Douglas J. Falen
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair, Co-Director of Public Health Program
Contact Information
Phone: 404.471.5499
Email: dfalen@agnesscott.edu
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 10:00-12:00
and by appointment
Academic Degrees
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Teaching and Scholarly Interests
Professor Falen's research interests include the Republic of Benin, marriage and power, Christianity in Africa, African witchcraft, and the anthropology of deceit. He teaches courses on such topics as cultural anthropology, marriage, world ethnographies, Voodoo, African cultures, research methods, and linguistic anthropology.
Recent Publications
Books
2011 Power and Paradox: Authority, Insecurity, and Creativity in Fon Gender Relations. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Articles
2008 "Polygyny and Christian Marriage in Africa: The Case of Benin." African Studies Review 51(2):51-74.
2008 "The 'Other' Gender?: Reflections on Fieldwork in Benin." Men and Masculinities 11(2):164-173.
2008 with David Berliner. "Introduction to Special Section on Men Doing Anthropology of Women." Men and Masculinities 11(2):135-144.
2007 "Good and Bad Witches: The Transformation of Witchcraft in Benin." West Africa Review 10:1-27
Book Chapters
2008 "Critical Thinking in Anthropology." In Critical Thinking in College, George W. Rainbolt and Sandra L. Dwyer (eds), 246-248. Thomson/Wadsworth.
Book Reviews
2011. Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African City, by Rudolf Pell Gaudio. Australian Journal of Anthropology 22(2): 284-286.
2009. Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, by Miriam Koktvedgaard Zeitzen. Social Anthropology / Anthropologie Sociale 17(4): 510-511.