| Visiting Instructor |
|
Marianne Sarkis
Visiting Instructor of International Development and Social Change
Phone: (508) 421-3898
Email: msarkis@clarku.edu |
Education
Ph.D. (candidate) in Sociocultural Anthropology, Florida State University, 2010
M.A. in Applied Medical Anthropology, University of South Florida, 2002
B.A. in Anthropology and Philosophy, Indiana University of PA, 1993
Research Interests
disparities in obstetric care, migration and identity, culture in clinical encounters, diasporic health, bioethics, demographic anthropology, Participatory Action Research (PAR), history of obstetrics, Somali history and culture, globalization and health, advocacy anthropology, Social Networks Analysis (SNA), rumors in health care, Arab culture and identity
Biography
Marianne Sarkis is an applied medical anthropologist who is currently conducting research on the contentious relationship between African women refugees, health care professionals and biomedicine. Her research examines the link between acculturation, reproductive experiences, and strategies and fertility rates among African immigrants in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Sarkis is currently working on her dissertation on the reproductive health and experiences of African refugees and immigrants to the Worcester area, and the relationship between fertility rates and migration. She is also teaching ESL to women, conducting on-going health workshops, and building collaborative relationships between local hospitals and the African immigrant communities.
In addition to her research, Sarkis worked as a software engineer and graphics designer in Silicon Valley, and continues to work as a web designer for national non-profits and advocacy organizations.
Select Publications
2009 Somali Womanhood: A Re-Visioning. In Empathy and Rage: FGM in Creative Writing. Tobe Levin and Augustine Asaah, eds. Lynn Reiner Press.
2008 Review of Hernlund, Y., and B. Shell-Duncan. 2007. Transcultural bodies: female genital cutting in global context. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. Studies in Family Planning 39(3).
2004 Female Cutting and Anthropology: What took us so long to come around? In Flesh and Blood: Perspectives on the Problem of Circumcision in Contemporary Society. G.C. Denniston, F.M. Hodges, and M.F. Milos, eds. Pp. 119-132. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
1999 Activism on the World Wide Web: The role of the Internet in the dissemination of circumcision-related information. In Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice. G.C. Denniston, F.M. Hodges, and M.F. Milos, eds. Pp. 351-356. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Selected Presentations
2009 “’At least eight or ten children:’ The paradox of post-resettlement fertility among certain African communities in the USA”. Florida State University History and Anthropology Departments (Tallahassee, FL)
2008 “If we have a daughter, we will never excise her”: Art, popular culture, and African resistance to FGM, College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA)
2008 The use of music videos, films, and popular literature in drawing attention to FGM: A comparison between Arab/African and Western approaches – Florida State University International Film and Literature Conference (Tallahassee, FL)
2006 Personhood in Motion: A Case Study of Refugee Identity in a Medical Context – American Anthropological Association (San Francisco, CA)
2004 Female Genital Cutting: Issues and Concerns about Immigration and Asylum. International Women’s Symposium panelist sponsored by the College of Law at Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)
Courses
Undergraduate
ID 120 Intro to Cultural Anthropology
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