A discourse of displacement: the local infrastructure of populism
Who are ‘the people’? In the Netherlands, the construction of ‘the people’ occurs within a particular context of political and social transformation – the culturalization…
Who are ‘the people’? In the Netherlands, the construction of ‘the people’ occurs within a particular context of political and social transformation – the culturalization…
'Hair is the feelings I wear' “Don’t touch my hair, as it’s the feelings I wear”, these lyrics by Solange Knowles describe the sensitive note that has been…
The question of engagement With the persistence of civil wars, social inequality, violence, and injustice, anthropologists have been struggling with issues of universal rights and cultural relativism…
Why we can't generalize about social media Use of digital technology and social media varies. Despite popular assumptions about how new technologies and social media supposedly impact all…
Although many anthropologists are vegans, they are all descended from families of omnivores who for generations have eaten specific species of animals on festive occasions. Now, it’s true…
A man rides a white horse against a bright blue sky. The image evokes a sense of heroism, of freedom. Unlike the stereotypical prince charming or cowboy, however,…
The Trump election has once again centered attention on the metaphorical figure of the ‘ordinary person’, which plays a key role at the current moment in history –…
You will find no scientific truth in any of the following as I made a personal collection of brief encounters during a summer holiday. In 2016, I drove…
From orthodox to heterodox Even before the financial crisis, there was dissatisfaction regarding the way economists viewed, and taught about, the world. In 2000, French grande école student…
Profound uncertainty The profound uncertainty that may undergird living with multiple narratives was conveyed to me during my research on the remaking of everyday life after the devastating…
After the pre-publication of an article on the oversight and even denial of population growth, Haydn Washington and I received a surprising number of reactions, notably from anthropologists.…
The dystopian vision of a future in which robots take over the human race is as old as it is powerful—and is always in ‘the future’. Or is…
Students from our Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology as well as from a range of other departments recently went to the Dutch Wadden Island of Texel…
Mt. Kenya: A place of nature In September 2010, I embarked on a PhD project that examined the World Heritage listing of Mt.Kenya, an alpine area located in…
Our Institute and student society Itiwana recently held their annual photography contest around the theme ‘Street Life: Het leven van de straat’. The broad genre of street photography…
Learning about a conflicting past Separating a protestant neighbourhood from a Catholic neighbourhood and an industrial complex on the other side of the street, the 15-meter-high wall is…
Ancestral protection During fieldwork in Cape Town, South Africa, the Xhosa residents of the townships would sometimes talk about their ancestors. They told me their ancestors offered protection…