Janice Boddy is a Canadian
anthropologist. As Professor of Anthropology at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...
,
Boddy specializes in
medical anthropology, religion, gender issues, and
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their rel ...
in
Sudan and the Middle East. She is the author or co-author of ''Wombs and Alien Spirits'' (1990), ''Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl'' (1995), and ''Civilizing Women: British Crusades in Colonial Sudan'' (2007).
In a paper "Womb as oasis: the symbolic context of Pharaonic circumcision in rural Northern Sudan" (''American Ethnologist'', 1982), Boddy argued for a cultural contextualization of
female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
in Africa by those who wish to see the practice abandoned.
Education
Boddy obtained her BA from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, her MA from the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...
and, in 1982, her PhD from the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
.
[
]
Awards
Boddy is believed to be the first women from the University of Toronto Scarborough to be selected to the Royal Society of Canada. The second woman, Lisa Jeffrey, was elected in 2007.
Notes
Further reading
Homepage
University of Toronto.
*Luhrman, Tanya
''The New York Times'', 25 March 1990 (review of ''Wombs and Alien Spirits'').
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boddy, Janice
Female genital mutilation
Canadian anthropologists
Canadian women anthropologists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
McGill University alumni
University of Calgary alumni
University of British Columbia alumni
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada