Being and being reviewed: Books as pieces of self
Being and being reviewed is a play on the English title of Kajsa Ekis Ekman’s book Varat och varan: Being and being bought. Hers is an ideological diatribe…
Tag: Culture
Lessons From a Forgotten Amazonian Slaughter
For decades, conservationists have viewed subsistence hunting by Indigenous peoples in the Amazon as a contributing factor to “empty forests”—forests where trees remain but wildlife is all but…
Sexwork and migration fiction, part 3: Location and nation
Every reviewer has to mention a different defect in the book under review: That was my conclusion when reviews of Sex at the Margins were proliferating. Some of…
Waiting w/ Serra Hakyemez
with Aneil and Ryan Special Guest: Serra Hakyemez Is waiting political? Can you cut in line at Starbucks during your hectic morning commute? In this episode of TAL…
How to Host an Extraterrestrial
Welcome. Come in, please. May I take your coat? If you don’t mind removing your shoes you can place them there. Would you like something to drink? Have…
The Mysterious Power of Arrogance
In the community of Urapmin lives a man named Kinimnok—a boastful, loud, and often angry public figure—whose role in society may help us understand some Americans’ love of…
Why Do We Keep Using the Word “Caucasian”?
The word “Caucasian” is used in the U.S. to describe white people, but it doesn’t indicate anything real. It’s the wrong term to use! My colleague and one…
The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatter Syllabus Project, Week 17: Riché Barnes on #BlackFamiliesMatter, Especially Black Mothers
The editors of Anthropoliteia are happy to relaunch the second semester of an ongoing series The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatterSyllabus Project, which will mobilize anthropological work as a pedagog…
Sexwork and migration fiction, part 2 : Jobs in the sex industry
I wrote The Three-Headed Dog to get away from the straitjacket of a debate where one side is always moralising and the other reacting with rational debunking. In…
How Will the Power of the Pussyhat Endure?
Pussyhats—pink, handcrafted caps with cat-like ears that were worn during the Women’s March on Washington and in supporting women’s marches around the world—are more than just a visual…
Migrants in novels: James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia
It wasn’t always all called trafficking. Whether or not migrants were officially or sentimentally designated refugees, they were portrayed as taking action. Getting screwed – certainly …
When your Business Stalls, it’s time to Evolve: Unpacking Corporate Anthropology with Dr. Andi Simon
How can we make change easier? Do women lead differently from men? What is corporate anthropology? Ryan, Adam, and Aneil are back to answer these questions and more…
The Transformation of One of New York City’s Most Famous Squats
When the Lower East Side’s 155 Avenue C—known as C-Squat—was legalized, many of its squatters became homeowners of sorts. Konstantin Sergeyev I was surprised when I first met…
Sexwork and migration fiction, part 1: Melodrama and archetypes
I wrote a novel, The Three-Headed Dog, for more than one reason. Here is the first of a series in which I tell why, not in any greatly structured…
A Field Guide to Trump’s Swamp
The president-elect has populated “the swamp” with power brokers who are marred by potential conflicts of interest. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press For me, a social anthropologist who has …
How Hostels Have Turned Backpackers Into “Brokepackers”
Hostels used to be reliably inexpensive options for backpackers. That is no longer the case. Michelle Jones In May 2014, having recently completed my master’s degree in anthropology,…
Rice Reveals African Slaves’ Agricultural Heritage
Clues about the history—and survival—of African slaves in the Americas can be found in certain plants, such as rice. David Williams When Tinde van Andel purchased a small…
Native by Design
Who has the right to manufacture, sell, wear, or display objects and designs that come from or are inspired by Native Americans? Alannah Giannino/Flickr In March 2016, Denver,…
The Good Old Days
Every summer, festivalgoers gather throughout the American West to relax in the sunshine, smoke a little pot, and dance to the sweet, nostalgic sounds of bluegrass music. Bluegrass…
Minimalism Versus Simplicity
Last summer, I read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which inspired me to clean out my closet and organize my clothes. I admit to feeling…
The Sexual Allure of Simplicity
You have probably seen them at your local bar: the man with a beard, plaid shirt, and wool hat; the woman with an unbuttoned flannel over a T-shirt,…
Simplicity Is Essentially a State of Mind
Simplicity is an elastic term that can mean just about anything. Consider Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate and robber baron who by the early 20th century was the…
The Long Path to Enlightenment
A common Indian folk tale tells the story of a forest-dwelling hermit who had neither possessions nor troubles, except that a mouse was nibbling away at his loincloth.…
Sexwork expressionism from Edvard Munch, or Everyday life in a brothel
Christmas in the Brothel is from 1905. There’s a tree, a woman with little black book and pencil, a man reading, figures in the background and empty space.…