For years, Robin Nagle was anthropologist-in-residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation
Blood Is Their Argument: anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon
During the brief moment that I majored in anthropology in college, I was fascinated by the work of Napoleon A. Chagnon and his seminal 1968 text Yanomamo: The Fierce People. Chagnon’s time as a field scientist in the Amazon had a profound impact on the field of anthropology even as his methods (and misunderstandings of his methods) resulted in an academic war on his research and his character. To further explore Chagnon’s legacy, and what he really found in the rainforest, BB pal John Brockman of EDGE convened a meetingbetween Chagnon and big thinkers Steven Pinker, Richard Wrangham, Daniel C. Dennett, and David Haig. The result is 30,00 words of conversation and hours of video that John says is “one of the most significant events in (Edge’s) sixteen year history.” From an intro to the materials by Richard Dawkins:
What do Anthropologists Say about Same-sex Marriage?
As the marriage bill heads to the U.K. House of Lords for its second reading, Roger Lancaster contributes an anthropological perspective on marriage as a labile institution, designed to meet societal needs and necessarily not tethered to a heterosexual dyad in his latest Huffington Post article. His words offer a trenchant rebuttal to the director of Catholic Voices and the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose positions all appear in a provocative and engaging new volume: , just published by Civitas. The UK debate coincides with anticipation that the U.S. highest court will rule on Windsor v. U.S. ? Defense of Marriage Act before the term ends in late June.
Anthropology: It?s not just a ?promotion? problem
Just read this guest column in the Orlando Sentinel by Ty Matejowski and Beatriz M Reyes-Foster. It was written a while back, but still worth a read. Good on them for writing this piece. It?s all about anthropology?s ?branding problem?:
Cultural anthropology?s branding problem is largely superficial. Anthropologists possess unique knowledge and skill sets that have real-world value. Anthropology helps us understand the world in a way that cannot be reduced to numbers or captured in surveys.
Public anthropology in times of media hybridity and global upheaval
Postill, J. forthcoming. Public anthropology in times of media hybridity and global upheaval. In S. Abram and S. Pink (eds.) Media, Anthropology and Public Engagement. Oxford: Berghahn.
Abstract
The growing popularity of new social and participatory media at a time of global turbulence raises challenging questions for anthropologists wishing to engage with publics beyond academia. In this chapter I draw from my experience as a media anthropologist researching activism and social protest to explore some of these challenges. I argue that an updated public anthropology is required if we are to reach out beyond the mass media channels familiar from previous decades. The new digital media environment is a ?hybrid? system made up of old and new technologies, actors and practices interacting in contingent ways (Chadwick 2011) as well as a domain of cultural production mired in a deep political and economic crisis. This situation demands open-ended, idiosyncratic, and collaborative approaches to public engagement that take into account both the unique affordances of today?s digital technologies and the aftereffects of the 2011 and 2013 waves of social protest around the globe. I exemplify this argument through my experience with four distinct platforms, namely a mailing list, a research blog, Twitter and Facebook, in a range of public contexts.
Why we are all digital anthropologists
(CNN) — A couple of years ago, I came across a film about London’s East Street market which in the 80’s was a regular Sunday outing for my family. The memories flooded back, I sent the link to my brother and we vowed to visit soon to buy cheap
Victoria Times Colonist
Anthropology of life online. Congress 2013: A UVic professor studies how social media will be used as cultural artifacts in the future. Richard Watts / Times Colonist May 30, 2013. Email; Print. ray_siemens_1_1_.jpg. University of Victoria professor
Anthropologist studies unusual tribe: derivatives traders
Cornell Chronicle
Since 1998, Hirokazu Miyazaki, associate professor of anthropology, has followed an atypical collection of people for an anthropologist to study: Japanese derivatives traders. Miyazaki, director of the East Asia Program at the Mario Einaudi Center for
What do Anthropologists Say about Same-sex Marriage?
As the marriage bill heads to the U.K. House of Lords for its second reading, Roger Lancaster contributes an anthropological perspective on marriage as a labile institution, designed to meet societal needs and necessarily not tethered to a heterosexual dyad in his latest Huffington Post article. His words offer a trenchant rebuttal to the director of Catholic Voices and the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose positions all appear in a provocative and engaging new volume: , just published by Civitas. The UK debate coincides with anticipation that the U.S. highest court will rule on Windsor v. U.S. ? Defense of Marriage Act before the term ends in late June.
Amerindian-like admixture in northern Europe is real
genetiker, a new genome blogger questions the existence of Amerindian-like admixture in Europe. I am generally well-disposed to anyone who tries their hand at analysis of genetic data. On the other hand, if one accuses me of writing a series of posts “chock-full of stupidity”, then there’s a good chance I might respond. This should also be useful for anyone wishing to understand the evidence for this admixture.
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.