Shifting Perspectives: The Man in Africa Hall at the American Museum of Natural History at 50
The “Man in Africa Hall” at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) opened on June 8, 1968, after seven years of preparation. Colin Turnbull, hired in 1959 as the Museum’s first curator of African Ethnology, was tasked with curating the third iteration of an anthropology exhibit focused on Africa. By the time the Hall […]
#EverythingMustFall: The Use of Social Media and Violent Protests in the Current Wave of Student Riots in South Africa
The past year has seen violent protests at most South African universities, where students have pursued the dual goals of free education and a decolonization of education. Severe dissatisfaction with everything from tuition fees, housing schemes, languages of instruction and symbolic tributes to colonial stalwarts have coalesced to produce a tense environment of conflicts and […]
Jubilation During Trying Times: Carnival in Guinea-Bissau
~ an essay with photos ~ For decades, the small West African country of Guinea-Bissau has been plagued by coups, misrule, political instability and non-existent infrastructures. It is often described as a failed state, a narco-state, a volatile country, a collapsed economy. Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, none of its elected leaders have ever completed a […]
USFSP Researchers Make Groundbreaking Discovery: the First Complete Ancient African Genome
St. Petersburg, Fla. (October 8, 2015) – An anthropology team from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP), Drs. John and Kathryn Arthur, have announced that after several years of excavation and research in southwestern Ethiopia, their work has resulted in an enduring discovery: the first complete ancient African genome. In 2012, an ancient […]
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, […]
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 […]
Côte d’Ivoire
Mike McGovern, a professor of political anthropology at Yale University, “remembers Ivory Coast in calmer, more prosperous times, when the country was flush with cocoa profits and the city of Abidjan was at its busy peak.” He talks with NPR’s Linda Wertheimer about the Ivory Coast’s history and the events that led up to the […]