Anastasia Karakasidou
Professor of Anthropology
Social anthropologist doing research, writing and teaching on the topics of health, illness and cancer.
Anastasia Karakasidou was born in Greece and studied chemistry, archaeology and anthropology in the U.S. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University (1992) where she received training in social theory and historical anthropology. She conducted her dissertation fieldwork in Northern Greece, where she examined issues of ethnicity. national consciousness and agrarian transformations. Dr. Karakasidou's book Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood: Passages to Nationhood in Greek Macedonia, 1870-1990 (University of Chicago Press, 1997) is a historical ethnography that offers an analysis of nationalism and ethnic rivalry in the Balkans, in general, and in Greek Macedonia, in particular. Topics such as the role of intellectuals, women, and the Greek Communist Party in national ideology construction in Greece were also explored in her published articles. She also published a series of essays that trace the competing nationalist ideologies that divided the ethnically diverse communities in an area of Greece that border Yugoslavia and Albania.. In this work, Anastasia Karakasidou, through the use of both governmental archival sources, and archival sources, and oral historical reconstructions, examines such important issues as administrative goals, policing and conscripting policies, staging of national holidays and the veneration of national heroes.
Since 2001, Professor Karakasidou is researching, writing and teaching on the topics of health, illness and cancer. She has conducted multi-sited ethnographic research in the Chine province of Yunan, in the Greek island of Crete, and in the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts. A book entitled "Cultures of Cancer" aspires to bring the history and analysis of cancer narratives and social experiences in these three societies.
Professor Karakasidou is also very interested in her teaching at Wellesley. She has offered courses that range from evolution and diversity, to ethnographic writing, to contemporary anthropological theory, to Orientalist discourse, the vulnerable body and the cultures of cancer. She enjoys student-teacher interaction and she encourages independent and critical thinking. Combining teaching with research and writing, Professor Karakasidou offers a view of anthropology as living practice to her students.
Education
- B.A., The College of Wooster
- M.A., Brandeis University
- M.A., Bryn Mawr College
- M.Phil, Columbia University in the City of New York
- Ph.D., Columbia University in the City of New York
Current and upcoming courses
Epidemics and Pandemics: Biopolitics, and disparities in historical and cultural perspective
ANTH220
The course will examine epidemics and pandemics and how they shape society and culture. It will explore catastrophic disease events such as the 4th century BC Ancient Greek plague, the Black Death of Medieval Europe, the European infectious diseases that killed native populations of the Americas, the Spanish flu of 1918, the AIDS/HIV epidemic in the late 20th century, and the present-day coronavirus pandemic. Key questions that will guide the course are: 1. Who holds the bio-political power to guide the population through the danger of widespread morbidity, and how is this power used and/or abused? 2. What kind of socioeconomic, gender, ethnic ,and racial disparities are perpetuated and constructed in times of disease? 3. How do individual political entities cooperate and coordinate in their efforts to curtail disease? 4. How is the rhetoric of “war” employed to describe epidemic and pandemic diseases? 5. What are the effects of actual war, violence, and genocide that often follow epidemics? 6. What are the uses and the limitations of international public health organizations in addressing pandemics?
(ANTH 220 and PEAC 220 are cross-listed courses.)-
Medical Anthropology
ANTH272
Medical anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that explores how biology, history, society, and culture shape human health, disease and illness. It examines not only the biological aspects of disease, but also the social meanings of illness, the cultural practices of healing, and the diverse medical systems people use across the world. By studying topics such as traditional medicine, biomedicine, health inequalities, and the politics of healthcare, medical anthropology offers insight into how health is experienced and managed in different societies and cultures. In essence, medical anthropology bridges science and culture, showing that health is not just a biological condition but also a deeply social and symbolic one. It helps us understand why people seek certain treatments, how beliefs about illness vary globally, and how social structures influence access to care. This makes the field vital for addressing global health challenges in a way that respects cultural diversity and human experience. In this course, students will be able to define key concepts in medical anthropology, compare biomedical and non-biomedical healing systems, analyze how social, cultural, and political factors shape health outcomes, and apply anthropological perspectives to contemporary global health issues. The course will cover topics such as: culture, illness, and disease; biopower and biopolitics; biomedicines as a cultural system; traditional healing systems; ethnomedicine and Ιndigenous knowledge; race, ethnicity and health; epidemics, pandemics and politics; gender, reproduction, and biopolitics; global health governance; mental health and cultural psychiatry; technology and pharmaceuticals; and, health inequalities.