Jaida Samudra

Assistant Professor

Office

MAC A328

Phone

(920) 465-2361/465-2355

Email

samudraj@uwgb.edu

Jaida Kim Samudra is Assistant Professor of Democracy and Justice Studies, Anthropology, and Global Studies.  She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 2006.  She teaches social science research methods, social change in Southeast Asia, and a variety of courses in the Anthropology minor,  including medical anthropology.   As a medical anthropologist, she is particularly interested in social justice, bioethics, and health issues arising from globalization of the health industry and biological determinism in the medical sciences.  She is currently pursuing research on patients’ experiences of 'energy' in alternative healing systems.  A recent article in American Ethnologist addressed the methodological problem of gathering data on unverbalized physical sensation.  A long-standing interest in examining social settings that promote peaceful and democratic community is reflected in her early book, The Joy of Conversation: The Complete Guide to Salons.  Her dissertation, Body and Belonging in a Transnational Indonesian Silat Community, focused on how multi-ethnic and transreligious associations form around popular health and fitness disciplines.