Prof. Eric Silverman's Work Published in Journal & He's Elected to ASAO Board

September 21, 2004

September 21, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - An essay by Eric K. Silverman, associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of Jewish Studies at DePauw University, appears in the Annual Review of Anthropology (vol. 33, 2004, pp. 419-45). The professor's contribution is entitled, "Anthropology and Circumcision." Dr. Silverman has also been elected to the board of directors of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania.

An abstract of Silverman's essay states: "This chapter reviews the anthropology of male and female circumcision over the past century. After surveying classic sociocultural and psychodynamic interpretations of male circumcision, I shift to the biblical and Jewish rite, focusing on gender symbolism and counter-hegemonic practice within European-Christian society. The chapter then reviews the relationship between male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa and reduced rates of HIV. Next, I address female circumcision, focusing again on symbolism but especially on highly impassioned debates over cultural relativism and human rights, medical complications, criticism and imperialism, and female agency versus brute patriarchy. What are the moral, political, and scientific obligations of anthropology to a cultural practice that is increasingly vilified in Western popular culture and jurisprudence? Should anthropology advocate eradication, contextualize Western opposition, or critique one's own bodily practices? Finally, I critically analyze the growing movement to ban the medical and ritual circumcision of infant boys in the West."  Read more by clicking here.

The Association for Social Anthropology in Ocean (ASAO) is an international organization dedicated to comparative studies of Pacific topics.  Learn more here.

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