Dr. Richard Eves

Biography

Richard Eves is an anthropologist who has published widely on issues of social change in Papua New Guinea. His book, 'Magical Body: Power, Fame and Meaning in Melanesian Society' (1998), is a detailed study of social and cultural change in a rural community in New Ireland, based on long-term fieldwork. His work now addresses contemporary issues in Melanesia, straddling the boundaries of anthropology, development, and international health, with a particular focus on gender (including masculinity), violence (including violence against women and sorcery-related violence), and the AIDS epidemic. He has extensive experience consulting on health issues, focusing on AIDS and gender-based violence in PNG, and has served as a research advisor for AusAID-funded projects and consultant for Caritas Australia. Eves has undertaken qualitative research in numerous provinces of PNG, including Southern Highlands, Hela, Western Highlands, Chimbu, Western, Eastern Highlands, Morobe, Milne Bay, and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, as well as in the Solomon Islands. He co-edited the significant volume, 'Making Sense of AIDS: Culture, Sexuality, and Power in Melanesia' (2008), a collection of anthropological papers exploring the HIV epidemic in Melanesia. In 2015, he co-edited 'Talking about Responses to Sorcery and Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Melanesia'. His recent research includes a multi-year project funded by the Australian Government on women's economic empowerment and its relationship to violence against women in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, along with ethnographical studies on contemporary Christianity in PNG, specifically the influence of Pentecostalism in New Ireland.

Research Interests