Does Art Have a Homeland?
Detail from a 16th-century bronze plaque from Benin, West Africa, held at the British Museum, London. Trustees of the British Museum This article was originally published at Aeon and has…
Tag: Culture
Why the Myth of the “Savage Indian” Persists
Media portrayals of “good Indians” and “bad Indians” have shaped the minds of generations of Americans. Harold M. Lambert/Getty Images Peter Pan, the beloved children’s classic, is sure…
Cultivating Peace in the Heart of the Balkans
[no-caption] Robin Albarano On November 28, 2016, Mile Milošević, president of the Serbian War Veterans’ Association, traveled to Sarajevo, where he met with Enver Krluć, president of the…
Is a More Generous Society Possible?
A group of women and children from the Ik tribe share a meal. Cathryn Townsend In January 2016, Cathryn Townsend set out to live among “the loveless people.”…
“We wunt be druv”- Intolerance of Tyranny at Lewes Bonfire
by Melissa Geere Lewes, a small town just ten minutes from the University of Sussex, makes headlines every November for its famous Bonfire celebrations. In 2018, the headlines were not…
The Irresponsible Neanderthal
An article grabbed my attention last year but it took a while for me to realize why. The title, “Neanderthals Self-Medicated for Pain” examined research findings analyzing Neanderthal…
When Rare Diseases Aren’t So Rare
[no-caption] Sara López Gilabert When Christy Collins’ daughter was born, the doctors were baffled. The baby’s body was larger on one side than the other, and her skin…
The Science of Human Nature Has a Serious Problem
[no-caption] Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images This article originally appeared on The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. Over the last century, behavioral researchers have reveal…
A Daughter’s Disability and a Father’s Awakening
[no-caption] Thomas W. Pearson The nurse gently lifted Michaela onto my partner’s bare chest, a newborn embraced by her mother for the first time. I marveled at the…
Book Review: “How to Think Like an Anthropologist”
After each semester I evaluate what did and didn’t work in my classes. I didn’t teach Introduction to Anthropology for Fall 2018 so I had an extra semester…
Spring 2019 Introduction to Anthropology Syllabus
Intro to Anthropology (ANTH 1101-001) UNC Charlotte, Spring 2019 Mon/Wed/Fri (10:10-11:00am) in Rowe 161 Instructor: Adam Johnson Office Hours: M/W 12:30-1:30pm ajohn344@uncc.edu by appointment i…
Issuing Trigger Warnings in an Age of Mass Shootings
Ellie Fleischer writes “Enough Is Enough” at a memorial near the Tree of Life Synagogue on Monday, October 29, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Salwan Georges/Getty Images On the last…
Being Afghan in America: In the Field With Morwari Zafar
[no-caption] David Williams/SAPIENS How does an immigrant become an “American”? How does any newcomer join any group? SAPIENS host Esteban Gómez shares the story of Morwari Zafar, an…
Can Honeybees Teach Us How to Live?
“Bees know best,” beekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina tend to say. Keen observers of hives, Bosnian beekeepers take bees as knowledgeable beings. The bees, they say, concoct complex hive substances,…
What Makes a Refugee Vulnerable?
A Somali father and his daughter waited to register at the Dagahaley refugee camp in Kenya in 2011, when drought and discord forced some 130,000 people to flee…
North Sentinel Island and the Right to Be Left Alone
North Sentinel Island Vivaswa/Shutterstock This article originally appeared on The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. John Allen Chau knew he might die. The 26-year-old U.S…
What’s the Cost of Quinoa?
SAPIENS host Jen Shannon goes on a mission to find out how quinoa travels from farmers’ fields in Huanoquite, Peru, to markets in Lima and the U.S. She…
Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs?
Ten years ago, toiling in scorching heat on the parched Fongoli savanna in southeast Senegal, anthropologist Julie Lesnik faced an unpalatable task. She had to taste a termite.…
Is Gender Unique to Humans?
[no-caption] Anup Shah/Getty Images This summer, in the introductory course I teach on the evolution and biology of human and animal behavior, I showed my students a website…
America’s Postindustrial Futures
Frank stands at the site of his last job, which was at a chemical company. Chloe Ahmann In 1963, Frank* was fired from his job at American Dredging.…
Liminality: Unfixed Culture, Unfixed Selves
by Gertrude Lamare It was June of 2015, and we were on the road, travelling down to Umwang village in Assam, to witness the completion of a much-delayed…