Shanti Parikh


Associate Professor of Anthropology

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Parikh’s research focuses on local responses to national and global development interventions, particularly issues surrounding sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, and gender relations. Using ethnographic and historical methods and critical theory, her current research in eastern Uganda traces historical changes in the tension between risk and romance of youth sexuality. Specifically, she examines how regimes of regulation and discourses of youth sexuality have shifted since independence and more recently within the context of the AIDS epidemic, increased circulation of global images of sexuality, and shifts away from kin-based production to a cash economy.

In the media

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Five lessons from HIV to guide COVID-19 approach

Five lessons from HIV to guide COVID-19 approach

Over the years, the global HIV response has provided the modern medical community with valuable experience about responding to outbreaks and preventing the spread of the disease. These lessons should inform our approach to COVID-19 — especially in lower-income and Black communities, according to Shanti Parikh, associate professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Through anthropological lenses

Growing up in Maryland, Shanti A. Parikh, PhD, knew early on she wanted to be an anthropologist. But at the encouragement of her p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;} .MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} mother, Parikh majored in finance at the University of Virginia. A stint in the Peace Corps following graduation returned Parikh to her original passion and to the area of study that would remain her lifetime focus.