Roy Richard Grinker (born 1961) is an American author and Professor of

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

International Affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, and

Human Sciences Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our u ...

The George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

. Grinker is an authority on

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n relations. As part of his PhD research, he spent two years living with the Lese farmers and the Efé pygmies in the northeastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

as a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

. He has also conducted epidemiological research on autism in Korea. Grinker is also editor of ''

Anthropological Quarterly Anthropological Quarterly is a widely read peer-reviewed journal covering topics in social and cultural anthropology. It is housed at the George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research. ''Anthropological Quarterly'' was founded ...

''. He has also written op-ed articles for the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

and appeared as a guest on

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of i ...

. His latest book, ''Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of

Mental Illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

'', was included in the New York Time's editor's choice list for the week of February 4, 2021.

Publications

Grinker has published a number of books on multiple topics - Africa, Korea, and autism. * ''Houses in the Rainforest: Ethnicity and Inequality among Farmers and Foragers in Northeastern Zaire'' (, University of California Press, 1994) * (with Christopher B. Steiner) ''Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History and Representation'' (, Blackwell Publishers, 1997) * ''Korea and its Futures: Unification and the Unfinished War'' (, St. Martin's Press, 1998) * ''In the Arms of Africa: The Life of Colin Turnbull'' (, University of Chicago Press, 2000) * ''

Unstrange Minds ''Unstrange Minds'' is a nonfiction book by anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker about the rise in autism diagnoses throughout the world over the last twenty years. It provides a cultural history of autism and describes the experiences of paren ...

: Remapping the World of

Autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

'' (, Basic Books, 2007) * Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness (, Norton, 2021)

Personal life

Grinker was born and raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He graduated from

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ...

in 1979,

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalism in the United States, Congrega ...

in 1983, and received his Ph.D. in

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1989. His paternal grandfather,

Roy R. Grinker, Sr. Roy Richard Grinker Sr. (August 2, 1900 – May 9, 1993) was an American neurologist and psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Chicago, and pioneer in American psychiatry and psychosomatics. Biography Grinker was born in Ch ...

founded the Psychiatry Department at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and was the founding editor of the '' Archives of General Psychiatry''. His book on autism, ''

'', was in part an "attempt to make sense of an intensely personal issue: his own daughter's autism."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grinker, Roy Richard 1961 births Academic journal editors American anthropologists Autism researchers Choate Rosemary Hall alumni George Washington University faculty Grinnell College alumni Harvard University alumni Living people People from Chicago