Jews in Bukhara Alanna E. Cooper, an anthropologist and a Jewish cultural historian began her research on an old Central Asian Jewish community because of a small and curious dictionary: I don’t remember the name of the man who sold the dictionary…
Motherhood Across Cultures The Toronto Star discusses the research of Jennifer Lansford, a professor of psychology and cultural anthropology at Duke University. Lansford conducts cross-cultural research on motherhood. “Universally, one of the key…
About Diaperless Babies Writing for NPR, the anthropologist Barbara King observes: “some parents, mostly in one area of New York City, as far as I can tell, are raising their children from birth without diapers.” She speaks to Meredith Small, an…
Vodou and Religious Freedom in Haiti Gina Athena Ulysse, a Prof. of Anthropology & African American Studies at Wesleyan University, writes at the huffingtonpost about the oppression of Vodouists in Haiti: While perception of Haiti as synonymous with Vodou reigns…
Tailgate Parties Think football, and odds are you think tailgate party. And with good reason — the tailgate party is among the most time-honored and revered American sporting traditions, what with the festivities, the food and the fans. And the beer….
Breastfeeding in the Classroom Adrienne Pine was in a jam. The assistant anthropology professor at American University was about to begin teaching “Sex, Gender & Culture,” but her baby daughter woke up in the morning with a fever. The single mother worried that…
Circumcision and Human Rights For both Jews and Muslims, circumcision is a religious and cultural practice. Within the last few weeks, Germany outlawed the practice of male circumcision for any but the strictest medical reasons. An atypical alliance of Jews and Muslims…
Spirituality Spirituality is not what it once was – that much is certain, according to anthropologist Peter van der Veer. Working at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, he has examined the…
Clutter and Stress Jeanne Arnold talks to the Boston Globe about cluster, stress and he latest book: With the 21st century’s constantly evolving technological innovations and the wild success of bulk-shopping stores, our hoarding habits have gotten worse….
Images and video clips from the religious ritual at MetLife Stadium Kieran Kesner, a photographer, attended the Jewish ritual at the MetLife Stadium. You can view his beautiful images and video clips at AMAGANSETT. I had never heard of Siyum HaShas. After a 6 hour drive on the morning of from Boston to NJ, I…
