Sleep has been in the news for the past decade or so as a matter of growing concern. Along with this popular, medical and scientific attention, social scientists have been increasingly interested in sleep as an object or process of study. The first major sociological book published on sleep was Simon Williams’ Sleep and Society (Routledge, 2005), after which …
In the spirit of the web round-up series, this post gathers links to news stories and timely events of interest to the Somatosphere community that have appeared lately in the popular press and in medical anthropology circles. This month, the spotlight falls on two conversations, which will be treated separately: (1) the on-going conversation about ethics and humanitarianism, highlighted by …
Erica James. Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. 384 pages; $24.95
Review by Hanna Kienzler (McGill University)
“Supported by a rich cultural heritage, the Haitian people retain a capacity for hope, faith, and resilience that remains a tremendous resource for any efforts to rehabilitate the nation and its people” …
Humanity is a new periodical published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, which describes itself as an “international journal of human rights, humanitarianism and development.” These topics have been a central interest for many anthropologists of late and indeed anthropology is well represented among the members of the editorial collective and contributors to the journal’s first issue. Here’s how …
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The empire of trauma:
An inquiry into the condition of victimhood.
Didier Fassin and Richard Rechtman
Translated by Rachel Gomme
Princeton University Press, 2009
304 pages; $24.95, paperback
Reviewed by Hanna Kienzler (McGill University)
“Trauma has become a major signifier of our age” (xi) and we talk about traumatic events such as rape, genocide, torture, slavery, terrorist attacks, and …