Janelle Taylor is a Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Anthropology Department from 2012-2016 at the University of Washington. She earned her B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature from Stanford University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.
Professor Taylor primarily researches the ethics of medicine as it relates to geriatric patients, especially in “end of life” care. An overarching theme of her research is how medicine plays a role in the social construction of “personhood” and how representations inform social practices.
Representative Publications
Taylor, Janelle S., et al. “The Disappearing Subject: Exclusion of People with Cognitive Impairment and Dementia from Geriatrics Research.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 60.3 (2012): 413-419.
Vig, Elizabeth K., et al. “Beyond Substituted Judgment: How Surrogates Navigate End‐of‐Life Decision‐Making.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 54.11 (2006): 1688-1693.
Taylor, Janelle S. “The Story Catches You and You Fall Down: Tragedy, Ethnography, and Cultural Competence.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 17.2 (2003): 159-181.
