He began 1965 to study economy and law at the University of Bern. From 1966 to 1973 he studied Sociology/Ethnology, History of Art, Roman languages and History (especially History of South Asia with Prof. Dietmar Rothermund, Südasien Institut) at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). 1973 he received the Ph. D. degree in Sociology/Ethnology from the University of Heidelberg with a thesis on patronage structures in the Sicilian workers and artisans associations between 1750 and 1890. From 1973 to 1979 he was Assistant in Sociology at the University of Basel (Switzerland). During the period from 1980 to 1986 he was preparing his Habilitation and he worked as a Senior Assistant (Hochshulassistent) at the University of Frankfurt/M. (Germany). 1987 he received the degree of Privatdozent for Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology from the University of Frankfurt/M. After a short period as Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Munich (Germany) he was appointed Full Professor of Social Anthropology in 1989 at the University of Fribourg.

1999 he received the Doctorate Honoris Causa from the West-University of Timisoara (Romania). Since 1999 he is Honorary Member of the Association of the Bulgarian Scientists, section Sociology.

Prof. Giordano was guest professor or visiting fellow at many renowned European, Latin American and Asian universities: Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin (Humboldt University), Halle (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Lausanne, Zurich, Neuchâtel, Bern, Naples, Salzburg, Sofia (Sv. Kliment Ohridski and New Bulgarian University), Moscow (Russian State University for Humanities, RGGU), Timisoara, Cluj, Bucharest (Romania), Malta (University of Malta, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies MEDAC), Torun (Poland), Kaunas (Lithuania), Tartu (Estonia), Fortaleza (Brazil, UNIFOR), Asuncion (Paraguay, Universidad Católica), University of Malaya (Asia-Europe-Institute, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

He wrote and/or edited 45 books and published 215 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Moreover he cooperated with the International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (IESBS), with the Wörterbuch der Soziologie (Günter Endruweit & Gisela Trommsdorf, editors), with the Metzler Lexikon Religion. Gegenwart-Alltag-Medien (Christoph Auffarth, Jutta Bernard & Hubert Mohr, editors), with the Brill Dictionary of Religion (Kocku von Stuckrad, editor). He is also General Editor of the collection Freiburger Sozialanthropologische Studien (published in the Lit-Verlag, Münster, Berlin, Wien, Zürich) and member of several editorial boards of international journals and series (Focaal, International Journal of Anthropology, Etudes Rurales, Ethnologia Balcanica, Journal for South East European Anthropology, Eastern European Countryside, Europeanist Studies in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology). Together with Ina-Maria Greverus he founded in the early nineties the journal Anthropological Journal on European Cultures (today: Anthropological Journal of European Cultures published by Berghahn, New York and Oxford).

His book Die Betrogenen der Geschichte (The Betrayed of History, published in 1992, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt/M. & New York) was included and reviewed in the Lexikon der soziologischen Werke (a selection of 750 most important and internationally recognized publications in the field of Sociology, edited by Georg W. Osterdieckhoff; 2001, cf. page 240-241).

Prof Giordano published books and articles in French, Italian, English, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Serbian and Macedonian.

His main fields of research are: interethnic relations, multiculturalism and legal pluralism; nationalism and territoriality; antagonistic social memories and histories; transnational migration; personal networks, social capital and systemic trust; patronage relations, corruption strategies and mafia-structures; legality, legitimacy and failed statehood; honour, shame and feud (particularly working as forensic expert in criminal trials in Switzerland and Germany).

Christian Giordano was doing longer field research in Sicily (Southern Italy), Andalusia (Southern Spain), Epirus (Northern Greece), Eastern Turkey, Dobrudzha (North Eastern Bulgaria). Furthermore he has done shorter fieldwork stays in Poland, Albania, Istria (Croatia/Slovenia/Italy), Paraguay, Morocco, Mauritius, Romania and Malaysia (Pulau Pinang).