Allegralaboratory: Next step
Dear Allies, after a ‘magical intellectual carpet ride’ that has already lasted for five years, it is time for a new chapter in the life of our beloved…
Author: Miia Halme-Tuomisaari
HELP! (Before we CRASH!)
Ever so often you – our beloved Allegra readers – may have noticed that we have issued a call, perhaps to crowd source for references or most influential…
Yes we can – and this is how! #Fieldwork with kids
Almost exactly four years ago I arrived at Geneva airport – with my two sons then aged 1 and 4. We had set on our journey almost a…
‘Pretend to be straight!’ What’s wrong with the world? #WeekendEssay
On February 26 the Guardian reported of new UK Home Office guidelines according to which the country would send back openly homosexual asylum applicants to Afghanistan with the…
Where are the ladies, Didier Fassin? #EASA2016 Keynote
It’s hot and humid, and yet circa 1000 anthropologists are determined to enter the main conference room of U6 of the University of Milan & Bicacca. Fortunately the…
University Destruction INC! RIP University of Helsinki
Today is a black day in the ongoing the destruction of Finnish universities, particularly the University of Helsinki! Under the the pretence of austerity the University will be…
Because we’re #HAPPY? REDUX
Today we have, once again, witnessed the arrival of the World Happiness Reports – reports that claim nothing less than to offer a neatly quantified, ‘objective’ measurement of just…
Magic little gecko, won’t you become a doctor?
Yesterday I took my two children, aged 4 and 7, to the doctor. Both had been ill for the past week; the older one was suffering from a…
Up the Anthropologist – Anthropology Day, Jukebox, Migration & Breakfast
Hello everyone – it’s yet another glorious Allegra week! Fine, admittedly the weather in some parts of the world (aka where this post is being written) does not…
#LoldiersofOdin: Do you work internationally?
Loldiers of Odin, I have been deeply impressed by your upstanding actions and determination to keep our streets safe – and joyful! Via your actions you have set…
Picture of a House – toward the ethnography of the academia
There was a time when universities were modelled after churches. Today their designs echo temples of different kinds – namely corporate headquarters. In light of what is going…
Top 10 (or thereabout) of 2015
As we embark on yet another Allegra year, let’s take a look back: what were your favorite posts for 2015? Reading this list of our ‘Top 10 or…
Revisiting a Writing Process: Ode to Academic Freedom #humanrights
This week we have dedicated an unusual amount to one single publication. This has in part been because of the unabashed claim – from one of Allegra’s founders…
Introducing ‘Textbook Narrative of Origins’ #HumanRights
Where does the history of human rights begin: centuries, even millennia earlier, or a mere few decades ago? What constitutes this history and what can we really learn from…
Thematic week: History of #HumanRights
This Allegra week will be devoted to a theme that we have not previously addressed, namely the history of human rights. Furthermore, this thematic week will be arranged…
#Crisis in focus
This week we are featuring a series of posts curated by Dimitra Kofta on a very current theme: CRISES. Etymologically deriving from the Greek infinitive κρίνειν (krinin), crisis…
Buses, Metros, Shoes & Confusing Journeys #Fieldnotes
This week we continue our thread on fieldnotes via four posts that all in their own way elaborate this thread’s overarching theme: journey. As is familiar to all…
REDUX: What does Humanity look like? Ethnography of the CIA – with Carole McGranahan
It has been a while since I have last encountered her – I wonder if I will still recognize her. Sure, she could disguise herself, to become instantly…