In this episode of AnthroTalking we talk to Paul Boyce who is a lecturer in Anthropology and International Development at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex. For his doctoral thesis and further research, Paul has done fieldwork in West Bengal, India, to study same-sex sexualities and transgender experiences in regard to modernity and social change. He also works as a consultant for various organizations dealing with sexual health and sexual rights.
Talking about his methodological and theoretical choices, Paul reflects on how a lot of what anthropologists do is determined by fortune. He also tells about his interesting work in applied anthropology and the role conflict this kind of collaboration inevitably encloses.
The marginality of queer topics within anthropology is another major concern of his. He challenges a certain heteronormativity that is part of the discipline’s legacy and which should be overcome. Paul is one of the initiators of the European Network for Queer Anthropology which aims at providing a platform for discussions on queer issues and giving them a more prominent place within anthropology.
Published on:
April 22, 2015
Created by:
Malla Grönqvist and Eva-Maria Walther
Keywords:
Paul Boyce, queer anthropology, ethnography, sexuality, modernity, West Bengal, India, applied anthropology
Further information:
- Paul Boyce’s profile on the University of Sussex’ homepage
- The European Network for Queer Anthropology (ENQA) and their Facebook page
- Creative Nepal: Expressions of sexuality and gender (Paul Boyce’s photographic project in collaboration with sexual and gender minority people in Nepal)
References:
- Boyce, Paul 2014. Desirable Rights: Same-sex Sexual Subjectivities, Socio-economic Transformations, Global Flows and Boundaries – in India and Beyond. Culture, Health and Sexuality. Vol. 16, No. 10, pp. 1201-1215.
- Aggleton, Peter, Paul Boyce, Henrietta L. Moore, & Richard Parker (eds) 2012. Understanding Global Sexualities. New York: Routledge.
Cite as:
Grönqvist, Malla and Eva-Maria Walther “Paul Boyce on Queer Anthropology and Same-sex Sexualities in West Bengal” AnthroTalking: Podcasts at Stockholm University’s Department of Social Anthropology, online April 22, 2015, http://www.socant.su.se/english/about-us/anthrotalking/paul-boyce-on-queer-anthropology-and-same-sex-sexualities-in-west-bengal-1.233598