Annelise Riles


Annelise Riles is a leading global interdisciplinary anthropologist and legal scholar.
Effective September 1, 2018, she will be the executive director of the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Studies at Northwestern University, enhancing Northwestern's reputation for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary programs and research on globally relevant topics. Riles is also the associate provost for global affairs and a professor of law and anthropology.
Riles is also the founder and director of Meridian-180, a multilingual forum for transformative leadership. Its global membership of 800+ thought leaders in academia, government and business work together to generate ideas and guidance on the most important problems of our time.

Education and career

Riles received an AB degree from Princeton University in 1988. She received an MSc degree from London School of Economics in 1990 after she received the Marshall Scholarship. She received a JD degree from Harvard Law School in 1993, and a PhD from University of Cambridge in 1996. She was associated with the American Bar Foundation, in 1996-97 as a postdoctoral fellow, and from 1997 to 2002 as a research fellow. She also was a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific in 1995. She was associated with Cornell University beginning in 2001, as a visiting professor. In 2002 she became a professor of the Department of Anthropology, and director of the Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture. In 2007 she became the Jack G. Clarke '52 Professor of Far Eastern Legal Studies.

Books