Do we even need to define ethnographic film?
Before this year I never felt the need to come up with a clear definition for what counts as an “ethnographic film.” Constructing better pigeonholes only seems to…
Tag: Blog post
Surfing vs. the commodification of everything
Tom Curren, logo-free, 1991. Photography by Tom Servais. Do you ever think about the first time a concept really stuck for you? Not the first time you heard…
“To Peace, Because the Awful Alternative is the End of All Life”: Build Bomb–Explore Space(s)–Save World! (Part 1)
This two-part post is a collaborative authorship between Taylor R. Genovese and Martin Pfeiffer, a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. For more on…
The duodenum is a noble, noble organ and I am totally, totally willing to own that name.
anthroduodenum /anTHrəˈd(y)o͞oəˈdēnəm/ or /anTHrōˈd(y)o͞oəˈdēnəm/ n 1. an anthropology blog dedicated to breaking down the most important issue facing our discipline. 2. the hard, under-appreciated, b…
What happened on 12 July: A lot.
July 12 was a historic day for net neutrality, with 1.6 million comments sent to the FCC and over 3 million phone calls made to congress. Anthropologists did…
Shitting in Space: Engagements with Cosmic Taboo
Last December, I was asked an interesting question on Twitter: “How much poop is on the moon?” After a quick, panicky, existential reevaluation centered on whether my mountain…
Today is the day: Help take back the net
It’s July 12th, the day of an Internet-wide day of action. As you can tell from the banner on our landing page, Savage Minds/Anthrodendum is protesting against threats…
Our New Name: Anthrodendum
anthrodendum /anTHrəˈdendəm/ or /anTHrōˈdendəm/ n 1. anthropological annotations of a community’s practices, expectations, experiences, and relationships. 2. an additional text, directing the reader t…
Casting into the Cosmos: Magic and Ritual in Human Spaceflight (Part 2)
In Part 1, I wrote a gonzo ethnography about my experience at a rocket launch in Florida. For Part 2, I will be utilizing historical records, museum didactic…
Hacker and Drone Training as Ethnographic Fieldwork
Recently, I enrolled in two multi-day training workshops in the United Kingdom with the pretense of gathering ethnographic data about emergent cultures of practice surrounding new technologies. The…
Casting into the Cosmos: Magic and Ritual in Human Spaceflight (Part 1)
Savage Minds welcomes guest blogger Taylor R. Genovese. Field Notes – September 8, 2016 (Cape Canaveral, Florida): I see the light and smoke first. The radiant fuel pours…
Decolonization is political action, not an act of historical circumstance.
As an archaeologist who is invested in the project of decolonization, I admit to being wary of its overuse within anthropological discourse to such a degree that it…
TAL + SM: The Stories Bones Tell
This Anthro Life – Savage Minds Crossover Series, part 4 by Adam Gamwell and Ryan Collins This Anthro Life has teamed up with Savage Minds to bring you…
Updated History of Anthropology timeline — now with ‘homepage’!
I (actually, Kerim, who is hosting it) updated my history of anthropology timeline. I’ve also added a homepage for the timeline on my personal website. This page explains how…
On the Importance of Collaboration (and Remuneration!) in Ethnographic Photography
(C) Dick Powis 2017 “Photography was a license to go wherever I wanted and to do what I wanted to do,” [Diane] Arbus wrote. The camera is a…
TAL + SM: Anthropology and Science Journalism, A New Genre?
Click here to check out the podcast This Anthro Life – Savage Minds Crossover Series, part 3 by Adam Gamwell and Ryan Collins This Anthro Life has teamed…
When the Internet goes dark on 12 July, so should anthropology
I’ve written on this blog before about the Trump Administration’s recent changes to net neutrality rules. These rules will let your Internet Service Provider — your cable or…
TAL + SM: Anthropology has Always been Out There
This Anthro Life – Savage Minds Crossover Series, part 2 by Adam Gamwell and Ryan Collins, with Leslie Walker This Anthro Life has teamed up with Savage Minds…
Which humanities?
Alfred Kroeber always used to say that anthropology is the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences. But which humanities? After all, ‘humanities’…
Savage Ears, Anthro Minds: Writing “in my Culture”
A podcast and blog walk into a bar… Click the image above to check out the podcast on This Anthro Life This Anthro Life – Savage Minds Crossover…
Anthropology in an Age of ‘Dangerous Nonsense’ (Part 1)
In the waning moments of 2016, one man, armed with an AR-15 and “information” about a conspiracy related to Hilary Clinton, walked into a DC pizza parlor hell…
Vale Michael Agar
It is with sadness that I write about the death of Mike Agar on 20 May 2017. Others have written about his life and his passing on redfish.com and Anthropology News.…
Anthropology for Everyone
Michael Wesch and Ryan Klataske of Kansas State University have been working for the past year with WordPress Guru Tom Woodward to create a free “Connected Course” in…
Clifford Geertz: Ethnographer?
Why was Clifford Geertz such a popular anthropologist? Because he connected anthropology and the humanities? Because he was a great writer? One answer that often comes up is…