Fischerfest has ended, and I am proud to be part of this gathering. Since the time Mike became my thesis committee member, we have been connected in one way or another. He visited İstanbul several times. Once my father helped us to drive around to visit the technoparks in Istanbul. I frequently assigned his … Read more
Before sharing my personal notes, I have asked Perplexity for a curation, which you can find below. But before that, there is a fantastic archive online here: The Michael M.J. Fischer Archive Michael M. J. Fischer: An Intellectual Biography Michael M. J. Fischer stands as a leading figure in contemporary anthropology and science and … Read more
Along with John Postill and Katrien Pype, I have become a convenor at the EASA Media Anthropology Network. Let’s see how it goes. I meant to contribute more for the next term, but John invited me in formally, and here I am.
I will be in Munich for a month in January 2024 to be part of this project: Below the Radar? Messaging Apps, Encryption and the Enticement of Extreme Speech The new CAS Research Group led by communication scientist Sahana Udupa Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München started yesterday. Online extreme speech and disinformation have emerged as a major problem … Read more
I have been honored to be a member of the EASA Media Anthropology Network from the outset. Our mailing list has hosted tens of e-seminars throughout the last 20 years. Currently, network members discuss the 20 years, and here is my contribution: On the 20th anniversary of Media Anthropology Network I was a graduate … Read more
We had a productive roundtable on AI with a full house. It was one of the few panels/roundtables on AI, and although most anthropologists keep their distance from emerging technologies, we might have had a good reception (I was told the STS conference in Amsterdam just before the EASA would satisfy me with lots of … Read more
Despite being a star academic, he was kind enough to return my emails when I was an MA student. His Weapons of the Weak was influential in political thinking, and his Seeing Like a State was a major source for me retreating from a particular radical politics. In my Rice years, my research focus changed, … Read more
Such feeling of nostalgia! antropologi.info is 20 years old – some (unfinished) notes and thoughts That’s how antropologi.info looked like in 2004 In June 2004, I bought the domain antropologi.info, and this website with blogs in English, German, and Norwegian soon became part of a steadily growing anthropology online community. Browsing through old posts, I get … Read more
I will attend the massive biannual meeting of European anthropology. I am presenting in a panel related to anthropology and artificial intelligence, where I focus on the localization of AI. Surprisingly, I have never been to Barcelona, and I hope to explore it a bit. However, I am scared of the anti-tourism movement (!). ## … Read more
Dear Friends and Colleagues, I have started a project with my graduate students that is becoming an edited volume. With an ethnographic sensibility, we are conducting research and collecting case studies on generative AI usage in different fields. I would love to get scholarly contributions from those who read this message. Please feel free to … Read more
For the Love of Cats in Turkey SAPIENS by Emily Sekine On a visit to feline-friendly Turkey, an anthropologist considers what long-standing practices of caring for cats reveal about human societies. ✽ While visiting eastern Turkey to climb Mount Ararat, I discovered a nice cafe called Ru Sahaf in the town of Doğubayazıt. I had arrived … Read more
Anthropologists on Palestine SAPIENS by Bridget Alex Amid the war on Gaza and long before, anthropologists have been speaking out against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Here’s a curated list of their perspectives as scholars and activists. ✽ SAPIENS seeks to amplify anthropological insights to build a more just and sustainable world. In line with our vision, as a … Read more
I believe that the moment they changed their name from “Savage Minds” to “anthro{dendum}”, the decline started. Over-reliance on (political) correctness is a kind of (political) purism that never ends well. (I do not claim all contributors are like that; I actually like some of them very much). Life is rich, and anthropology is the … Read more
Influencer Industries and Creator Culture reading list: https://t.co/Z8fbfmkojd Digital Ethnography reading list (resource of The Digital Ethnography Collective): https://t.co/ggTw5zeVaR Advocating for Archaeology’s New Purpose SAPIENS by Bridget Alex Archaeologists can help communities retake what colonialism and racism tried to erase through a new goal of “archaeological reclamation.” The following individuals co-authored this essay: Lindsay M. Montgomery (University … Read more
Compared to many other influential contemporary figures in anthropology, I learned his works late, and I was never too tempted by his arguments. However, as my interest in the STS grew, his theories occupied a more significant role in my thinking. Rest in peace, dear Prof. Latour. Bruno Latour, French philosopher and anthropologist, dies ages … Read more