Steven Rousso-Schindler

Steven Rousso-Schindler

Title: Associate Professor of Anthropology
Email: Steven.Rousso-Schindler@csulb.edu
Phone: (562) 985-8179
Office: FO3-320
 

Education History

Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 2007.
M.A.V.A in Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1999.
B.A. in Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, 1993

 

Courses Taught

ANTH 120: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 440: Ethnographic Field School
ANTH 441/541: Ethnographic Film Production I
ANTH 442/542: Ethnographic Film Production II
ANTH 443: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
ANTH 478: Anthropology & Film

 

Research Focus and Teaching Specialties

Visual anthropology and anthropology of Palestine/Israel, national narrative theory, narrative theory, demography, Middle East anthropology, medical anthropology; Israel/Palestine, United States, rural China.

 

Description

Dr. Steven Rousso-Schindler is a visual anthropologist and Middle East anthropologist. His anthropological research is primarily conducted in Palestine/Israel where he focuses on understanding national narratives from a theoretical perspective – that is, how different stories about historical and contemporary events are told in Israel/Palestine, especially as they are represented in the Israeli and Palestinian media. His current research analyzes the impact the Israel apartheid wall/separation fence impacts Palestinian social and cultural practices. Dr. Rousso-Schindler has also participated in the production of many ethnographic and documentary films. The topics of these films include environmental activism near the port in West Oakland California, green home-building in the United States, and social/cultural changes in rural China. He had a film screened on PBS and also had other films screened at anthropological and documentary film festivals, including the Society for Visual Anthropology Film, Video and Interactive Media Festival. 

 

Selected Works

 

ETHNOGRAPHIC AND DOCUMENTARY FILMS

  • Rousso-Schindler, Steven (2016) At Street Level (26:46 minutes) Explores the challenges a small community-based organization faces as it attempts to employ science and technology to produce scientific data that can be leveraged to influence local environmental policy. View Clip (trailer)
    • Screenings and Awards:
      • Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meetings, Vancouver, Canada, 03/31/2016
      • Society for Southwestern Anthropological Association Annual Meetings, San Diego, California, 04/21/2016
      • IMPACT Film Festival, Liverpool, UK, 10/29/2016
      • Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 11/17/2016
      • Culver City Film Festival, Los Angeles, California, 12/07/2016
      • Winner: Award of Recognition, Impact Doc Awards. 01/2017
      • 15th Oakland International Film Festival, Oakland, California, 04/04/2016
      • Oakland City Hall, Oakland, California, 04/07/2016
      • Cultural Heritage Conservation Conference at South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, China, 07/01/2017
      • SCINEMA International Film Festival, Australia, 08/2017
  • Rousso-Schindler, Steven and Allison Woodruff (2009) Mediation (6 minutes). Explores the aesthetic experiences people have while engaging in green home-building.
  • Rousso-Schindler, Steven and Allison Woodruff (2009) Building in a Green World (5 minutes). Explores the culture around environmentally-friendly homes while owners give tours of their houses, discussing sustainability, green networks, levels of satisfaction with homes and their value systems.
  • Song, Zhifang, Steven Rousso-Schindler and Gary Seaman (2009) Maoism, Marriage, and Modernization: Marriage Exchange in a North China Village (30 minutes). Explores the changing marriage patterns in China over the last 50 years.
  • Song, Zhifang, Steven Rousso-Schindler and Gary Seaman (2009) The Heavenly Court in Song Family Village: Gender, Hierarchy, and Religious Power in a North China Village (30 minutes). Explores gender roles in local religious groups in a Chinese village.
  • Song, Zhifang, Steven Rousso-Schindler and Gary Seaman (2009) The Secret of the Stone. Segmentary Lineage Organization in a North China Village (35 minutes). Explores the changing system of segmentary lineage in China.
  • Song, Zhifang, Steven Rousso-Schindler and Gary Seaman (2009) Song Family Village Takes a Bride: Wedding Customs in a North China Village (30 minutes). Explores the changing contemporary marriage practices in a Chinese village.
  • Rousso, Niki and Steven Schindler (2003) Our Mother’s Recipe (26:46 minutes). Screened nationally on PBS. Explores the identities of three middle-aged Jewish sisters as they prepare for and celebrate the Passover holiday.
  • Rousso, Niki and Steven Schindler (1997) Purim Prophecy (4:54 minutes). Student film Explores the historical mythical connections between the Old Testament story of Esther and Nazi Germany.

 

ARTICLES/BOOK CHAPTERS

  • Woodruff, Allison, Sarah E. Fox, Steven Rousso-Schindler and Jeffrey Warshaw (2018) A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of Algorithmic Fairness. CHI 2018, April 21-26, 2018, Montreal, QC, Canada. Pp 1-14
  • Rousso-Schindler, Steven (2009) Israeli Population Politics and their Role in Creating National Narratives. In Sabine Berking and Magdalena Zolkos, eds. Between Life and Death: Governing Population in an Era of Human Rights. Berlin: Bergan Macmillan. Pp. 287-302.