Davide Casciano
Born 28th January 1986.
Qualifications
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow, LAGOSTECH project / Research Associate at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Belgium / Visiting Researcher at San José State University (SJSU), Department of Anthropology, United States, 2024-2027.
Research interests: Nigeria, ICTs, digital anthropology, Consumer and material culture, business anthropology, Silicon Valley.
Research Fellow at the University College London (UCL), Anthropology Dept., United Kingdom, 2023-2024.
Research interests: Nigeria, Political Anthropology, Extortion, Consumer culture, ICTs, digital anthropology.
"Assegnista di ricerca" at the Dept. of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, Italy / Researcher in the LUXCORE project, Research Council of Norway, 2021-2023.
Research interests: Nigeria, Italy, South Africa, Crime and criminalisation, Consumer culture, Corruption, ICTs.
Adjunct Professor of Social Anthropology at the Dept. of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, Italy, 2021-2023.
I teach for a course on the anthropology of crime and criminalisation aimed at bachelor's students.
Honorary Teaching Assistant of Social Anthropology at the Dept. of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, Italy, 2019-now.
I organise seminars and help students with their theses focused on Nigeria or South Africa.
Visiting Researcher in the Dept. of Social Anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, 2018-2019.
Research interests: Security and Securitization, South Africa, private security companies, ICTs.
PhD (with scholarship) in History, Anthropology, Religion, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 2014-2018.
Research project: «Pentecostals, politics and violence in the Niger Delta». Anthropological curriculum. Fieldwork in Port Harcourt. Supervisor: Prof. Pino Schirripa.
Research interests: Pentecostalism, Armed Struggles, Oil, Conflicts.
Visiting Research Student at the University of Birmingham, UK, March - June 2017.
Project «Pentecostalism, oil and armed struggle in the Niger Delta, Nigeria». Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies. Supervisor: Prof. Allan Anderson.
Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology, «Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 110/110 cum laude), 2009-2013.
Fieldwork in Ibadan, Nigeria, examining therapeutic pathways undertaken by social agents affected by HIV with a final thesis entitled: «Are you sure it is HIV/AIDS?: discourses, practices and biopolitics of AIDS in Nigeria».
Research interests: Pentecostalism, Aladura Christianity, Medical Anthropology, AIDS.
Three-year bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the «Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 2006-2009.
Final dissertation on the subject of the Aladura and Nigerian Pentecostal churches in Rome with two months of research undertaken in Rome, entitled «Celestial Church of Christ and Aladura, a Charismatic Nigerian Church».
Grants and Fundings
Torno Subito grant, Italy, 2018-2019.
Torno Subito allowed my stay in South Africa with a full grant.
State scholarship, Italy, 2014-2017.
Following participation in a competitive exam, I was awarded a state scholarship.
Travel grant from IFRA, France, Nigeria, 02/08-29/10/2011.
As an external researcher, my travel expenses were paid for by the Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique – Nigeria, in order to carry out an ethnographic study in Ibadan into issues linked to HIV/AIDS among Yoruba speakers.
Teaching contracts
Centro Astalli, Trento, cultural mediators’ training course “Webinar IN CARE - Nigeria: maternity and motherhood in migration. Italy. 27/10/2021.Teaching contract for a lesson entitled «Webinar IN CARE - Nigeria: maternity and motherhood in migration».
Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. 2021/2023.Teaching contract for a bachelor's course in the anthropology of crime and criminalisation at the Dept. of History and Cultures, University of Bologna.
Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy. 13/05/2017.Teaching contract in second level Master's in Studi interculturali. Saperi e pratiche per l'accoglienza dei richiedenti asilo (Intercultural Studies. Knoledge and practices for the reception of asylum seekers). Title: «Secrets Cults in Nigeria and asylum seekers».
Link Campus University Università degli Studi, Rome, Italy. 21/01/2017.Teaching contract in second level Master's in Trade, Investment and Cooperation in Africa, African Studies, within the module «A common language to talk about Africa». Title: «Colonialism and post-colonialism: conflicts and resources in Africa beginning with the case of Nigeria».
Teaching collaborations to courses
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. 2019-now.
Guest lecturing at various courses (BA, MA) in Social and Political Anthropology.
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. 2015-2016.
Guest lecturing at various courses (BA, MA) in Social Anthropology and African history.
Conference organization
17th EASA Biennial Conference Belfast 2022: Tranformation, Hope and Commons. Belfast, UK, and virtual. 26/07/2022.
Co-convener (and opening remarks) for the panel 157,
Crimes of the Powerful: Past, Present and Future [AnthroCrime].
Lagos Studies Association conference 2022, University of Lagos, Nigeria, and virtual. 22/06/2022.
Chair and organiser for Session 5E,
Corruption and Luxury Seductions in Nigerian Social Life
LUXCORE conference: Elites, Corruption and the ‘Defiance Industry, University of Bologna, Italy. 20/05/2012.
Co-organizer and opening remarks.
https://www.algorithmic-governance.com/post/luxcore-conference-elites-corruption-and-the-defiance-industry
Main organizer and chair of the Anthropology of Crime and Criminalisation (AnthroCrime) and the Anthropology of Security (ASN) European Association of Social Anthropologists Networks Joint (f2f) Conference 2022, University of Bologna, Italy. 17-19/05/2022This three-day (free) conference brought together two European Social Anthropology networks: AnthroCrime and ASN. The event featured eleven panels and four book presentations.
https://eventi.unibo.it/anthro-crime-security-easa-2022
Co-organizer and convenor of the international online workshop on Anthropology of Crime and Criminalization. University of Bologna, Italy. 08-10/10/2020.
Co-organizer of the seminar series 2020/2021 "Focus on Nigeria" for the MA degree course in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology (also valid for BA), University of Bologna, Italy.Designer and co-organiser of a seminar consisting of eight lectures, by European, African and American scholars focusing on the history, society, culture and politics of Nigeria.
https://eventi.unibo.it/seminari-antropologia-culturale-etnologia/focus-on-nigeria-ciclo-di-seminari-2020-2021
Co-organizer and convenor of the international online workshop on Anthropology of Crime and Criminalization. University of Bologna, Italy. 08-10/10/2020.
Online workshop on the anthropology of crime and criminalization with over thirty from all over the world.
https://eventi.unibo.it/anthropology-of-crime-workshop
7th Bi-annual Peace and Conflict Studies in Anthropology Conference, PACSA, EASA, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. 20/04/2019.
Convenor for the panel
Religion, Peace and Conflict.
Volunteer for the ASSHH 2nd International HIV Conference, Paris, France 07-10/06/2013.
Front and IT support for the 2nd International HIV Social Sciences and Humanities Conference.
Research network partecipation
ANTHROCRIME EASA Network, 2021-now.
Co-convener and founder of the European Association of Social Anthropologists network on the Anthropology of Crime and Criminalisation, ANTHROCRIME.
https://www.anthrocrime.net/
Research Network on Algorithmic Governance, Oslo, Norway, 2020-now.
Member of the Research Network on Algorithmic Governance
https://www.algorithmic-governance.com/
Study group on Nigeria, University of Bologna, Italy, 2019-now.
Study group of BA and MA students on Nigeria (history and social anthropology).
G2 (Second Generation) and Health Project, Rome, Italy, 12/2010-12/2011.
Interdisciplinary project (featuring anthropologists, doctors, general medical practitioners, epidemiologists and other experts in the public health sector) with the aim of interpreting issues linked to second generation citizens (children of immigrants who were born in Italy) and their access to regional health services.
Editorial board of scientific peer-reviewed journals
Errantes, Journal of Social and Cultural Anthropology of the Department of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, Italy.
Managing Editor of
Errantes, Journal of Social and Cultural Anthropology.
Professional Affiliations
European Association of Social Anthropologists, EASA
Member of EASA and co-convener founder of ANTHROCRIME.
Lagos Studies Association, LSA, Nigeria and USA
Member of the Lagos Studies Association, an international, interdisciplinary organization of academic and non-academic practitioners whose interest focus on Lagos and its peoples.
Other skills
Webmaster (PHP, HTML, MySQL) and System Administrator (Linux, Unix, Windows).
Photography (portraits, documentary and travels, Canon 5D Mark II).