Reclaiming Native Ground
Theresa Dardar stands for a portrait on her dock in Louisiana’s Pointe-au-Chien Indian community in January 2017. Edmund D. Fountain This article was originally published at FERN and has…
Tag: Culture
In a Genocide, Who Are the Morally Upright?
During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, more than 800,000 people were slaughtered over 100 days. Amid the chaos there were heroes—those who put their own lives on the line…
The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatter Syllabus, Week 20: Sameena Mulla on Policing Mental Health and Metzl’s The Protest Psychosis
The editors of Anthropoliteia are happy to continue an ongoing series The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatterSyllabus Project, which will mobilize anthropological work as a pedagogical exercise addressin…
Sexwork and migration fiction (4): To go with sex tourists or smugglers?
Of all the characters destined to work selling sex in The Three-Headed Dog, Marina has the most experience. Now in Spain for the second time, Marina comes from…
How the Tea Party Transformed American Politics
The Tea Party, after bursting onto the scene in 2009, has impacted not only national politics but also local and state governments—much to the surprise of many politicians,…
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…
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 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.…