AnthroCurrents – April 18, 2014

A biweekly look at recent stories on anthropology and practicing anthropologists in the popular media

Anthropology in Medicine

• It will surprise no one here that anthropologists are among the specialists being sent to Africa to handle the Ebola outbreak. They will help determine the best ways to approach the public and prevent the virus from spreading.
• The Casper Journal published a profile (April 14) of Kelly Weidenbach—anthropologist, public health professional, and new executive director of the Casper-Natrona County Health Department in Wyoming.  Ms. Weidenbach has degrees in both anthropology and molecular biology, and talks about how anthropology helps her work in public health.
• You often see articles in which a Western scientist forms social theory based on the norms of Western society. This time, an anthropologist weighs in as well: do babies cry at night because they are trying to make mom too exhausted to conceive again? And parents, do not tell us that you don’t have your own theories here…

Movers and Shakers

• Did you know that the current president of the World Bank is an anthropologist? A recent Financial Times article talks about Jim Yong Kim’s attempt to restructure the World Bank and help it escape irrelevance.
• Numerous outlets (including Savage Minds) are covering the elections in Afghanistan, particularly the candidate Ashraf Ghani, a PhD anthropologist (Columbia U) who spent many years in the U.S. and appeared often in the media after 9-11-01 before returning to Afghanistan in December 2001.