Serena Nanda
Serena Nanda is a cultural anthropologist and professor emeritus at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. One of her major interests is the cultural contexts of murder mysteries and she is a co-author of two crime novels, The Gift of a Bride: A Tale of Anthropology, Matrimony and Murder and Assisted Dying: An Ethnographic Murder Mystery on Florida's Gold Coast.
She has published many books, articles and film reviews on gender variance including Neither Man nor Woman: the Hijras of India and Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations.
A born and bred New Yorker, Nanda has also co-authored a New York guide book. She can be reached at snanda@jjay.cuny.edu.
Reviewed by Serena Nanda. The Local Stop of Gregg's title is the upper West side of New York City, which Gregg calls the Avenue, from the early 20th century ...
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Reviewed by Serena Nanda and Joan Young. Holden Caulfield, the dreamy, precocious protagonist of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, was terrified by the ...
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CultureWatch Reviews by Nanda and Gregg Provide Gift Ideas: Crime and Culture, Three Extraordinary Murder Mysteries
Serena Nanda and Joan Greg review: Culture plays an essential role in the crimes committed in these three extraordinary murder mysteries in the lives of the victims and perpetrators, and in the interactions of the investigations. Each narrative situates its action in historical realities that extend from the past into the present. These novels are all available through the public libraries and Amazon.com. more »
Culture Watch Book Reviews — Against All Odds: Resisting Oppressive Cultures, Political Violence and Natural Catastrophe
Reviewed by Serena Nanda: Wadjda is the story of a quietly but ingeniously, rebellious ll year old girl in Saudi Arabia, determined to buy and ride a bicycle. In Hold Tight, Don't Let Go, Magdalie makes one unsuccessful effort after another to survive after the Haiti earthquake, particularly after her decision to refuse to sink to selling sex. Malala recounts her experiences as she and her father fight the Taliban for the right of girls to go to school in Pakistan. Hawaii, The Lost Kingdom, introduces us to Hawaii’s last queen, Lili’ukalani, not widely known to Americans, perhaps because her fight for independence was ultimately unsuccessful. more »
Culture Watch: Historical Memories, Both Collective and Individual, in Three Compelling World War II Books
Serena Nanda writes: Central to all three is the importance of women in keeping their families together under the most agonizing conditions of exile in Germany and France during WW II. Although similar in setting, narrative and characters, each book provides different perspectives on history, demonstrating that historical memories are both collective and individual. A love affair with "the enemy" is central in each story, causing us to deeply reflect on the impact of war on human relationships. more »
CultureWatch Book Reviews: Local Stop in the Promised Land
Serena Nanda Reviews: The Local Stop of Gregg's title is the upper West side of New York City, which Gregg calls the Avenue, from the early 20th century through the 1950s. Gregg, who lived in the neighborhood, so authentically recreates its ambience and its residents that the novel reads like a compelling urban ethnography. Gregg’s evocative dialogue and descriptions wonderfully express how the Avenue impacts each resident in unpredictable ways, as we follow their lives and relationships throughout the book.
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