An Anthropology of the Handshake

Professor MSO Bjarke Oxlund has contributed to the journal Anthropology Now with the feature ‘An Anthropology of the Handshake’.

In the article he discusses what he calls ‘the shaky future of the handshake’ in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, focus on social distancing and calls for bringing the convention of shaking hands to rest.

However, the handshake is also one of the most common human gestures, and in his article Bjarke Oxlund argues that the rumours of the demise of the handshake may turn to be somewhat exaggerated. Not only is handshaking a practise that dates back to ancient Greece, it is also a bodily gesture carrying so many layers of cultural meaning and psychic connotations that in many situations it is almost unfathomable to imagine a future without it.

Het access to the article here.