Sydney Meredith Silverstein, Ph.D.
PhD, Emory University, 2018
I am trained as an anthropologist and filmmaker, and apply this background to both anthropological and public health research. Broadly I am interested in a hemispheric approach to drug studies and the War on Drugs, and particularly the experiences of people living with substance use disorders (SUD) and/or in recovery from SUD. More information about my work can be found on my personal website: https://sydneymsilverstein.com
Research Statement
Research and Interests
Ethnography, Addiction & Recovery, The War on Drugs, Collaborative and Multimedia Research Methods
Area Specializations: Latin America (Peru/Amazonia) & Urban U.S. (Midwest).
Languages: Spanish (fluent), Portuguese (conversational), Quechua (beginner/conversational).
Publications
Silverstein, S.M. (in press). “The place under the bridge.” Visual Anthropology Review.
Palacios, J.J., Martín Brañas, M., Silverstein, S.M., Zárate, R., Kawa, N.C, Del Águila, M. (in press).
“Spatiotemporal impacts of drug crop and commodity agriculture on cultural ecosystem services: the case of Ischnosiphon in Ticuna communities of Loreto, Peru.” Journal of Illicit Economies and Development.
Perdue, T., Carlson, R., Daniulaityte, R., Silverstein, S. M., Bluthenthal, R. N., Valdez, A., & Cepeda, A. (2024). Characterizing prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl initiation trajectories: A qualitative study. Social Science & Medicine, 340, 116441.
Daniulaityte, R., Ruhter, L., Juhascik, M., & Silverstein, S. (2023). Attitudes and experiences with fentanyl contamination of methamphetamine: exploring self-reports and urine toxicology among persons who use methamphetamine and other drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 20(1), 54.
Silverstein, S.M., Rivera, J.K., Gainer, D., and Raminta Daniulaityte, ‘Things that you can’t really suppress’: Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder, SSM - Mental Health, Volume 3, 100185,ISSN 2666-5603, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100185.
Martín Brañas, Manuel; Silverstein, Sydney M.; del Aguila Villacorta, Margarita; Zárate Gómez, Ricardo; Núñez Pérez, Cecilia; Cándido Yumbato, Alonso; Palacios Vega, Juan José; and Rodríguez Romaní, Rosario (2022). "Ticuna Ceramics amidst the Expansion of Illicit Coca: Rendering New Relations", Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America: Vol. 18: Iss. 2, Article 3, 220-240. Available at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/tipiti/vol18/iss2/3
Silverstein, S.M., Jenkins, W.N., Orlowski, M., Paton, S. (2022). "Pandemic Response Across Ohio’s Public Universities: Novel Approaches, Emergent Challenges and Future Opportunities". Journal of Amerian College Health.
Crawford TN, Silverstein S.M., Spaulding T, Cheribin D, Murray T, Rivera J, Wilcher K. (2022). "Exploring the Impact of Experiences with Everyday and Major Discrimination and HIV-Related Stigma on Engagement in HIV Care Among Older African Americans Living with HIV". Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Jul 25:1-8.
Silverstein, S. M. (2022). Narco‐Infrastructures and the Persistence of Illicit Coca in Loreto. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 26(3-4): 427-450.
Victor, G., Lee, G., Pozo, B. D., Silverstein, S.M., Zettner, C., Cason, R., & Ray, B. (2022). Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Criminal/Legal System: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes Among Rural Community-Based Stakeholders. Journal of Drug Issues, 00220426221076800.
Daniulaityte, R., Silverstein, S. M., Getz, K., Juhascik, M., McElhinny, M., & Dudley, S. (2022). Lay knowledge and practices of methamphetamine use to manage opioid-related overdose risks. International Journal of Drug Policy, 99, 103463.
Silverstein, S.M., Milligan, K., Osborn, A., Aamir, I., Gainer, D., Daniulaityte, R. (2021) "Visualizing a Calculus of Recovery: Calibrating Relations in an Overdose Epicenter". Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1007/s11013-021-09758-x
Harris, L.M, Silverstein, S.M. Crawford, Timothy N., Kerr, Jelani C., Ball, Diana. (2021). “Exploring the Impacts of Alcohol and Other Drug Use on HIV Care Among Older African American Adults Living with HIV/AIDS”. Journal of AIDS in Nursing Care
Danielle M. Gainer, Ramzi W. Nahhas, Tyler Vanderhoof, Sydney M. Silverstein, Mark D. Wright, Samantha O. Vanderhoof & Shannon C. Miller (2021) Exploring the Interactions between Non-Medical Methamphetamine Use and Prescribed Buprenorphine or Naltrexone in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention, Substance Use & Misuse, DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1975747
Silverstein, S.M., Daniulaityte, R., Getz, K., Zule, W. (2021). “‘It’s Crazy What Meth Can Help You Do’: Lay Beliefs, Practices, and Experiences of Using Methamphetamine to Self-Treat Symptoms of Opioid Withdrawal" Substance Use & Misuse. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1949612
Silverstein, S.M. (2021) “A Second Chance: Re-enactment and Recovery Narratives in a Peruvian Drug Rehabilitation Center”. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 35(2): 190-208.
Daniulaityte, R., Silverstein, S.M., Crawford, T.N., Martins, S., Zule, W. Carlson, R.G. (2020). Methamphetamine Use and Its Correlates among Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder in a Midwestern City. Substance Use and Misuse.
Carlson, R.G., Daniulaityte, R., Silverstein, S.M., Nahhas, R.W., Martins, S. (2020) “Unintentional drug overdose: Is more frequent use of non-prescribed buprenorphine associated with lower risk of overdose?” International Journal of Drug Policy.
Silverstein, S.M., Daniulaityte, R., Miller, S.C., Martins, S.S., Carlson, R.G., (2020). “On My Own Terms: Motivations for Self-Treating Opioid Use Disorder with Non-Prescribed Buprenorphine.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107958
Núñez, C., Martín, M., Silverstein, S.M., Rodríguez, R. (2019). “Suicidios en los Tiempos de Coca: Género, violencia y cambios sociales en comunidades ticuna de la Amazonía peruana” in Violencias Contra las Mujeres, W. Hernández, ed. Lima: GRADE.
Silverstein, S.M., Daniulaityte, R., Martins, S., Miller, S., Carlson, R.G., (2019). “’Everything is not right anymore’: Buprenorphine experiences in an era of illicit fentanyl” International Journal of Drug Policy 74: 76-83.
Daniulaityte, R., Nahhas, R.W., Silverstein, S.M., Martins, S., Zaragoza, A., Moeller, A., & Carlson, R.G. (2019). Patterns of Non-Prescribed Buprenorphine and Other Opioid Use Among Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder: A Latent Class Analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 204.
Grimshaw, A. and S.M. Silverstein. 2018. “The Ax Fight: A Critical Engagement with the work of Tim Asch and John Marshall.” Visual Anthropology Review 34(2): 113-123.
Kawa, N.C., Ulmer, G.L. and Silverstein, S.M. 2018. A Pretext for Plunder? Environmental Change and State-Led Redevelopment in the Peruvian Amazon. Anthropology Today 34(2): 14-17.
Silverstein, S.M. 2017. “Inside a Uniform Imaginary: Gender, Politics, and Aesthetics in Peruvian Technical Education. Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 22(3): 578-597.
Ditzler, A, and S.M. Silverstein. 2016. Embodied Curation: Materials, Performance and the Generation of Knowledge. Visual Methodologies 4(1): 52-63.
Silverstein, S.M. 2014. “La Mamá de los Pollitos.” Journal of Video Ethnography 1(1). www.videoethno.com
