Dr Ben Kasstan

1 BK

Lady Davis Research Fellow
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Further information: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/435569

Ben Kasstan is a medical anthropologist by training, and his research interests sit at the intersection of state, health and religion. For the past seven years Ben has been exploring how areas of sexuality and reproduction emerge as public (health) anxieties and as sites of intervention, especially concerning ethnic and religious minorities. The particular areas of controversy that Ben focuses on are abortion, vaccinations and equality/inclusion. Together with Lea Taragin-Zeller, Ben will be investigating the representation of ‘non-compliant’ communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a public anthropologist, Ben uses academic research to pursue social justice in public life and has appeared on the BBC World Service and has commented in Ha’aretz, Times of Israel, The Independent, Evening Standard, and NewsWeek. Ben is part of the editorial team at Anthropology & Medicine.

Selected publications:

  • 2020. ‘I Didn’t Know How to be with my Husband’: State-Religion Struggles over Sex Education in Israel and England. Anthropology & Education Quarterly (with Lea Taragin-Zeller).
  • 2020. Arbitrating Abortion: Sex selection and care work among abortion providers in England. Medical Anthropology (with Maya Unnithan).
  • 2019. Making Bodies Kosher: The Politics of Reproduction among Haredi Jews in England. Berghahn Books.
  • 2018. Reproductive Rebellions in Britain and the Republic of Ireland: Contemporary and Past Abortion Activism and Alternative Sites of Care. Feminist Encounters (with Sarah Crook).