Elizabeth Berk

Elizabeth Berk is a postgraduate associate at Yale’s Council on Middle East Studies at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. Elizabeth is completing her doctorate in Anthropology at Yale University, along with a certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Previously, she completed a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Gender and Health at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on gender and health in the Middle East, and her dissertation, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Social Science Research Council, among others, specifically looks at HIV/AIDS in Lebanon. Previous work concentrated on the phenomenon of “sperm smuggling” in Palestine/Israel. Elizabeth explores questions of subjectivity and chronicity as they interact with health and illness in her work, and also has a project on Type 1 Diabetes and the Insulin Pump. Prior to her graduate studies, Elizabeth worked for non-profit organizations across the United States in the areas of domestic violence, health, and education. She is committed to teaching and mentoring as part of her career, especially to reaching chronically ill and differently abled students, as well as those from other fields who wish to explore Anthropology, Gender Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies.