Fighting an Invisible Enemy in Liberia: the Use of Popular Culture Against Ebola
“I want to do it my way – I wish I had my own way,” sings Takun J., Liberia’s own superstar. Today he performs at an “Anti-Ebola-stigmatization event” at 146, a bar in downtown Monrovia. Together with other artists Nasiman, Butterfly, Peaches and Skeet, he begs Liberia not to discriminate against Ebola survivors. The event, […]
Riots, Rage and Populism: Voices from the Austere City
Pope Francis for President. It’s the latest provocation of Italian comedy sketches, but it generates bitter laughter. It speaks to the burgeoning lack of trust not only in traditional politicians, but also in political parties, mechanisms and institutions. It signals despair and disillusionment. There is reason to be concerned. Muhammad Shahzad Khan, a Pakistani resident, […]
Recalled to Life: On the Meaning and Power of a Die-In
Die-in at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association. Photo credit: Aries Dela CruzI have never died before. In the beginning of December, at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C., I made my way down to our hotel’s main lobby with a few of my friends, to join […]
The Endless Bus Trip: a Visual Essay
The Endless Bus Trip is a visual essay about Korean and Chinese immigrants living in Flushing, Queens, who ride casino buses as a way of life. Twice a day, immigrants wait at unmarked bus stops along the crowded downtown streets to buy $15 bus tickets from New York City to the Sands Casino and Resort […]
NAFTA’s Highway of Death
Books and Arts: Reviews of Books, Articles, the Arts, and More! Shaylih Muehlmann. 2014. When I Wear My Alligator Boots: Narco-Culture in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Oakland: University of California Press. Anna Ochoa O’Leary, Colin M. Deeds and Scott Whiteford, eds. 2013. Uncharted Terrains: New Directions in Border Research Methodology, Ethics, and Practice. Tucson: University of […]
December 2014
Volume 6 / Issue 3 / December 2014 Austerity and Resistance in the Midwest This issue includes: A Tale of Two Cities by Ida Susser Remapping the Motor City and the Politics of Austerity by Andrew Newman and Sara Safransky Transformative Coalition in Wisconsin: Finding a Way Forward by Jane Collins From Welfare Queens to […]
Nicolas Langlitz on Hallucinogen Revival and the Second Order Observer
This episode of Anthropology Now’s podcast series considers anthropological orientations toward the public and brain research with Nicolas Langlitz, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at The New School for Social Research. Professor Langlitz has dual degrees in Medical Anthropology and History of Medicine. The interview, conducted by NSSR Anthropology PhD candidate Erick Howard, focuses on Langlitz’s […]
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 […]