One of the casualties of Putin’s war on Ukraine will be European critical social science. While the war has instigated important discussions about ‘US-plaining’, ‘Westplaining’ and about Russian…
PART I Two Years Ago It was a hot day in July, and clocks were striking eight. It had been fifteen years since the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)…
Last year, the Allegra Lab began a thematic thread showcasing a selection of the wonderful “academic fictions” written by students as an assignment for the course on “Cities,…
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.…
Like most anthropologists, we have been watching events unfold at Harvard University’s anthropology department over the past weeks: accusations of abuse; letters in support of the man accused…
At Allegra, we believe and know from our own experience that the fresh eyes of our peers can help us improve drafts, weed out waffle, strengthen an argument,…
I began interviewing authors of fabulous new anthropology books for this space back in 2016. While completing 11 interviews, I also amassed a backlog of more terrific books…
We are often told that Jordan is one of the most water-poor countries on the planet and it is hard not to recognize the truth of this…
In collaboration with the conference organisers, Allegra had reached out to a number of colleagues to submit some impressions in the form of “daily diaries” from the recent…
When encountering the generosity of brilliant colleagues, one can only start with gratitude. Add to that a historical moment when a virus has reconfigured the languages, spaces, and…
Every so often something happens that perfectly encapsulates the consumptive death rattle that is the job market in higher education. A few weeks ago, the department of anthropology…
Andrea Ballestero (2019). A Future History of Water. Duke University Press. As I write these lines, my home city, Madrid, is covered in a thick blanket of snow.…
Andrea Ballestero,(2019). A Future History of Water. Duke University Press. I have an exercise I like to assign to my students, one that I have adapted from Donna…
As I finished reading Ballestero’s A Future History of Water, the world observed World Water Day 2021. Organized by the United Nations, it has been observed annually each…
The Familiar Strange · EP#81 Lifeworlds & Studying Aoetorea: Susanna Trnka on Traversing Multiple Lifeworlds & Publics We’re back this week with Joe’s first interview! For this episode,…
Ethnographic film is blooming Ethnographic film, however loosely defined, is blooming. While to track and map the entire production of ethnographic film appears next-to impossible, I want to…
Read Time:5 Minute, 39 Second Algunos misterios siempre escaparán a la mente humana. Para convencernos de ello sólo hay que echar …
Read Time:9 Minute, 38 Second El antropólogo neoyorquino Elijah G. Costanza realizó entre 1973 y 1975 un trabajo de campo en el val…
[Content advisory: This article discusses harassment and discrimination in archaeology, including discussion of sexual assault.] On the morning of March 30, 2021, three articles on the culture of…
Amusing anecdotes about fieldwork were, from what I could tell, basic currency throughout university halls, on conference panels, and in graduate student lounges. Many of my teachers and…
The Familiar Strange · Ep #71 Entrepreneurism in Academia and Ethics on The Ground: This Month of TFS This week on TFS, the Strangers continue with our new…
The Familiar Strange · Part 1:Theory as reproduction:reflections on the history of doing feminist anthropology in Australia The Familiar Strange · Part 2:Theory as reproduction:reflections on the hist…
In the depths of the Depression, two girls were born to Jewish parents in New York City. One, in 1933, was Ruth Bader, later Mrs. Ginsburg. The other,…
cw: transphobia, mention of suicide and murder Willow, our cat. I started writing this piece in June. It was during Pride month, amidst JK Rowling’s ongoing public transphobia,…