Let’s Agree . . .
That the deaths of civilians killed by the IDF targeting Hamas leaders, command centers, and weapons caches are tragedies. That the continuing occupation of the West Bank and…
Author: Alma Gottlieb
Remembering my Friend, Véronique Amenan Akpoueh (d., Aug. 3, 2023)
Ours was not an ordinary friendship. Race, class, religion, citizenship, educational background, and (for fourteen years) parental status divided us. Language brought us together. Curiosity and inte…
What Day is It? Depends on whose Calendar You Consult
Just when you think you know what day it is, along comes this research on the ancient Mayan calendar. By fifth grade, most schoolchildren know that a week…
Science and “Alternative” Science; or, some Quick Meditations on the Virtues of a Feedback Loop
Many non-Western epistemologies and healing systems have long posited close ties between mind, body, and emotion. Or, rather, these outlooks have categorized as a single feedback loop what…
Gun Safety is a Philosophical Issue
YES to far more sensible gun-purchase background checks and restrictions. YES to more comprehensive mental health treatment options. Credit: pikisuperstar via www.freepik.c…
What Do Hair Salons Have to Do with Prayer, Magic, and the Development of Literacy?
It turns out, the first complete sentence ever written by a human, at least as of what we know now, concerned hair. New archaeological evidence — discovered in…
Why “The Great Replacement Theory” is not a Theory, and why that Matters
The notion of a “theory” comes from science. As such, the term conveys all the legitimacy upon which the scientific method relies. It should not be tossed around…
A Strange Past Returns Strangely
The last time I heard anyone utter the name, Przemysl, I must have been ten or eleven years old. In his thickly Yiddishized English, my maternal grandfather must…
Ten Treasures (and a Bonus): A Selection of Anthropological Gems You Might Have Missed from the Past Few Years
I began interviewing authors of fabulous new anthropology books for this space back in 2016. While completing 11 interviews, I also amassed a backlog of more terrific books…
It’s Not “Just” a Symbol
“Tails” side of the new U.S. quarter featuring Maya Angelou The new Maya Angelou quarter is a symbol, yes. But not “just” a symbol. Because, symbols matter. If…
What Should Teachers Teach?
Source here. Educators are wringing their hands these days about how much students have “fallen behind” the past year. News story after news story laments a year of…
What if . . .?
What if a country had a great public health system? What if that country had a veritable army of public health nurses? What if those public health nurses…
Swan Lessons
This past month, the swans have taken up residence in our local cove, for the first time in the six summers we’ve lived here. What could be a…
A Tale of Two [Unvaxed] Women
We needed to find a new plumber. I called around. The first business that seemed willing to clean our boiler and replace a problematic hose spigot had availability…
Weed or Not Weed?
Weeding is an exercise in anthropology. How do we know what’s a weed? The great French anthropologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss, organized his 80-year career around one foundational principle: R…
Does “Reasonable” = “Racist”?
What can anthropology contribute to the critical conversation about race in America, following the welcome jury decision in the Derek Chauvin trial? After they amassed and presented a…
The Witches Invade Washington
They should have asked an anthropologist. The political and military professionals ignored the warnings presaging last week’s Capitol invasion. But many who conduct research in rural Africa,…
Two Lessons I Learned about the Transfer of Power while Living in Africa
1. The moment that any transfer of power occurs from one individual or regime to another is fraught—ritually, sociologically, emotionally. Why? This is a liminal period–“betwix…
Long Past Time for the 25th Amendment*
There will be plenty of time for Biden to use his extraordinary faith and energy and creativity to think about how this divided nation might be healed. For…
Ed Bruner: In Memoriam
August 8, 2020 Ed Bruner at his home in Illinois (2005) Ed Bruner passed away yesterday, at 95–peacefully, at home. I wish my daughter and I could have…
What Anthropology Teaches Us about COVID-19, Part 4: A Conversation with Physician-Anthropologist, Dr. Bjørn Westgard
Recently, I checked in with Dr. Bjørn Westgard, to see how he was doing. Back in the ‘90s, Bjørn was enrolled in a wildly demanding, combined M.D./Ph.D. program…
What Anthropology Teaches Us about COVID-19, Part 4: A Conversation with Physician-Anthropologist, Dr. Bjørn Westgard
Recently, I checked in with Dr. Bjørn Westgard, to see how he was doing. Back in the ‘90s, Bjørn was enrolled in a wildly demanding, combined M.D./Ph.D. program…
What Anthropology Teaches Us about COVID, Part 3: A Few Thoughts about Culture, and What We Can Learn from Artists . . . and the Homeless
What is “culture”? Early generations of anthropologists offered all sorts of definitions. No matter what their specifics, the various definitions inevitably shared one feature: “…
What Anthropology Teaches Us about COVID-19, Part 2: An Optimist’s Scenario
Here’s what I imagine could–and should–emerge from this viral nightmare. Locally, stranger-neighbors will (re)discover each other. Re-appreciate the bonds of co-residence. …