Dr. Rebecca Cassidy

Biography

I am a social anthropologist interested in the ideas of 'natural' curation, refinement, and reproduction, as well as the bodies, pedigrees of elite animals and fruits, and the 'self-help' leaflets targeting so-called 'problem gamblers'. My work asks how particular ways of thinking about the world can become powerful. Currently, I am involved in a project on growing fruit, supported by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship. In the past, I have engaged with horseracing and gambling. My research interests span multispecies relations, political ecology, uncertainty, gender, kinship, class, inequality, and public anthropology policy. My recent book, Vicious Games (2020), delves into the gambling industry's affinity for capitalism, based on a decade of fieldwork with gambling businesses worldwide. I co-authored a report on conflicts of interest in gambling research called Fair Game (2014). Much of my gambling research has scrutinized consumption but focuses on the production of dangerous products and flawed policies by corporations and governments. Through my research in gambling, I developed an interest in horseracing, illustrated in my monographs, Sport Kings (2002) and Horse People (2007), which explore thoroughbred breeding and racing in Newmarket and Kentucky. Through fieldwork on studs and racetracks, I've revealed how horseracing and thoroughbred breeding depend on class and gender inequalities. I have edited collections of essays on various anthropological topics and my work has informed public debates and policy changes in the UK, widely reported by media outlets like the Daily Mail and The Guardian.

Research Interests