Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability
Anthropologists have theorized structural vulnerability as a way to understand forms of violence that disenfranchise certain parts of a population, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased risk of death. Recently, forensic anthropologists have used these theories to better understand the ways...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X23000190 |
| _version_ | 1797802100367818752 |
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| author | Robin C. Reineke Angela Soler Jared Beatrice |
| author_facet | Robin C. Reineke Angela Soler Jared Beatrice |
| author_sort | Robin C. Reineke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anthropologists have theorized structural vulnerability as a way to understand forms of violence that disenfranchise certain parts of a population, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased risk of death. Recently, forensic anthropologists have used these theories to better understand the ways in which individual decedents in forensic contexts may be linked collectively through structural conditions. A recent example is the proposal of a “structural vulnerability profile.”Based on research and casework done in the context of migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border, we caution against the use of a “profile,” which suggests a categorical approach that could lead to negative unintended consequences in the future. Instead, we argue for continued development of practices that allow for observation, documentation, and interdisciplinary discussion of evidence of structural violence revealed during a death investigation. Specifically, we argue for an approach that grounds such observations within a particular social and historical context. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:00:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45d76f2881244126a6708418504052a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-871X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:00:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
| spelling | doaj.art-45d76f2881244126a6708418504052a42023-06-17T05:20:23ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Synergy2589-871X2023-01-016100332Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerabilityRobin C. Reineke0Angela Soler1Jared Beatrice2The Southwest Center, University of Arizona, 1401 E. First St., P.O. Box 210185, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0185, USA; School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210030, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0030, USA; Corresponding author.Forensic Anthropology Unit, Office of Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, 421 E 26th St, New York, NY, 10016, USAThe College of New Jersey, Social Sciences Building Room 317, P.O. Box 7718, 2000 Pennington Rd., Ewing, NJ, 08628, USAAnthropologists have theorized structural vulnerability as a way to understand forms of violence that disenfranchise certain parts of a population, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased risk of death. Recently, forensic anthropologists have used these theories to better understand the ways in which individual decedents in forensic contexts may be linked collectively through structural conditions. A recent example is the proposal of a “structural vulnerability profile.”Based on research and casework done in the context of migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border, we caution against the use of a “profile,” which suggests a categorical approach that could lead to negative unintended consequences in the future. Instead, we argue for continued development of practices that allow for observation, documentation, and interdisciplinary discussion of evidence of structural violence revealed during a death investigation. Specifically, we argue for an approach that grounds such observations within a particular social and historical context.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X23000190Forensic anthropologyStructural vulnerabilityHuman identificationProfilingSkeletal indicators of stress |
| spellingShingle | Robin C. Reineke Angela Soler Jared Beatrice Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability Forensic Science International: Synergy Forensic anthropology Structural vulnerability Human identification Profiling Skeletal indicators of stress |
| title | Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| title_full | Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| title_fullStr | Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| title_short | Towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| title_sort | towards a forensic anthropology of structural vulnerability |
| topic | Forensic anthropology Structural vulnerability Human identification Profiling Skeletal indicators of stress |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X23000190 |
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