School of Social & Political Sciences

Dr Diego Maria Malara

  • Senior Lecturer (Sociological & Cultural Studies)

Biography

Diego Maria Malara joined the University of Glasgow in 2018 as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Global Religion. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Medical Anthropology from the same institution, an MA in African Studies from Dalarna University, and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Bologna.

Prior to joining the University of Glasgow, he held a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh, and a teaching fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. During his doctoral fieldwork research, he was a research affiliate at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at the University of Addis Ababa.

Research interests

Diego Maria Malara’s research interests include:

  • Ritual and religion
  • Embodiment and personhood
  • Ethics and care
  • Spirit possession, witchcraft and magic
  • Kinship and relatedness
  • Religious media and visual anthropology
  • Religious pluralism
  • Food, commensality and hospitality
  • Health and healing
  • Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity

During fieldwork conducted in 2011-2013, Diego Maria Malara started flirting with visual ethnography. The first offspring of this ongoing romance was ‘The Devil and the Holy Water’ (2016), a documentary film on new forms of Ethiopian Orthodox exorcism that has won several international awards and has been screened in academic fora as well as film festivals across Europe, Australia and the US.

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2026 | 2024 | 2022 | 2018 | 2016 | 2011
Number of items: 18.

2026

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Reece, Koreen (Eds.) (2026) Special Section: Transforming Care. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 16(2) [Edited Journal]

Reece, Koreen M. and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Transforming care. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 16(2), pp. 376-385. (doi: 10.1086/741878)

Reece, Koreen M. and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Kids these days: On generation and crisis. History and Anthropology, (doi: 10.1080/02757206.2026.2651988)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Reece, Koreen (Eds.) (2026) On Generation and Crisis. History and Anthropology. [Edited Journal] (Accepted for Publication)

Haustein, Jörg, Østebø, Terje, Idris, Abduletif Kedir and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Introduction: religion and politics in post-EPRDF Ethiopia. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 20(2), pp. 313-333. (doi: 10.1080/17531055.2026.2682036)

2024

Ingold, Tim, Gibb, Robert ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-6227, Tonner, Philip ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8243-7385 and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2024) Conversations with Tim Ingold: Anthropology, Education and Life. Scottish Universities Press: Edinburgh. ISBN 9781917341028 (doi: 10.62637/sup.cmnz6231)

2022

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Dejene, Bethlehem Hailu (2022) Possessed by the post-socialist zeitgeist: history, spirits and the problem of generational (dis)continuity in an Ethiopian Orthodox exorcism. In: Francello, Sandra and Gusman, Alessandro (eds.) Charismatic Healers in Contemporary Africa: Deliverance in Muslim and Christian Worlds. Series: Bloomsbury advances in religious studies. Bloomsbury Academic: London, pp. 160-177. ISBN 9781350295445 (doi: 10.5040/9781350295476.0018)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Ethnographies of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity: sacred histories, changing identities, and the politics of religious pluralism. Northeast African Studies, 22(2), pp. 1-36. (doi: 10.14321/nortafristud.22.2.001)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Exorcizing the spirit of Protestantism: ambiguity and spirit possession in an Ethiopian Orthodox ritual. Ethnos, 87(4), pp. 749-770. (doi: 10.1080/00141844.2019.1631871)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Angels and demons: notes on kinship and exorcism at an Ethiopian Orthodox shrine. In: Espírito Santo, Diana and Shapiro, Matan (eds.) The Dynamic Cosmos: Movement, Paradox, and Experimentation in the Anthropology of Spirit Possession. Series: Bloomsbury advances in religious studies. Bloomsbury Academic: London, pp. 21-34. ISBN 9781350298859 (doi: 10.5040/9781350299351.ch-1)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Sympathy for the Devil: secrecy, magic and transgression among Ethiopian Orthodox debtera. Ethnos, 87(3), pp. 444-462. (doi: 10.1080/00141844.2019.1707255)

2018

Mayblin, Maya and Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) Special Section: Discipline and Lenience in Religious Systems [Guest Editor]. Social Analysis, 62(3),

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Boylston, Tom (2018) Vertical love: forms of submission and top-down power in Orthodox Ethiopia. In: Hickel, Jason and Haynes, Naomi (eds.) Hierarchy and Value: Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order. Berghahn Books: New York. ISBN 9781785339967

Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) The alimentary forms of religious life: technologies of the other, lenience, and the ethics of Ethiopian Orthodox fasting. Social Analysis, 62(3), pp. 21-41. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2018.620302)

Mayblin, Maya and Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) Introduction: lenience in systems of religious meaning and practice. Social Analysis, 62(3), pp. 1-20. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2018.620301)

2016

Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Boylston, Tom (2016) Vertical love: forms of submission and top-down power in Orthodox Ethiopia. Social Analysis, 60(4), pp. 40-57. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2016.600403)

2011

Malara, D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2011) Le tradizioni terapeutiche della Chiesa Ortodossa Etiopica. In: Nicolini, Beatrice and Taddia, Irma (eds.) Il Corno d'Africa: Tra Medicina, Politica e Storia. Novalogos: Aprilia. ISBN 9788897339427

Malara, D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2011) Le tradizioni terapeutiche della Chiesa Ortodossa Etiopica: alcune considerazioni preliminari. Quaderni del CIRSDIG, 48, pp. 4-36.

This list was generated on Thu Oct 8 20:17:44 2026 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Edited Journals
Number of items: 18.

Articles

Reece, Koreen M. and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Transforming care. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 16(2), pp. 376-385. (doi: 10.1086/741878)

Reece, Koreen M. and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Kids these days: On generation and crisis. History and Anthropology, (doi: 10.1080/02757206.2026.2651988)

Haustein, Jörg, Østebø, Terje, Idris, Abduletif Kedir and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2026) Introduction: religion and politics in post-EPRDF Ethiopia. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 20(2), pp. 313-333. (doi: 10.1080/17531055.2026.2682036)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Ethnographies of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity: sacred histories, changing identities, and the politics of religious pluralism. Northeast African Studies, 22(2), pp. 1-36. (doi: 10.14321/nortafristud.22.2.001)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Exorcizing the spirit of Protestantism: ambiguity and spirit possession in an Ethiopian Orthodox ritual. Ethnos, 87(4), pp. 749-770. (doi: 10.1080/00141844.2019.1631871)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Sympathy for the Devil: secrecy, magic and transgression among Ethiopian Orthodox debtera. Ethnos, 87(3), pp. 444-462. (doi: 10.1080/00141844.2019.1707255)

Mayblin, Maya and Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) Special Section: Discipline and Lenience in Religious Systems [Guest Editor]. Social Analysis, 62(3),

Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) The alimentary forms of religious life: technologies of the other, lenience, and the ethics of Ethiopian Orthodox fasting. Social Analysis, 62(3), pp. 21-41. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2018.620302)

Mayblin, Maya and Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2018) Introduction: lenience in systems of religious meaning and practice. Social Analysis, 62(3), pp. 1-20. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2018.620301)

Malara, Diego ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Boylston, Tom (2016) Vertical love: forms of submission and top-down power in Orthodox Ethiopia. Social Analysis, 60(4), pp. 40-57. (doi: 10.3167/sa.2016.600403)

Malara, D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2011) Le tradizioni terapeutiche della Chiesa Ortodossa Etiopica: alcune considerazioni preliminari. Quaderni del CIRSDIG, 48, pp. 4-36.

Books

Ingold, Tim, Gibb, Robert ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-6227, Tonner, Philip ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8243-7385 and Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2024) Conversations with Tim Ingold: Anthropology, Education and Life. Scottish Universities Press: Edinburgh. ISBN 9781917341028 (doi: 10.62637/sup.cmnz6231)

Book Sections

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Dejene, Bethlehem Hailu (2022) Possessed by the post-socialist zeitgeist: history, spirits and the problem of generational (dis)continuity in an Ethiopian Orthodox exorcism. In: Francello, Sandra and Gusman, Alessandro (eds.) Charismatic Healers in Contemporary Africa: Deliverance in Muslim and Christian Worlds. Series: Bloomsbury advances in religious studies. Bloomsbury Academic: London, pp. 160-177. ISBN 9781350295445 (doi: 10.5040/9781350295476.0018)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2022) Angels and demons: notes on kinship and exorcism at an Ethiopian Orthodox shrine. In: Espírito Santo, Diana and Shapiro, Matan (eds.) The Dynamic Cosmos: Movement, Paradox, and Experimentation in the Anthropology of Spirit Possession. Series: Bloomsbury advances in religious studies. Bloomsbury Academic: London, pp. 21-34. ISBN 9781350298859 (doi: 10.5040/9781350299351.ch-1)

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Boylston, Tom (2018) Vertical love: forms of submission and top-down power in Orthodox Ethiopia. In: Hickel, Jason and Haynes, Naomi (eds.) Hierarchy and Value: Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order. Berghahn Books: New York. ISBN 9781785339967

Malara, D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 (2011) Le tradizioni terapeutiche della Chiesa Ortodossa Etiopica. In: Nicolini, Beatrice and Taddia, Irma (eds.) Il Corno d'Africa: Tra Medicina, Politica e Storia. Novalogos: Aprilia. ISBN 9788897339427

Edited Journals

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Reece, Koreen (Eds.) (2026) Special Section: Transforming Care. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 16(2) [Edited Journal]

Malara, Diego Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-9940 and Reece, Koreen (Eds.) (2026) On Generation and Crisis. History and Anthropology. [Edited Journal] (Accepted for Publication)

This list was generated on Thu Oct 8 20:17:44 2026 BST.

Supervision

I would like to hear from students interested in any of my areas of interest.

  • Habte, Tsion Afework
    Exploring gendered mental wellbeing in a One Health context among Somali Pastoralists in the Somali Region of Ethiopia
  • Ulysse, Steveen
    Rethinking Haitian Vodou

Teaching

'Anthropology of Religion' - Section of 'Sociology 2B', Undergraduate 2018-2019

'Religion in Society' - Postgraduate 2018-2019

'Cosmology, Ritual and Belief' - Undergraduate (Hons.) 2019-2020 

Additional information

I am the Postgraduate Dissertation coordinator