“Any concept — capitalism, neoliberalism, etc. — leaves an excess that it is the aim of anthropology to unearth. These are spaces that are not dominated by whatever’s…
Yesterday, Cultural Anthropology updated its recent forum on academic precarity with several additional essays, including one that I wrote about the role that academic hierarchy plays in shaping…
This month, Ian (1:25) digs into Bitcoin, arguing that the cryptocurrency is no different than regular currencies, and can be analyzed along all the same lines: symbolically, materially,…
It’s Anthropology Day, our discipline’s latest invented tradition! A time for reflection on chocolate mint and the values of our discipline, Anthropology Day 2018 is uniquely placed this y…
I am delighted to welcome writer Cileme Venkateswar to anthropod. This is the third post in my series on doing fieldwork with kids, and in it Cileme (who…
If you are an academic who is in a secure, full-time position then , let’s be honest, no one in the precariate wants to listen to you complain…
Since the 1980s, audits have almost become mundane. They have provided means by which employers can increase efficiency and productivity, as well by which the most disenfranchised can…
“Doing history ideally is like doing anthropology of people who are gone, except that you don’t have native informants, you only have these written fragmentary sources. But the…
In The Toxic University: Zombie Leadership, Academic Rock Stars and Neoliberal Ideology, John Smyth offers a critical reading of the pathological state of higher education today, diagnosing this as th…
Although I’ve often been heard to sigh and groan that “technology hates me”, just like any other self-respecting anthropologist, in this post I want to consider just what…
Lets put aside for the moment all the usual warnings about pursuing an academic career. Lets say that you are old enough to take responsibility for your own…
The EASA AGM Seminar in Bern simply came in a bad time. It confronted me with a dilemma: while I was eager to follow the workshops and act…
Two of your familiar strangers are currently participating in the 2017 Australian Anthropological Society’s Annual General Meeting in Adelaide, this year held in collaboration with our UK and…
This conversation took place after a workshop entitled “Between precarious norms and empowering alternatives – a workshop on the strategies of labour organisation between national and international ac…
EASA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) Symposium “On politics and precarities in academia: anthropological perspectives” took place in mid-November at the University of Bern. The two-day seminar, organis…
I was listening to a ‘Waking Up with Sam Harris’ episode a few weeks ago, called Facing the Crowd. It has since been playing on my mind. Harris…
In these days, two at first sight independent developments are threatening academic freedom. Neoliberal austerity politics and authoritarian political tendencies both leave their traces in academia, s…
[Anthrodendum welcomes guest blogger Savannah Martin.] It is both impressive and depressing how frequently scholars of color are Othered by anthropology. For many, the tales of alienation are…
[Anthrodendum welcomes guest blogger Savannah Martin.] It is both impressive and depressing how frequently scholars of color are Othered by anthropology. For many, the tales of alienation are…
Questions about Exploitation and Invisible Work in Academia It is an open secret amongst academics that universities exploit the labour of their academic staff, and more importantly, that…
In this Conversations episode of This Anthro Life, Adam Gamwell and guest host/TAL correspondent Matt Artz explore the world of Design Anthropology with the help of Dr. Elizabeth…
Researching with social movements (environmental activism, makerspaces) brings ethnography’s nuanced, embodied and collective sense-making to the fore. I also argue that anthropological research…
As an anthropologist working at the intersection of anthropology and development studies I sometimes undertake work for development organizations. The kind of work I do does not fall…
Earlier this year I attended a workshop on academic writing. The intent, so I thought, was to explore avenues in academic research to see how our writing could…