Santa’s Capitalist Alchemy
The anthropology and myth-making of Santa… Now this might upset you. It might even provoke memories of Scrooge himself. But the gold standard of social science research states,…
Author: Dylan Kerrigan - Opeds
The view from above
The merits of bottom up thinking and the dangers of thin simplifications In Wednesday’s Guardian there was a piece about the life story of Clyde Haynes. Amongst many…
Cultures of Dependency
fundamental social change is hard to achieve because cultures of dependency are deeply entrenched in the local political culture. In political theories of social change like Marxism, under…
Graduate Resilience
the culture of post-graduate research at UWI can be described as tough in terms of adequate supervision yet the students themselves demonstrate resilience in this tough working environment…
Fear-bola and the Risk Society
Yes Ebola is real and dangerous, but hysteria and misinformation are socially irresponsible and dangerous… In 1986 sociologist Ulrich Beck published Risk Society. In it he described a…
Weapons of Anti-Blackness
Chik-V and Ebola and the realities behind conspiracy theories Listening to local radio shows, reading the newspapers, and talking to colleagues and friends it is clear Chikungunya (Chik-V)…
Art Connects
The power of art, dance and song in empowering the education and social connection of young Trinidadians… How much do we really know about the youth of Trinidad…
Scotland and Tobago
Scotland’s vote for Independence and its implications for Tobago On Thursday, Scotland goes to the polls in a referendum on Independence from the United Kingdom. At the time…
The Return of the Colonial
What logic connects Ferguson, Gaza and east Port of Spain? What cultural logics connect recent confrontations in Ferguson, Gaza, and east Port of Spain? The short answer is…
Martians and Mechanical Cages
Trinidad traffic culture and what a anthropologist from Mars might think of it all If an anthropologist on Mars observed many areas of Trinidad from far they would…