Peeling Back the History of the Banana
[no-caption] Kevin Gorton/Getty Images This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. In a globalized world, we routinely move …
Tag: Culture
Wizards, Vampires, Klingons, and Other Alternative Cultures
On the last day of my introduction to anthropology class, we watch scenes from the documentary Trekkies. Students grin at the sincere folks dressed as Starfleet officers and…
How Globalization Has Broken the Chain of Responsibility
Industrialization’s footprint has heavily impacted Gladstone, a city on the east coast of Australia. James Morgan/Getty Images In Gladstone, a small city in Queensland, Australia, even th…
Meal Kits: Our Culinary Future?
Amy B. Trubek, University of Vermont Americans spend more and more money on food prepared outside the home, and every day cooking becomes more episodic and less…
Cuando regatear al sistema es el único camino para crear una familia
[no-caption] Miguel Gaggiotti Sonsoles* y su pareja deseaban adoptar un niño o niña. Vivían en un bonito barrio de Barcelona y, según explicó Sonsoles, se consideraban idóneos para…
Biology, Race, and “Orientalism”
Edward Said published Orientalism in 1978 and is highly influential, both in post-colonial studies and social theory. Said argues that through the construction of the ‘Orient’ (the East) a…
The turbulent life of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq
Launched in 1932 the school has spent almost a century uncovering Iraq’s ancient treasures, including the spectacular Assyrian capital at Nimrud On a dark November day in 1929,…
The turbulent life of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq
Launched in 1932 the school has spent almost a century uncovering Iraq’s ancient treasures, including the spectacular Assyrian capital at Nimrud On a dark November day in 1929,…
Highways as sexwork-places, with chairs
When the topic is selling sex outdoors, mainstream media stick to the same photos over and over. Generally now posed, the shots show young female bodies chopped off…
Why Eradicating Polio Is More Complicated Than It Seems
A health worker in Karachi, Pakistan, delivers polio vaccine drops to a child. Rizwan Tabassum/Getty Images In a rapidly urbanizing sector of Karachi, Pakistan, dry and dusty hills…
An Homage to Teotihuacan
Gabriel Vistrain Andrade travels through time at his shop near the ruins of Teotihuacan. Dominic Bracco II The ruins of Teotihuacan, just outside Mexico City, are Mexico’s most…
Chimpanzees Can’t Tell Us Much About Being Human
Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee? Can we learn something useful about gender-based violence among humans by studying other primates? Can observing chimpanzees…
Can Child Sex Offenders Be Rehabilitated?
Dexter, the protagonist of a TV series by the same name, commits horrific acts of murder—but he does not sexually abuse children, which seems to make him less…
Why Political Ambiguity Appeals to the Masses
Participants in the Shetkari Sanghatana movement ardently supported a message that allowed for a wide variety of interpretations. Michael Youngblood On a December day in 1996, close to…
Populations, Race, and The Sorites Paradox
The sorites paradox (also called the paradox of the heap) refers to a particular logical contradiction that arises from the analysis of vague terms (Sainsbury, 2009). Terms like…
Nacirema Thinking
Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” has endured as a first-day favorite for Introduction to Anthropology courses, and is read far beyond…
Nacirema Thinking
Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” has endured as a first-day favorite for Introduction to Anthropology courses, and is read far beyond…
Why Envy Might Be Good for Us
Nyae-Nyae in northern Namibia is the last place in the country where Ju/‘hoansi are free to hunt in the traditional way. James Suzman This article was originally published…
That Most Dangerous, Sacred American Space, the Bathroom
Binary clarity at an Interstate comfort station. “Ladies” to the left, “Gentlemen” to the right. Courtesy Robert Myers. uncommon sense Spoiler alert: In Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho, Janet Leigh…
The Trauma of Helping Asylum-Seekers
The United States’ detention of asylum-seeking women and children brings additional trauma to immigrants, such as this woman from El Salvador, who already carry many painful stories. Legal…
Fall Semester, 2018 Courses
I am very excited to have three new preps for Fall, 2018. Course overviews are below. LBST 2213: Now this is not a new prep as I have…
Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food, Second Edition
Feast on this! We have just published a gorgeous new edition of Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food, with a full-colour interior and a range of new…
Anthropology on Immigration
Stand with Migrants Against Fascism In 2011 the American Anthropological Association (AAA) issued a General Statement on Immigration. This 2011 statement was a testimony to a need for…
Anthropology on Immigration
Standing with Migrants In 2011 the American Anthropological Association (AAA) issued a General Statement on Immigration. This 2011 statement was a testimony to a need for rethinking immigration…