Blog Topics Categories

Dr. Nasima Selim's blog covers themes of culture, identity, and society through an anthropological lens.

This blog focuses on themes of culture, identity, and society through an anthropological lens. In most cases the articles center on the concept of breathing, both literally and metaphorically. Expect hints at deeper reflections on inequality, politics, ritual, and embodiment. Topics span Islam, Europe, and beyond in a thoughtful, evolving dialogue.

Breathing

Several blog posts explicitly center on the theme of breathing. These articles use breathing as a lens to explore broader anthropological and sociopolitical questions. Topics include the cultural and symbolic meanings of breath in Breathing Narratives, the role of material objects in shaping experiences of breath in Material Breathing, and the intersection of air, activism, and marginalized communities in Political Movements and Breathing. Issues of inequality surface in Breathing Inequality and Environmental Racism and Air Pollution Inequality in German Cities, showing how access to clean air is shaped by race, class, and geography. The embodied and learned aspects of breath are explored in Body Techniques of Breathing, while Biosocial Politics and Breathing examines how biology and society co-produce breath-related experiences. And, Breathing As a Ritual Practice goes into spiritual traditions, such as yoga, where breath is a central ritual element.

Politics

The blog also engages deeply with politics. There is an intersecting of themes of embodiment, environment, and inequality. Posts like Political Movements and Breathing show how marginalized groups mobilize breath as a symbol and practice of resistance against dominant power structures. Breathing Inequality and Environmental Racism and Air Pollution Inequality in German Cities also show the political dimensions of environmental health. It's about how access to clean air is unevenly distributed across racial, class, and spatial lines. In Biosocial Politics and Breathing, the focus shifts to how biological and social factors intertwine to shape political identities and lived experiences. These articles frame breathing beyond physical act, and as a politically charged practice embedded in systems of power and social justice.

Current Work

Dr. Nasima Selim uses the blog as an extension of her academic work, translating her expertise in cultural anthropology into accessible reflections on pressing social, environmental, and embodied issues. As a professor, her research is rooted in ethnographic inquiry and theoretical frameworks that examine how people live and breathe within specific cultural and political contexts. The recurring focus on breathing is a conceptual entry point into broader anthropological questions about ritual, identity, inequality, and power. Her books include “Breathing Hearts” (Berghahn 2024).

Dr. Nasima Selim is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in medicine, public health and anthropology. She is a breathworker, writer, researcher, and educator. Her books include “Breathing Hearts” (Berghahn 2024), an open-access ethnography, and "Ways of Breathing and Knowing" (Routledge, forthcoming), a volume of 12 interdisciplinary essays she co-edited with Dr. Judith Albrecht.