Adventures in chatGPT #2: A conversation with Nick Seaver
After writing my last post about chatGPT, I got in touch with Nick Seaver to see what he had to say about some of these issues. Here’s our conversation:…
Author: Ryan
Adventures in chatGPT: Meet David Wilkie, anthropologist
So curiosity finally got the best of me and I started looking into this whole chatGPT thing that is poised to bring about the ruin of society. I…
Holding our anthropological spaces
I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point the anthropological community that used to be online shifted mostly to Twitter and other platforms. Maybe this was…
No Open Access Today, Anthropology: On the latest AAA-Wiley Announcement
Last November, it looked like some good things were on the horizon for Open Access and the American Anthropological Association’s publishing portfolio: At this morning’s #AAA2021Baltimor…
The search for the worst anthro job ad: An interview with Dada Docot
In September 2021, Dada Docot sent out a half-serious tweet about finding the Worse Anthro Job Ad for 2021. The post got attention, and the search took off.…
Fragments of Reparation & Recognition in the Golden State
Aerial image of Bruce’s Beach park (highlighted in color), Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles. Adapted from Google Earth, 2021. On September 30, California Governor Gavin Newsome signed Senate Bill…
The masked and the unmasked
Standard issue mask from Kaiser Permanente. Photo: Ryan Anderson 2021. Before 2020 and COVID-19, I never thought much about masks. Now I think about them all the time.…
Anthrodendum, the revival
Earlier in 2020, we faced a decision. For the past couple of years, things have definitely slowed down here on Anthrodendum. You may have noticed. So we asked…
Putting down our “lenses”
Nikkormat and 50mm lens. Photo by Ryan Anderson 2020. Years ago I read an article about a photographer. I don’t actually remember who the photographer was, but this…
Anthropology gets a little more open (access)
Still locked, the gate pulls open ever so slightly more. Photo: Ryan Anderson, 2020. There’s news in the world of open access anthropology. The gates have opened, just…
The not-so-natural beach
Image 1: Groin in Oceanside California, built in 1961. Photo: Ryan Anderson, 2019. Growing up, I always imagined the beach to be a natural place. I think it’s…
Accumulation by media saturation
Palapa-lined beach on the East Cape of BCS, Mexico. Photo: Ryan Anderson, 2012. Recently, I was at the doctor’s office (I’m fine, thanks) and I started sifting through…
Anthropology, Interrupted: Thank you, Vine Deloria
I was first introduced to anthropology at community college. It was…eye opening. Anthropology challenged the insufficient, limited political and historical education I’d received up through high…
All the value that washes into the sea
Failing seawall trying to prevent land (and value) from washing into the sea. Baja California Sur, Mexico, 2012. Photo: Ryan Anderson. In August of this year, the Washington…
Repeat photography & coastal change: From notes and ideas to research method
Image 1: Storm battering the coast of Cabo Pulmo, 10:38 am on September 3, 2012. You never know when or how new research will begin. Let alone how…
Open Access, Apathy & Cowardice in academic publishing: An interview w/ Taylor R. Genovese
In the previous iteration of this site, I talked a lot about Open Access. The trend continues. For some background, check out this 2009 interview with Colleen Morgan,…
About those Ancestry dot com commercials
In the fall 2017 quarter I kicked off my intro to cultural anthropology course with one of those Ancestry dot com videos. These are all over the place,…
About that takedown notice from the AAA
Here we go again. If you’re a member of the American Anthropological Association, you should have received an email this past week (10/17) about avoiding copyright infringement. The…
About that takedown notice from the AAA
Here we go again. If you’re a member of the American Anthropological Association, you should have received an email this past week (10/17) about avoiding copyright infringement. The…
Surfing vs. the commodification of everything
Tom Curren, logo-free, 1991. Photography by Tom Servais. Do you ever think about the first time a concept really stuck for you? Not the first time you heard…
Anthropology in an Age of ‘Dangerous Nonsense’ (Part 1)
In the waning moments of 2016, one man, armed with an AR-15 and “information” about a conspiracy related to Hilary Clinton, walked into a DC pizza parlor hell…
This week in anthropological rebuttals to Charles Murray
Just when you think that The Bell Curve has been thoroughly debunked, it rears its ugly head…again. It’s like a weed that just won’t go away–and that should…
Kendzior: In Defense of Complaining
This was meant to be a book review. Instead, it’s an essay about the power—and importance—of complaining.[1] The book under consideration here is Sarah Kendzior’s The View from…
Reader Letters #2: Trump Edition
Here’s the second round of Savage Minds Reader Letters! We asked our readers to share their thoughts about anthropology in the Trump era for this round, and we…