Trademarking Racism: Pseudo-Indian Symbols and the Business of Professional Sports
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a novel by the Spokane author Sherman Alexie, a basketball player at an all-White high school is the persistent target of racist slurs. “Chief” and “Tonto,” he is called, “Squaw boy” and “Redskin.” He also experiences the indignity of sharing the court with a caricature of […]
uncommon sense: There’s More to Uganda
In a small village in eastern Uganda, I sat on the porch of my host’s home. A retired head teacher, he has a rumbling, stentorian voice that commands authority. As we sipped tea, he looked over at me and asked: “Is it true that in your country it is legal for a man to go […]
Beer through the Ages: The Role of Beer in Shaping Our Past and Current Worlds
“Thirst rather than hunger may have been the stimulus behind the origin of small grain agriculture.” —Jonathan Sauer, 1953 “Man cannot live on beer alone. … Are we to believe that the foundations of Western Civilization were laid by an ill-fed people living in a perpetual state of partial intoxication?” —Paul Mangledorf, 1953 Doing field […]
Theaster’s Way: On the Art of Theaster Gates
The latest piece by Gina Athena Ulysse, from her commentary on the Huffington Post, offers an anthropologist’s take on the work of artist Theaster Gates. “Mississippi is my Africa” (AKRiFa. he wrote on the makeshift board). Misspelled? A pun? Who the hell knows? That was his response to being asked where is home and, “Where […]
Why Anthropology Still Matters: Faye V. Harrison
The latest piece by Gina Athena Ulysse from her running series on the Huffington Post, Why Anthropology Still Matters, offers an engaging look into the work of anthropologist Faye V. Harrison. “Needless to say, Harrison has shattered ceilings as the first Black person and only the second woman to take the helm in the history […]
Alan Greenspan and Anthropology
A couple of years ago I bumped into Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, in the lofty surroundings of the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival. As we chatted, the sprightly octogenarian declared that he was becoming interested in social anthropology – and wanted to know what books to read. “Anthropology?” I retorted, […]
Experiencing the Divine
Tanya Luhrmann, an anthropologist at Stanford, writes in the NYTimes about faith and the experience of divine forces: To experience God as walking by your side, in conversation with you, is hard. Evangelical pastors often preach as if they are teaching people how to keep God constantly in mind, because it is so easy not […]
Rouhani’s Visit to the UN
Narges Bajoghli, an anthropology PhD student at NYU, writes in The Guardian about Iranian winds of change: Students, activists, artists, and political prisoners rallied behind Rouhani just before the 13 June vote to bring him a 51% victory, hoping to bring about change and some breathing room in Iran again. Ahmadinejad’s presidency was characterized by […]
The Power of Humor
Angelique Haugerud, a Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, writes in the Huffington Post about politics, satire and Jon Stewart: Why do dictators fear laughter? Consider Jon Stewart, who returns to his anchor desk on The Daily Show on September 3, after a summer hiatus to direct a documentary film. Toppling governments is not his […]
Labor Day
Krystal D’Costa writes in Scientific American about Labor Day: There’s no question that technology has helped to create a safer workplace. But there’s also no question that technology is changing the workplace—as well as the laborer. In the coming years, we’ll have to redefine what it means to work because there is no question that […]