Update
Many thanks to those of you who have followed this blog over the past few years! It’s been a little quiet around here recently, and that’s because I…
Author: Sarah Abel
The Rules that Rachel Broke
If you have spent time on any social networking or news websites over the past week, in all likelihood you will already know that the Rachel referred to…
Dear White People… Where Can I Leave My Racial Baggage?
Last weekend I went to the cinema to see Justin Simien’s Dear White People, a hip satire on the theme of student “race” relations, set at a fictional Ivy League university in…
The Divine Comedy of Liberal Good Intentions
This morning I was sent a slice of internet gold.* The story is of a white American couple, desperate to adopt a baby. An opportunity presents itself in a…
What Is ‘Race’?
Last weekend I was asked to give a Community Perspectives talk for Black History Month in Birmingham, entitled Black Beneath the Skin? The idea was to present some themes that intersect with…
Still Holding Out for a Second Opinion: Carlos’s Story II
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
Nature, Nurture, and Mexicanidad: Tatiana’s Story II
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
Five DNA Tests, 100% Me, and Back to Square One
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
A Mainer’s Portrait of a Melting Pot: Kate’s Story II
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
Searching for Common Humanity in Dystopia: Evlondo’s Story II
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
On the Limits of Curiosity: Rodrigo’s Story II
Back in March, I started a DNA experiment with five friends. I invited each of them to take a genetic ‘ancestry’ test – something that most of them had barely heard…
Back to School
Things have been quiet on the blog front recently. This has mainly been for practical reasons: I moved back to Paris from Washington DC at the beginning of the summer,…
Ironies and Oburonis: Navigating Foreignness in Ghana
Ghana began on the plane. It was 1am on my connection from Casablanca to Accra, and I was sitting next to a sleepy-eyed toddler and his mother, who…
Podcast: DNA Ancestry Testing and the Legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
To listen again to my discussion with Bernice Bennett about my current study on the social impact of DNA ancestry testing in the Americas, as well as related research into the…
A DNA Experiment: Carlos’ Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A DNA Experiment: Kate’s Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A DNA Experiment: Tatiana’s Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A DNA Experiment: Evlondo’s Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A DNA Experiment: Rodrigo’s Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A DNA Experiment: Sarah’s Story
My PhD research looks at genetic ancestry testing and genealogical practices in different post-slavery societies, and how these phenomena are influencing our notions of personal identity and human…
A joke
Three Mexicans and an Englishwoman walk out of a bar. A guy walks past and asks for a cigarette. He doubles back: ‘No son de aquí ¿verdad?’ ‘De…
On Racial Profiling and the ‘While…’ Phenomenon
Following inquiries from some of my international readers, I would like to take a few moments to explain the title of this blog. The ‘anthropology while white’ formulation…
Whiteness Without Complex?
A couple of weeks ago I attended an event called ‘Color Without Complex‘, featuring a public conversation between image activist Michaela Angela Davis and ethnographer and publisher Dr. Ya…
A ‘White’ Anthropologist’s Manifesto, and a Call for Discussion
I am an English PhD researcher based in Paris, doing fieldwork in the US and Brazil. My research looks closely at current perceptions of identity, paradigms of human…