anthropologist Bernard Cohn. During this period, he frequently returned to South India for research.
After teaching at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan, Dirks moved to Columbia in 1997, where he dramatically altered the direction of the anthropology department, championing postcolonial and multidisciplinary approaches, and making a variety of strategic appointments. He was named vice president in charge of Columbia's Faculty of Arts and Sciences as of September 2004.
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