Fish Kills and Protests on the Islands of Chiloé
Protesters set fire to a barricade near Castro. Photo courtesy Richard Vercoe Southern Chile’s Archipelago of Chiloé is a region best known for its mythology, historic churches,…
Author: Elyse Bailey
The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes . . . and a Canal
Anthropology and Nicaragua’s Interoceanic Canal The cab driver sized me (M. Petriello) up, “¿A dónde nos vamos?” (Where are we going?) he asked, assessing the fee and my…
The Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal and Heritage Protection
Why consultations with Indigenous communities matter The construction of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal has garnered only a sporadic interest in the news media, one that does not…
An Open Letter to the American Anthropologist and Responses
An Open Letter to the American Anthropologist Nadia Abu El-Haj Susan Slyomovics The recent issue of the American Anthropologist included a section presenting nine views on anthropology in…
May the Folk Be With You
In 1979, on the eve of Margaret Thatcher’s first UK general election victory, an advertisement appeared in London’s The Evening News. Paid for by the party, the half-page…
Sounding Home
Syrian Musicians in Istanbul How might music produce of a sense of home for displaced Syrians in Turkey? What is the role of displaced Syrians in the preservation…
War in Syria and the Refugee Crisis
There are different ways in which the war in Syria and the ensuing refugee crisis can be made sense of anthropologically. When a crisis looms large on the…
Letter to the Editor and Response: The Symbolic Violence of Choice
The Symbolic Violence of Fallacious Reasoning To the Editor: Re “The Symbolic Violence of Choice” (In Focus, March 2) On its face, Starrett’s essay resembles any anthropologically grounded…
How to Design a Great Poster
Think Visually First Posters are the perfect invitation to a conversation about your research. Since posters are inherently visual, the key to a strong poster is simplicity—their immediate…
Getting Proximate on Israel-Palestine
Alisse Waterston, AAA President This month through next, AAA members are voting on a resolution to boycott Israeli Academic Institutions. This is a huge decision and thus it…
Is Humans of New York’s Refugee Series Public Anthropology?
Mohamad Hafez’s sculptural mural, Between Love and War. Photo courtesy Zareena Grewal In his recent open letter to Donald Trump, Brandon Stanton, the self-described journalist and photographer-blogger…
A Tale of Two Syrias
A view of Damascus. Photo courtesy Faedah M Totah The human misery and destruction created by regime forces bombarding Syrian cities and towns has reinforced the unique status…
Using Satellite Imagery to Monitor Syria’s Cultural Heritage
The military conflict that now consumes Syria and neighboring parts of Iraq and Turkey, the northern portion of the Fertile Crescent, are home to an extraordinarily rich archaeological…
AAA Members and the Membership Survey
My background is in sociocultural and applied linguistics, and I first joined AAA as a fifth-year doctoral student. It took me a while to learn to feel comfortable…
OTG 5: Un[der]heard Messages from Ferguson
brothers dying in the street and our hoods in crisis we need more messages for the grassroots we need resurrections like Osiris corner stores b-boys wondering what freedoms…
OTG 4: A Closer Look at Indianapolis
I cannot count how many times I’ve been out of state and people have been flabbergasted that I’m from Indianapolis, Indiana. Initially, this is because the idea of…
OTG 3: Finding Black Death on a Quiet Hilltop
Photo Courtesy Daniel Suave I pulled my car up to a parking spot on a steep hill, deployed my emergency brake and made to step out of the…
Should We Act on Israel/Palestine, or Not?
I hope people will read the Task Force Report on Israel/Palestine. It represents hundreds of hours of labor by our colleagues. It reflects what is special about our…
Beyond Zero-Sum Logics on Israel/Palestine
The upcoming vote on a resolution to boycott Israeli academia is unprecedented in our field’s history, and is being followed throughout the social sciences and humanities as a…
OTG 2: The Movement for Black Lives Conference
Photo Courtesy Daniel Suave The Movement for Black Lives conference took place in Cleveland, OH on July 25–26 on the campus of Cleveland State U. In all, approximately…
Introduction to “On the Ground”
The very public lynchings of black men, women, and children prompted much concern, discussion, and action at the 2014 Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association in Washington,…
DNA and Indigeneity
DNA in the News Rapid developments in genetic technologies are allowing for innovative applications in archaeology and anthropology. Intriguing scientific studies hinting at population origins, moveme…
Public Statement on Zika Virus in Puerto Rico
This call to action was written by Adriana Garriga-López (Kalamazoo C) and Shir Lerman (U Connecticut), with Jessica Mulligan (Providence C), Alexa Dietrich (Wagner C), Carlos E Rodríguez-Díaz…
The Symbolic Violence of Choice
“Hasn’t he got any patriotism?” [Colonel Cathcart asked]. “Won’t you fight for your country?” Colonel Korn demanded. “Won’t you give up your life for Co…