Writing a tailor-made thesis
by Suzanne Jansen A finished thesis is a tailor-made product: it has that perfect mixture of scientific knowledge embedded in lively ethnographic tales of the field. In my…
Author: standplaatswereld
Eenakter over het Vliegend Spaghettimonster
door Ton Salman 3 personages: antropoloog 1 (Lily), antropoloog 2 (Anabel), rechter (Veronica). Onlangs deed de hoogste Nederlandse bestuursrechter, de Raad van State, uitspraak in een hoog opgelopen…
SpW Summer break!
At the end of the academic year we want to give a big ‘thank you’ to all our writers and contributors. A special thanks to Heleen van der…
Hodeidah is being attacked, but the Western media is silent
By Marina de Regt. “Hodeidah is empty, Marina, there is no one there anymore”, says Noura to me this morning, in a short telephone conversation that is repeatedly…
‘Wasted hours in the field’ as a key to understanding the research topic
By Herbert Ploegman Originally attributed to Winston Churchill, the statement “never waste a good crisis” has become an aforism that, by now, has been appropriated by many voices.…
Re-viewing The Truman Show
By Peter Versteeg. “We accept the world with which we are presented” is probably the best summary of The Truman Show, a modern classic film from 1998. We,…
Papa D. and the Privacy Law: New dilemmas for researchers*
By Fridus Steijlen Last April, I visited the mountain village of Bittuang in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia for the fourth time. This is one of the eight locations…
Try a Little Legal Tenderness
This financial speculation essay acknowledges the inspiration of the Dick Jensen version of the song, “Try a Little Tenderness,” in its principal guiding pun; it is a suggested…
What is troubling anthropology?
By Matthias Teeuwen Inspired by Paul Stoller’s 2017 blog ‘Doing Anthropology In Troubled Times’, the goal of this year’s ‘Dag van de Antropologie’ (Annual Anthropology Day) was to reflect…
De sjamaan en de sofa
door Peter Versteeg Hoe vreemd is vreemd? Waarom noemen we sommige dingen gek en andere niet? Het zijn de bekende vragen waarmee antropologen graag hun publiek vermaken en…
The representation of Africa in Hollywood movie Black Panther.
By Rhoda Woets Almost every month, I join a small group of anthropologists from the VU to go to the movies. Last month, we went to the action…
The Magnificent Indians: Sebastião Salgado’s studio in the Amazon forest
The Javari Valley has always attracted cameras and documentarists. The beauty of the Indians living in this high forest is irresistible. As I learned from Txema Matis, such…
“This garden is who I am”
by Ola Plonska This month the Master thesis ‘This Garden is who I am’ has been awarded as the best thesis written on Latin-America and the Caribbean in…
Nederland houdt van gewoon
Door Irene Stengs. In het kader van ‘onderzoek om de hoek’ kom ik nog een keer terug op mijn veldwerkexcursie naar de Huishoudbeurs van afgelopen februari. In mijn…
Human rights: Why debating their universality is unhelpful
By Koen Donatz Human rights have become a hotly debated topic in both the academic and the political world, one of the main points of contention being whether…
Seeing like a miner: The joys and menaces of informal gold extraction in Chocó, Colombia
by Jesse Jonkman ‘Let’s not fool ourselves, the Colombian state always tries to shut the door to the poor man in order to lead him to war.’ Manuel*…
‘Antropologen kunnen bedrijven verder helpen waar anderen falen’
door Menno van den Bos Cultureel antropologen zijn wereldverbeteraars die je niet zult aantreffen in het bedrijfsleven. Zo, dat cliché is eruit. En nu over naar de realiteit:…
Being a (feminist) killjoy – he or me?
TRIGGER WARNING: This article, or pages it links to, contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors. Girl I want to make you…
De Huishoudbeurs: de grootste braderie van Nederland
door Irene Stengs Als antropologisch onderzoeker van ‘cultuur in Nederland’ doe ik in feite al mijn onderzoek ‘om de hoek’, en dit is helemaal het geval bij onderzoek…
Toward the Art and Aesthetics of Entanglement Posthuman Engineers
This year’s Master thesis prize of the Faculty of Social Sciences, VU Amsterdam was won by anthropology graduate Jochem Kootstra. Kootstra wrote a thought-provoking and engaged work about…
Engaged Anthropology in and about Yemen
By Marina de Regt. The aim of my Talma Lecture, which I gave on 12 January at VU University Amsterdam, was to discuss the implications of the war…
Storm over beelden
Door Thijl Sunier Er is iets raars aan de hand met de discussie over historische standbeelden, de ‘vaderlandse geschiedenis’ en de ‘nationale identiteit’. Even de feiten op een…
Masterclass: Migratie, Huwelijk en Zelfbeschikking
Door Edien Bartels. Naema trouwde toen ze vijftien was. Haar vader had haar huwelijk geregeld. Ze zag haar man voor het eerst op haar trouwdag. Ze dacht: “oh…
Schrijven – mooi en moeilijk
Door Ton Salman. Helder, goed onderbouwd, juiste bronvermelding, logisch opgebouwd, strak betoogd – we benadrukken het steeds: zó moet je schrijven. En dat geldt des te meer voor…