Robert A. Rubinstein
Encyclopedia
Robert A. Rubinstein is a cultural anthropologist
whose work bridges the areas of political
and medical anthropology
, and the history and theory of the discipline. He is Professor of Anthropology and International Relations at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
in 1977. He received a master's degree
in public health
from the University of Illinois
in Chicago in 1983.
Rubinstein has conducted overseas research in urban and rural Egypt
, where he lived from 1988–1992, and in Belize
and Mexico. In the United States, he has conducted research in Atlanta, Chicago, and Syracuse.
Rubinstein is a member of the board of directors
of the Ploughshares Fund
, Fort Mason
, San Francisco, California.
He used this view to explore the variety of ways in which culture is important to peacekeeping
operations. Beginning in the mid-1980s he published a series of articles that show how the success of peacekeeping missions are critically dependent upon understanding the culture of the people among whom the mission works, and the importance of understanding the organizational cultures of the agencies who work together in a mission.
He applies this view in medical anthropology where he has made theoretical contributions and also shown how multilevel analysis
is critical for understanding racial and ethnic disparities in health.
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
whose work bridges the areas of political
Political anthropology
Political anthropology concerns the structure of political systems, looked at from the basis of the structure of societies. Political anthropologists include Pierre Clastres, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Meyer Fortes, Georges Balandier, Fredrik Bailey, Jeremy Boissevain, Marc Abélès, Jocelyne...
and medical anthropology
Medical anthropology
Medical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
, and the history and theory of the discipline. He is Professor of Anthropology and International Relations at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
Education and research
Rubinstein received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the State University of New York at BinghamtonBinghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
in 1977. He received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois system
The University of Illinois is a system of public universities in Illinois consisting of three campuses: Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. Across its three campuses, the University of Illinois enrolls about 70,000 students. It had an operating budget of $4.17 billion in 2007.-System:The...
in Chicago in 1983.
Rubinstein has conducted overseas research in urban and rural Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where he lived from 1988–1992, and in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
and Mexico. In the United States, he has conducted research in Atlanta, Chicago, and Syracuse.
Organizations
In 1983, Rubinstein was a founding member of the Commission on Peace and Human Rights of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. He is co-chair of the commission, and from 2000—2004 he was editor of the commission’s official journal, Social Justice: Anthropology, Peace and Human Rights.Rubinstein is a member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Ploughshares Fund
Ploughshares Fund
The Ploughshares Fund is a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and other weapons of war, and to prevent conflicts that could lead to the use of weapons of mass destruction. Ploughshares is a 501...
, Fort Mason
Fort Mason
Fort Mason, once known as San Francisco Port of Embarkation, US Army, in San Francisco, California, is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense...
, San Francisco, California.
Theories
Rubinstein applies a multilevel theoretical perspective to examining aspects of human social life. Since proposing in 1984 the "Rule of Minimal Inclusion," in Science as Cognitive Process (which says that adequate accounts of human phenomena must include information about the adjacent levels of systemic organization to those at the level of the phenomenon investigated) Rubinstein has applied this perspective to a variety of areas.He used this view to explore the variety of ways in which culture is important to peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
operations. Beginning in the mid-1980s he published a series of articles that show how the success of peacekeeping missions are critically dependent upon understanding the culture of the people among whom the mission works, and the importance of understanding the organizational cultures of the agencies who work together in a mission.
He applies this view in medical anthropology where he has made theoretical contributions and also shown how multilevel analysis
Hierarchical linear modeling
In statistics, hierarchical linear modeling , a form of multi-level analysis, is a more advanced form of simple linear regression and multiple linear regression. Multilevel analysis allows variance in outcome variables to be analysed at multiple hierarchical levels, whereas in simple linear and...
is critical for understanding racial and ethnic disparities in health.
Selected books
- Rubinstein, Robert A., Charles D. Laughlin, and John McManus. 1984. Science as Cognitive Process: Toward an Empirical Philosophy of Science. Philadelphia, PA: University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Press. - Rubinstein, Robert A. and Hendrik Pinxten, eds. 1984. Epistemology and Process: Anthropological Views. Ghent, Belgium: Communication and Cognition Books.
- Foster, Mary LeCron and Robert A. Rubinstein, 1986. Peace and War: Cross-cultural Perspectives. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
- Rubinstein, Robert A. and Mary LeCron Foster, 1988. The Social Dynamics of Peace and Conflict: Culture in International Security. Boulder, Co: Westview Press.
- Rubinstein, Robert A., ed. 2001. Doing Fieldwork: The Correspondence of Robert Redfield and Sol Tax. New Brunswick, NJ:Transaction Books.
Peacekeeping and Culture
- Rubinstein, R.A., Culture, International Affairs and Multilateral Peacekeeping: Confusing Process and Pattern, CULTURAL DYNAMICS 2(1):41-61, 1989.
- Rubinstein, R.A., Cultural Aspects of Peacekeeping: Notes on the Substance of Symbols, MILLENNIUM: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 22(3):547-562, 1993.
- Rubinstein, R.A. Peacekeeping Under Fire: Understanding the Social Construction of the Legitimacy of Multilateral Intervention, HUMAN PEACE 11(4):22-29, 1998.
- Rubinstein, R.A. Methodological Challenges in the Ethnographic Study of Multilateral Peacekeeping, POLITICAL AND LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW 21(1):138-149, 1998.
- Rubinstein, R.A., Intervention and Culture: An Anthropological Approach to Peace Operations, SECURITY DIALOGUE 36(4):527-544, 2005.
- Rubinstein, R.A. Peacekeeping Under Fire: Culture and Intervention. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2008.
Multilevel Analysis and Health
- Rubinstein, R. A., S.D. Lane, S. Sallam, A. Sheta, Z.Gad, A.R. Sherif, M. Selim, A. Gad, A. Shama, J. Schachter, C.R. Dawson, Controlling Blinding Trachoma in the Egyptian Delta: Integrating Clinical, Epidemiological and Anthropological Understandings, ANTHROPOLOGY AND MEDICINE 13(2): 99-118, 2005.
- S.D. Lane, S.D. Lane, R.H. Keefe, R.A. Rubinstein, B.A. Levandowski, M. Freedman, A. Rosenthal, D.A. Cibula, and M. Czerwinski, Marriage Promotion and Missing Men: African American Women in a Demographic Double Bind, MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY 18(2): 405-428, 2004.
- S.D. Lane, R.A. Rubinstein, R. Keefe, N. Webster, D. Cibula, A. Rosenthal and J. Dowdell, Structural ViolenceStructural violenceStructural violence is a term first used in the 1960s commonly ascribed to Johan Galtung. It refers to a form of violence where some social structure or social institution harms people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Institutionalized elitism, ethnocentrism, classism, racism,...
and Racial Disparity in HIV Transmission, JOURNAL OF HEALTH CARE FOR THE POOR AND UNDERSERVED 15:319-335, 2004. - Rubinstein, R.A., Scrimshaw, S., and S. Morrissey, S., Classification and Process in Sociomedical Understanding: Towards a Multilevel View of Sociomedical Methodology, Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine, G. Albrecht, R. Fitzpatrick, and S. Scrimshaw, editors. London: Sage. pp. 36–49, 2000.