Robert A. Rubinstein

• 2024 Fall
  • ANT 357 Health, Healing, and Culture
  • ANT/LIN/WGS 672 Language, Culture, and Society
• 2024 Spring
  • ANT 624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
  • ANT 121 Peoples and Cultures of the World
• 2023 Fall
  • ANT 311 Anthropological Theory
  • ANT 611 History of Anthropological Theory
  • ANT 424/624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
• 2023 Summer
  • ANT 624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
• 2023 Spring
  • ANT/PHP 463/663 Global Health
  • ANT 624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
• 2022 Fall
  • ANT 357 Health, Healing, and Culture
  • ANT/LIN/WGS 672 Language, Culture, and Society
  • ANT 424/624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
• 2022 Summer
  • ANT 624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice
• 2022 Spring
  • ANT 111 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
  • ANT 624 Negotiation: Theory and Practice

Robert Rubinstein is an anthropologist with expertise in political and medical anthropology and in social science history and research methods. He received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1977. He received a master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1983.

From 1994 to 2005 Rubinstein directed the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts at the Maxwell School.

Rubinstein has conducted overseas research in urban and rural Egypt, where he lived from 1988-1992, throughout the Middle East, and in Belize and Mexico. In the United States, he has conducted research in Atlanta, Chicago and Syracuse.

In political anthropology, Rubinstein’s work focuses on cross-cultural aspects of conflict and dispute resolution, including negotiation, mediation and consensus building. He is an originator of the field of the anthropology of peacekeeping. Since 1985, he has conducted empirical research and policy studies in this field. He examines the ways that the success of peace operations depend upon cultural considerations, and how organizational and institutional cultures can facilitate or frustrate coordination in peace operations. Rubinstein has collaborated on policy applications of his work with the International Peace Academy, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United States Army Peacekeeping Institute.

As a medical anthropologist, Rubinstein focuses on conflict and health, inequalities in access to health care and the implications of those disparities for the health of populations, and on the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. He has developed community-based health interventions in Syracuse, Atlanta and Egypt. Rubinstein has collaborated on health policy issues with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Carter Center, the Georgia Department of Physical Health and the Onondaga County Health Department.

Rubinstein’s work has been supported by grants from over twenty foundations and agencies, including: The Ford Foundation, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the National Institutes of Mental Health, the Ploughshares Fund, The United States Institute of Peace, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and the William T. Grant Foundation.

Rubinstein has published more than 100 articles in journals and books. He is author or editor of nine books and research monographs,

In 1983, Rubinstein was a founding member of the Commission on Peace and Human Rights of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. He served as the commission executive secretary from 1983-1988, and from 1988–2018 as commission co-chair. From 2000–2004 he was editor of the commission’s official journal, Social Justice: Anthropology, Peace and Human Rights.

Rubinstein received the 2016 Victor Sidel and Barry Levy Award for Peace from the American Public Health Association, the 2010 Robert B. Textor and Family Prize for Excellence in Anticipatory Anthropology from the American Anthropological Association, and the Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction from Syracuse University. In 2000 Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contributions to Public Affairs from the State University of New York at Binghamton, in 1997 the 25th Anniversary Class Distinguished Alumni Award from the State University of New York at Oswego, and he gave the 1995 Hardy Lecture in Scholarship and Public Interest at Hartwick College.

Rubinstein is a member of the board of directors of The Bridgeway Group. From 1999-2013 Rubinstein was a member of the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund. He consults and lectures widely, both domestically and abroad.

"Strategic Triangulation in Central, South and East Asia: Understanding Intelligence and Forensics Evidence, Analysis, and Outcomes", Sponsored by Department of Defense.

"IC Center for Academic Excellence: Syracuse University Adaptive, Diverse & Ethical IC Professionals: Partnership for Educational Results (PER/SUADE)", Sponsored by Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)/DOD.

"Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC)", Sponsored by Department of Defense.

"The Wars of Our Fathers Are Not Ours", Sponsored by New York Council for the Humanities.

"Multidisciplinary Approaches to Managing Social Conflicts through Public Policy", Sponsored by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.

• Books
  • SAGE Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine, Second Edition. Scrimshaw, S. C., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A. and Fisher, J. (eds.) SAGE Publications, 2022.
  • Practicing Military Anthropology: Beyond Traditional Boundaries and Expectations. Rubinstein, R. A., Fosher, K. B. and Fujimura, C. (eds.) Kumarian Press, 2012.
  • Dangerous Liaisons: Anthropologists and the National Security State. McNamara, L., Rubinstein, R. A. (eds.) SAR Press, 2011.
  • Building Peace: Practical Reflections from the Field. Zelizer, C., Rubinstein, R. A. (eds.) Kumarian Press, 2009.
  • Rubinstein, R. A., Peacekeeping Under Fire: Culture and Intervention. Paradigm Publishers, 2008.
  • Peace and War: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Foster, M. L., Rubinstein, R. A. (eds.) Transaction Books, 1986.
  • Epistemology and Process: Anthropological Views. Rubinstein, R. A., Pinxten, R. (eds.) Communication and Cognition Books, 1984.
  • Rubinstein, R. A., Laughlin, C. D. and McManus, J., Science as Cognitive Process: Toward an Empirical Philosophy of Science. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984.
• Journal Articles
  • Landesman, L., Rubinstein, R. A. and Englander, B., "Peacebuilding Through Cooperation in Healthcare and Public Health Between Israel And Palestine." Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 2024.
  • Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A., Fair, O., Farkouh, K., Delgado, M., McGee, T. S., Gaudette, K., Ciavarri, P., Thompson, M. L. and Ahmed, M. K., "Action Anthropology and Public Policy Change: Lead Poisoning in Syracuse, NY." Annals of Anthropological Practice, 2023.
  • Goble, G., Formica, M., Lane, S. D., Sous, M., Stroup, C., Rubinstein, R. A. and Shaw, A., "Refugee births and the migrant health effect in Syracuse NY." Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2023.
  • Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A., Reichert Schimpff, T. C., Keefe, R. H., Jennings-Bey, T., Russell Leed, S., Iles, B., Cuff, P. A. and Satterly, L. B., "Bringing in the Community: A University-Community Endeavor to Teach Marital and Family Therapy Students About Community-Based Violence and Trauma." Contemporary Family Therapy, 2019.
• Book Chapters
  • Keles, F., Kyrou, C. and Rubinstein, R. A., "Cultural Anthropology Studies of Conflict." In Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict. Kurtz, L. (ed.) Elsevier, Academic Press, 2022.
  • Rubinstein, R. A., "Disasters and Health." In SAGE Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine. Scrimshaw, S. C., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A. and Fisher, J. (eds.) SAGE Publications, 2022.
  • Scrimshaw, S. C., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A. and Fisher, J., "Introduction." In SAGE Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine. Scrimshaw, S. C., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A. and Fisher, J. (eds.) SAGE Publications, 2022.
  • Rubinstein, R. A., Lane, S. D., "Anthropologists on Health Professional Education Teams: A Model from Upstate New York." In Sustained Engagement of Anthropology in Medical Education. Martinez, I. L., Weidman, D. (eds.) Springer, 2021.
• Instructional Material
  • Jennings-Bey, T. N., Salaam, A. and Rubinstein, R. A., Countdown to Peace: Street Addiction Institute, Inc, Curriculum. Street Addiction Institute, 2024.

Association of Senior Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association, "Relationships in the Field" (January 18, 2024 - January 18, 2024)

Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A., 2024 Annual Meeting, Society for Applied Anthropology, "Health Policy Change through Action Anthropology" (2024 - 2024)

Rubinstein, R. A., Fujimura, C., 2024 Annual Meeting, Society for Applied Anthropology, "Words and Bones : Challenges to Critical Thinking in the Post-COVID Academy" (2024 - 2024)

2023 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, American Anthropological Association , "Navigating Ethical Issues in Practicing Anthropology" (November 15, 2023)

Rubinstein, R. A., Danilyn Rutherford, President Wenner-Gren Foundation, Graduate School Fair, American Anthropological Association, "Funding Graduate School Education" (April 19, 2023)

Andrews, L., Aljabbarin, N., Lupone, C., Lane, S. D., Rubinstein, R. A., Shaw, A., Moving Forward, Language Matters Research Initiative, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Syracuse University, "Knowledge and Knowledge Gaps about Childhood Lead Poisoning among Refugees" (April 14, 2023)

Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, "Ethics in Peer Review and Publishing" (November 18, 2021)

Rubinstein, R. A., Lane, S. D., 2021 Key Community Insights Roundtable on Lead Poisoning, "Lead in Syracuse: Implementing the 2020 Lead Ordinance" (October 7, 2021)

Interuniversity Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, "Insights from the Marine Corps Organizational Culture Research (MCOCR) Project – Roundtable" (November 8, 2019)

The Victor Sidel and Barry Levy Award for Peace, American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C. (2016)

Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York (2010)

Robert B. Textor and Family Prize for Excellence in Anticipatory Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C. (2010)

Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contributions to Public Affairs, Alumni Association, Binghamton University, State University of New York (2000)

25th Anniversary Class, Distinguished Alumni Award, Alumni Association, State University of New York at Oswego (1997)