He has written several texts describing his research and has presented peer-reviewed anthropological theories of African cultures that have relevance to understanding global society.
From 1969 to 1970 he spent 19 months studying society, culture, politics, and law among the Barolong boo Ratshidi, part of the Tswana chiefdoms along the South Africa-Botswana Borderland.
During the summers of 1990–1998, Comaroff returned to South Africa to conduct research in various places such as Bophuthatswana, better known as the North West Province.
The project focuses on why ethnic groups have become increasingly like corporations, why culture has become more like intellectual property, and what about the contemporary world has made it that way.
Their definition states, "We take hegemony to refer to that order of signs and practices, relations and distinctions, images and epistemologies – drawn from a historically situated cultural field – that come to be taken for granted for as the natural and received shape of the world"(Comaroff, 1991).
Additionally, Comaroff was an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Manchester in the International Centre for Contemporary Cultural Research (1994–1995) and in the Department of Social Anthropology (1996–1998).
[citation needed] A May 2020 investigation by The Harvard Crimson determined that several students had raised concerns with the university's Title IX office, making allegations of "unwanted touching, verbal sexual harassment, and professional retaliation" against Comaroff.
'"[9] His legal team argued that this was a mere ethical warning that was misconstrued as sexual harassment and characterized Harvard's investigation as a "kangaroo court process".
[9] In support of Comaroff, 38 Harvard scholars signed an open letter condemning the sanctions and review process.
[12] One student detailed in the lawsuit the alleged nature of the verbal sexual harassment, claiming that Comaroff had, with a "tone of enjoyment", described how she might be forced into "corrective rape".
[11][13] The student alleged that this was only part of a broader pattern of physical sexual harassment, of which Harvard's investigation failed to find sufficient evidence.
[11] As the details of the lawsuit came out, many Harvard scholars who had signed the original letter in support of Comaroff retracted their signatures.
As of February 9, 35 of the original 38 professors had retracted their signatures, and released a statement admitting they "were lacking full information about the case" and that they agreed with the counter-letter.
[11][14][15] After Comaroff returned from administrative leave, on September 6, 2022, students walked out of his classroom before the first lecture of the semester was to begin.