Jared Diamond and Future Public Anthropology
It was an honor and pleasure to be discussant for Margaret Mead and Jared Diamond: Past Publics, Current Engagements, organized by Alex Golub for the 2013 American Anthropological…
The Moral Obligations of Corporate Tax Avoidance
Milton Friedman, the free-market economist whose perspective defined the Chicago School, famously held that managers’ absolute ethical obligation is to maximize returns for stockholders. To do otherwi…
Our Brains as Alien Technology
Our brains are alien technology. We don’t understand how they work, and the glimpses we have gotten so far indicate that our brains work quite differently than our…
Random choice among the Kantu, swidden agriculturalists of Kalimantan
An excellent post by Michael Schulson at Aeon magazine entitled “How to choose? When your reasons are worse than useless, sometimes the most rational choice is a random stab in the…
social/cultural anthropology MOOC in production for edX
I have been busy traveling around the globe to interview several eminent fellow anthropologists about their work and anthropological journeys as well as follow some University of Queensland…
Kevin Schilbrack, “Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto”
[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] Very often evaluative questions about cultural phenomena are avoided for more descriptive or explanatory goals when approaching religions. Traditionally, this… Visit New Books…
Summer’s Culture of Ignorance
Things often get crazy during an American summer. It was during the summer months, after all, that the Tea Party emerged. Maybe summer gives people more time to…
Lost in Space: From the Universe to the Space Between Atoms – This Anthro Life
Episode 34, Season 3 This week Aneil and Adam tackle Space in all of its complexity and multi forms, from the universe to the space between atoms we will…
Kevin Schilbrack, “Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto” (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014)
Very often evaluative questions about cultural phenomena are avoided for more descriptive or explanatory goals when approaching religions. Traditionally, this set of concerns has been left to philosop……
John H. McWhorter, “The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language”
[Cross-posted from New Books in Linguistics] The idea that the language we speak influences the way we think – sometimes referred to as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis – has had…
Israel/Palæstina-konflikten – fortællinger der forhindrer forsoning
Konflikten mellem Israel og Palæstina fortsætter med at eskalere, mens verden ser på. Men hvordan opleves konflikten i hverdagen, og hvordan er de to nationer med til blokkere…
The Eighth Egg
“Sudah bangun Gusti?” It was 4 AM and I sent a text message to Gusti Ayu to ask whether she was awake or not. “Sudah, saya sudah selesai…
The Eighth Egg
“Sudah bangun Gusti?” It was 4 AM and I sent a text message to Gusti Ayu to ask whether she was awake or not. “Sudah, saya sudah selesai…
The Built Environment’s Social Costs, Part 2: The “Shortsightedness” of Homo Sapiens
Part 1 of this series focused on how a more deliberate quantification of productivity and health impacts, as well as the larger social costs associated with the built…
The Built Environment’s Social Costs, Part 2: The “Shortsightedness” of Homo Sapiens
Part 1 of this series focused on how a more deliberate quantification of productivity and health impacts, as well as the larger social costs associated with the built…
The Built Environment’s Social Costs, Part 2: The “Shortsightedness” of Homo Sapiens
Part 1 of this series focused on how a more deliberate quantification of productivity and health impacts, as well as the larger social costs associated with the built…
The Built Environment’s Social Costs, Part 2: The “Shortsightedness” of Homo Sapiens
Part 1 of this series focused on how a more deliberate quantification of productivity and health impacts, as well as the larger social costs associated with the built…
Physicists, alchemists, and ayahuasca shamans: A study of grammar and the body
Are there any common denominators that may underlie the practices of leading physicists and scientists, Renaissance alchemists, and indigenous Amazonian ayahuasca healers? There are obviously a myriad…