Celebrating the Life and Work of Professor Lambros Comitas at TC

At Teachers College on June 2, 2023, the Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS) and TC Programs in Anthropology will be holding an event in honor of Professor Lambros Comitas. Admired by both students and peers, Professor Comitas believed that human problems could be resolved through a deep and expansive understanding of human society and that Anthropology held the key to this understanding. He founded the Joint Program in Applied Anthropology in which he advised over one hundred students through their doctoral dissertations.

A highlight of the day will be a gift to all attendees of Professor Comitas’ last book, Hashish Dialogues – in which he captures the life histories of hashish users, exposing the culture of Greece from the perspective of those who deviate from it. This long-awaited ethnography, first prefaced in his acceptance of the Gardner Cowles Professorship in Anthropology, is the passion to which he dedicated those rare moments of solitude in his office. Using the ethnographic present, he not only ensures the contemporary relevance of this important work but establishes the inherent dignity and worthiness of all humans throughout time.

We look forward to TC colleagues and alumni coming together to celebrate Professor Comitas' work and share their experiences as students and graduates of a unique program in Anthropology. Further event details can be found here. To RSVP, please email comitas.celebration@cifas.us. We hope you will be able to join us for this special day.