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 […]
Why Anthropology Still Matters (Part II): Arlene Torres
Arlene Torres has recently been awarded a grant by the National Park Service to conduct an ethnographic study of community formations in Paterson, New Jersey, where over 50 different ethnic groups reside. The city is also home to the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. Over the years, Torres’ contributions to the discipline include the […]
Emily Martin Discusses “Anthropology Now”
The first episode of a new series that explores the relevance of anthropology to public life, this podcast features a conversation with Emily Martin, Professor of Anthropology at New York University and a key force behind the journal “Anthropology Now.” Christine Mladic Janney, a PhD student in Anthropology at NYU, asks Martin about her vision […]
Presumed Innocent: On Bill Traylor’s Verve
Something was definitely stirring deep within William “Bill” Traylor. In a span of four years, he expunged a lot of it, producing 1200 drawings and paintings with graphite pencil stubs and poster paint on discarded cardboard. Traylor bears the surname of the proprietor of the plantation in Dallas County, Alabama, where he was born into […]
Bollywood and Violence
Irfan Ahmad, a political anthropologist, writes in Al-Jazeera about Bollywood and violence in India: On July 31, a shocking incident took place at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of South Asia’s top universities. In a dastardly attempted murder, shortly before noon, Akash Kumar, 23, and a student of Korean studies, entered the classroom […]
Refusing to Look Away: The Act of Killing and the Indonesian genocide of 1965
The Act of Killing (2013). A Film by Joshua Oppenheimer. In the mid 1990s I was conducting transcultural psychiatric research in Bali, Indonesia, exploring the relationship between Balinese culture, individual experience, and the long-term outcome for severe mental illness. Engaging in person-centered ethnography, I interviewed a number of individuals on a weekly or monthly basis […]