Prof. Erica Caple James

In her work, Professor James has focused on violence and trauma; philanthropy, humanitarianism, and charity; human rights, democratization, and postconflict transition processes; race, gender, and culture; and religion and healing. My first book, Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti (University of California Press 2010), documents the psychosocial experience of Haitian torture survivors targeted during the 1991-94 coup period and analyzes the politics of humanitarian assistance in "post-conflict" nations making the transition to democracy. The research was supported by a Social Science Research Council-MacArthur Foundation Fellowship on Peace and Security in a Changing World (1998-2000) and NIMH pre- and post-doctoral fellowships.

James' second major book project, entitled The Church, the Charity, and the Center: Corporate Catholicism in the Archdiocese of Boston, analyzes the "biopolitics of charity" at a "faith-based" organization serving Haitian immigrants and refugees that is funded through Catholic Charities. The project was supported by funding from the NIH Health Disparities Research Program. My third project, Governing Gifts: Law, Risk, and the "War on Terror", continues this focus on the politics of charity by tracing the impact of U.S. anti-terrorism financing laws and practices on both faith-based and secular NGOs in the United States.