Heritage out of Control: When Heritage Turns to Rubble
In December 2017, Toungouma was stolen, the famed stone said to render justice in the Département of Dogondoutchi, Niger. When it was found a few days later, the…
Tag: identity
Redrawing the Boundaries
For many, archaeology means digging up historical artifacts from beneath the ground. But to some, that framework is also violent and colonialist. What would it mean to leave…
Heritage out of Control: Human bones as inherited waste of Europe
Central and Eastern Europe – known as “Bloodlands”, the area where Nazi and Stalin’s atrocities met, leaving behind many sites marked by mass killings – provide an obvious…
How Do Personal Data and Algorithms Influence Our Sense of Self?
All achievement is threatened by the machine, as long as it dares to take its place in the mind, instead of obeying. That the master’s hand no…
The Emotional Logic of a Black Poetics: Truth, Metaphor, Beauty, Joy
In this free live event, Poetry Editor Christine Weeber and SAPIENS Public Anthropology Fellow Eshe Lewis will speak with Justin D. Wright, a doctoral student in sociocultural anthropology…
Lessons We Learn
“Lessons We Learn” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection here. The past flashes like…
Surfing in Color
“Surfing in Color” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection here. Floating, my gaze and…
Riot
“The Voice of Diaspora” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection here. Her arm is…
Why English Might Let Go of “He” and “She”
Pronouns are giving us trouble. English speakers face a dilemma. The current structure of our language is exclusionary with regard to gender: The personal pronouns “she” and “he”…
The Voice of Diaspora
“The Voice of Diaspora” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection here. I wake…
Middle Ground
[no caption] Clelia Michelini/Getty Images “Middle Ground” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection h…
Can There Be More African Paleoanthropologists?
Paleoanthropologist Isaiah Nengo, director of science for the Turkana Basin Institute (in a white shirt), oversees a dig site in Turkana County, Kenya. David Gottlieb Aoron Eipa Emmanuel,…
Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora
“Lead Me to Life” Carla Keaton In 2020, George Floyd’s murder by Derek Chauvin, a White police officer in Minneapolis, flared a global nerve. Black Lives Matter protestors…
Elder
[no-caption] Pixabay/Pexels “Elder” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the introduction to the collection here. We don’t talk…
Can Indigenous Language Comics Save a Mother Tongue?
This comic book reimagines the oral traditions of Mexico’s Ñäñho people, introducing mischievous creatures called Tlaloques, which inspired the toy at left. María Gámez Tlaloc is a tempes…
5 Questions About Writing the African Diaspora
In this free live event, Yoli Ngandali, SAPIENS Media & Public Outreach Fellow, asks Justin Wright five questions about Lead me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora, a…
Confronting Anti-Blackness in “Colorblind” Cuba
A man holds his grandson inside the doorway of a fruit and vegetable shop in Havana, Cuba. Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images I sat waiting for Yudell* to finish his shift…
The Resistance and Ingenuity of the Cooks Who Lived in Slavery
This plate features a traditional meal of fish and provisions (tubers and vegetables) served on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Diane Wallman Garlic sizzles in a big Dutch…
When Asked if the World Would End They Answer No
A sign marks the Kodiak Baptist Orphanage site on Woody Island, Alaska. Abigail Chabitnoy If you missed the introduction to “When Asked if the World Would End They…
Matrilines
If you missed the introduction to “Matrilines,” you can find it here. Where are the women in this story, Emaq? Only birds lacking fur. [aside,] Grounded birds lack…
Matryoshka Song
If you missed the introduction to “Matryoshka Song,” you can find it here. I put an awl case on my belt around my waste, just like the placard…
Rethinking Masculinity: Fathers as Caregivers
The author, Aaron Jackson (center), with Wayne (left), a father whose thoughts about masculinity change as he raises his son Nick (right). Aaron J. Jackson This article was…
Culture—Not Genetics—Was More Salient for Anglo-Saxons
An Anglo-Saxon burial mound rises in Taplow Court, England. Shutterstock This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. Scholar…
Sexism Still Winning at the Olympic Games
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is, this year, the first openly trans athlete to be picked for an Olympic team. Alex Pantling/Getty Images I loved the Olympics growing…