Data overload
How do we proceed to live in a world in which data overwhelms us? At every point we seem to be participating in capture schemes that reduce us…
Author: The Anxious Anthropologist
On Meetings…
Industrial practices have forged new and creative ways to waste people’s time. Within these practices however, meetings are the most excellent example that I can think of, in…
Fractocurrentism and the anthropologist of the future (TAOTF) …
Will be a world view Will reconceptualise disciplinary thinking and skill sets TAOTF will be better known TAOTF will probably do fiewldwork at home, locally or … –…
On voting
Following the US election result, many people are asking just how all the pollsters got it wrong. Not just wrong, but so very wrong in anticipating the victory…
On the responsibilities of panelists
So you can tell what’s coming here. The short version is: should panelists provide for a good show (topical, interesting, cutting edge, the presentation of new research, ideas,…
Scared of my own voice
I publish under a pseudonym, that of the ‘The Anxious Anthropologist’. This suits me as it’s like donning a mask and going to a party. You get to…
Taking up Space
Nine years ago when I started my doctoral studies not only was I in a fertile intellectual endeavour undertaking fieldwork, reading theory, stretching my brain and writing,…
If I was going to be interviewed about blogging by The Geek Anthropologist: 15 questions
(… this is very informal…) Why do I blog? When you work outside academia and you’re not actively researching you still want to write, you still want…
For anthropologists, is interdisciplinarity ever truly a meeting of equals?
I recently read a Twitter post which asserted that interdisciplinarity was never a meeting of equals. As an anthropologist working outside of an academic department I met this…
The jacket
I’m trying a new strategy at work to raise my oomph and improve my legit appeal. I’m no slouch when it comes to sparring about ideas, concepts and…
How does an Anthropologist add value in the workplace?
At work I’m not employed as an anthropologist. Not directly anyway; my skills in research and higher education certainly helped…
An open letter to Prime Minister Turnbull: What would research and work look like if I was in charge?
Dear Mr Turnbull, If I was in charge of research I would always include children on the research team. Instead of talking about fresh perspectives, I would build…
An article! An article!
If there’s one thing that helps to ground you when you’ve felt voiceless or powerless in the past, it’s when you see the writing equivalent of your name…
Routines of everyday life
It is a classic observation of anthropologists that we seek to document the everyday activities of people within various cultural contexts in order to provide evidence for making…
September 19th: International “Talk like a Pirate Day” – Who Knew?
Our calendars are full of special weeks and days to memorialise, commemorate and bring attention to the plight of people with special needs, those underserved, forgotten, marginalised and…
Imploding Families
Arriving at work today I was met by my coworker who wanted to talk. We’ve worked together for about three years and I see her when she comes…
Reading fiction as therapy
Recently I found a website that offers fiction as therapy. You have a consultation of sorts and they send you away with a list of novels to read…
The Workshop
The traffic was unusually terrible making my arrival at work 40 minutes later than anticipated. On my mind were familial concerns as they always are when you leave…
Change jobs, return to research or enrol in further higher ed?
You get to a point in your life where you start to reflect on your skill set and your current responsibilities and you wonder whether these match up…
A photo fell out of a book…
My book group (I say with inner pleasure at finally belonging to one) usually decide on books to read for the coming months by asking for suggestions from…
Writing, writing, writing
Writing looms large in my life now. I’m getting better at it than I was. I like short form [140 characters] but adore longer form, like blogs. And…