David Howes

David Howes is a Canadian anthropologist and legal scholar. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Co-Director of the Centre for Sensory Studies at Concordia University, and (since 2012) an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at McGill University.

Howes is best known as a pioneer of the anthropology of the senses and theorist of the interdisciplinary field of sensory studies. He has published 14 books, ranging from The Varieties of Sensory Experience (1991) to The Sensory Studies Manifesto (2022). He has otherwise published numerous articles on material culture, the museum and cross-cultural aesthetics as well as Canadian and US constitutional law, legal pluralism and cross-cultural jurisprudence. Howes co-founded the journal The Senses and Society (with Michael Bull, Paul Gilroy and Doug Kahn) in 2006, and has otherwise served as the general editor of the Sensory Formations book series (2003–2009) and the new Sensory Studies book series from Routledge (2015– ).

Howes has conducted field research on the social and cultural life of the senses in Papua New Guinea, Northwestern Argentina, and the Southwestern United States. He recently wrapped up a project on “Law and the Regulation of the Senses: Explorations in Sensori-Legal Studies” and is currently directing a project called “Explorations in Sensory Design.”

Howes is a past holder of the Chaire Jacques Leclercq at the Université Catholique Louvain (2018) and was awarded the title of Distinguished research Professor by Concordia University in 2021.

Research Interests

Sensory Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Legal Anthropology, Constitutional Studies, Popular Culture, Culture and Consumption, Aesthetics and Atmospheres, Art and Design.

Refereed Conference Presentations

Morin, Danielle, Barrington, J., Dyer, L., Boutchkova, M. and Thomas, J.D.E. The “Clicker” Project: A Scholarly Approach to Technology Integration, (in proceedings) 15th EDiNEB Conference, Advances in Business Education and Training, Malaga, Spain, (June 2008).

Refereed Conference Presentations

Morin, Danielle, Barrington, J., Dyer, L., Boutchkova, M. and Thomas, J.D.E. The “Clicker” Project: A Scholarly Approach to Technology Integration, (in proceedings) 15th EDiNEB Conference, Advances in Business Education and Training, Malaga, Spain, (June 2008).