Mark Harris’ research has centred on a core problem in the study of Latin American societies: how to approach the new kinds of people who emerged following the Iberian invasion, the diverse combinations of cultures and personalities in different periods and places. He has taken this challenge to the Amazon and to connect the region to a transatlantic history where it has often been marginalised. Beyond Latin America, Harris has advanced several conceptual themes. Through his experience of both long-term ethnographic fieldwork and archival study in numerous collections Harris has progressed the subdiscipline of historical anthropology, emphasizing the role of imagination in recreating the past. His work on the role of rivers and seasonality in the shaping of human societies has reconceived the concept of rhythm and periodicity in human/nature relations.

Harris has experience of working in universities in the UK, US, Brazil and now Australia. He has given classes to undergraduate students in Europe, and Brazil, more recently in Adelaide. He is planning a new funded research project comparing the Indigenous histories and their contemporary experiences in Brazil and Australia. His intellectual home is in a broadly conceived humanities context, and he relishes the prospect of contributing this environment at Monash especially in areas such as Indigenous Studies, Colonialism and Decolonisation as well as History, Anthropology, and Philosophy more generally. His overall aim is to create a community of learners that empowers staff and students to lead in the making of knowledge, impact, and education that addresses global challenges in socially responsible ways.