Anthropology and Chess
The Boston Globe discusses Robert Desjarlais’ latest book, “Counterplay: An Anthropologist at the Chess Board:’’ Anthropology is the study of humanity and its many aspects. It generally divides its work into four fields: cultural, archeological, linguistic, and biological. Its horizons, of course, are simply as infinite as the experiences of mankind. We have never thought […]
The Meanings of Debt
David Graeber discusses economics at CNN.com Blogs: …If the study of history shows us anything, it’s that it all comes down to power. The people on the top know that everything is negotiable. If there’s a real problem, you can always work something out – which is what we saw in 2008, when the financial […]
Bearing Witness
CNN runs a two-part story on the traumas of rape in wartime. The first part highlights the work of Vitoria Sanford among Mayan women in Guatemala: It began as a headache. Then her throat started to feel tight. A dull pain welled in her chest and her joints ached. But Victoria Sanford continued to do […]
Open Access Anthropology
Several anthropologically minded open-access journals and blogs emerged across the web in the last few months. AnthroNow presents several of the most interesting ones. Ethnosense is a new blog which moves beyond the disciplinary boundaries of anthropology and is dedicated to the sharing of ethnographic practices and experiences “This blog is for those who have experienced […]
Anthropology, Pole Dancing and Tax Exemption
Anthropologists sometimes serve as expert witnesses at courthouses. In this “exotic” case, the anthropological testimony did not impress the court. “NEW YORK— “Looking for a nightclub experience that isn’t the same old, same old? Nite Moves is an upscale juice bar featuring all the amenities you’d expect from a luxury bar — plus a few […]
The Amazon
“The Amazon is in the hands of the drug trade,” by Paolo Moiola, an Interview with Roberto Jaramillo, Jesuit priest and anthropologist, at Latinamericanpress: “Colombian Jesuit priest Roberto Jaramillo has lived in the Brazilian Amazon for the last 15 years. Since 2005, he is the regional leader of the Society of Jesus in the Amazon state. […]
Creativity in an Age of Connectivity
Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist working for Intel: “MOBILE phone use and instant access to the internet from almost anywhere could be stifling creativity, according to Australian born cultural anthropologist, Genevieve Bell. “I wonder if it means we don’t have enough time to imagine things”, Ms Bell told news.com.au. “I think there’s something really powerful about […]
Judgment Day
Paul Stoller writes about Judgment Day at huffingtonpost.com: Like many people in America, I attended a get-together on Judgment Day, Saturday, May 21. According to the biblical calculations of Family Radio’s Harold Camping, Judgment Day would bring earthquakes and storms, which would mark the beginning of the Rapture, a process through which true believers are […]
An American Dream
Louise Krasniewicz, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke to CNN’s Only On the Blog about Arnold schwarzenegger: Arnold’s importance has never been about his acting or his bodybuilding or his great wealth and power.Arnold was, and probably still is, important because he has been one of the […]
Does Height Matter?
The New York Times’ Room for Debate opinion section asks “Do We Want to Be Supersize Humans? If human bodies become taller, bigger and longer-living — is that progress?” Alexandra Brewis, a medical anthropologist, answers: Height conveys all sorts of important meanings about each person’s own development history. A photograph in my office taken two […]