Who is John Comaroff? Harvard students stage walkout against professor facing s*xual harassment allegations

Professor John Comaroff, who faced s*xual harassment allegations in 2020, returned to Harvard to teach after a year. As he sat down to teach African and African-American Studies 172X: Colonialism and its Postcolonial/Decolonial Afterlives: Critical Readings, almost 100 students walked out of his class.

The students raised slogans against bringing him back to the school. The walkout of students took place on January 24, 2023, and now videos of the same are being widely circulated on the internet.

Comaroff was on unpaid administrative leave from last year as he violated Harvard's s*xual harassment policies. In one of the videos, it can be seen that a student stood up and raised her voice, saying that they don't want to be taught by someone who does not stand accountable for his s*xual misconduct.

She further stated that a person like John Comaroff does not belong in Harvard and those who agree with her should walk out of his class. While she was speaking so, the students started raising the posters in which it was written 'zero tolerance against pre*ators', among others.

As the students walked out of the class, they started raising slogans of 'Justice for survivors.'

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All you need to know about John Comaroff, the professor of anthropology

John Comaroff is an anthropology professor and according to his official website, he has spent around five decades of his life researching, writing, and lecturing about African societies and colonial and postcolonial political economies.

It was further mentioned that he grew up in Cape Town and before working at Harvard, he was a faculty member of the University of Chicago where he served 34 years as a Professor of Anthropology.

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Why the professor has been in news lately?

John Comaroff has been in the news due to a lawsuit that was filed against him by three students in 2020. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs, Lilia Kilburn, Amulya Mandava, and Margaret Czerwienski said that 'for years, he has taken s*xual misadvances, ki*sed and groped students without their consent.'

It is also stated in the suit that John Comaroff threatened Kilburn that corrective r*pe could take place with her if she goes to Africa for field work with her girlfriend. However, Comarroff's attorney denied the allegations and said that the professor did not ki*s or touch Ms Kilburn, at any point in time.

Meanwhile, one of the plaintiffs reacted to videos of students walking out of the class and said:

"As someone who experienced Comaroff's misconduct firsthand, I am so grateful to see others spreading the word. This direct action is essential because Harvard only announced its sanctions against Comaroff to two departments. But everyone needs this information and safety."