INNOVATIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
This volume offers a bold and long-overdue intervention into the field of psy-
chological anthropology. It asks how scholars might both constructively
destabilize old frameworks borne from the field’s complex past and seed
innovative new engagements in order to chart ethical, responsible, and con-
structive ways forward. The contributions cover such topics as white supre-
macy and the production of knowledge, new perspectives on the “disabled”
mind, the importance of ethnographic refusal, silence in narrative, and the
racialization of therapeutic methods. This timely book seeks to reinvigorate
the field and lay groundwork for a new bridge between the subdiscipline and
the wider anthropological community. It is an ideal text for courses in
anthropology, psychology, and the wider social sciences and humanities.
Rebecca J. Lester, Ph.D., LCSW is Professor of Anthropology at Washington
University in St. Louis, USA. Her research interests include mental health,
gender, sexuality, and religion, with a particular interest in how people
experience and navigate existential challenges. She is also a practicing psy-
chotherapist specializing in eating disorders, trauma, personality disorders,
mood disorders, and gender/sexuality issues. Her most recent book, Famished:
Eating Disorders and Failed Care in America (2019) was awarded a Victor
Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing.
INNOVATIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Edited by Rebecca J. Lester
Designed cover image: © francescoch / Getty Images
First published 2024
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Rebecca J. Lester; individual chapters,
the contributors
The right of Rebecca J. Lester to be identified as the author of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-31856-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-31855-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-31171-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003311713
Typeset in Sabon
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