Why “We” Isn’t for Everyone
[no-caption] Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images Ask SAPIENS is a series that offers a glimpse into the magazine’s inner workings. On the face of …
What Is Anthropology?
The “study of humanity” applies to many fields, but anthropology looks at people in a unique way. Orbon Alija/Getty Images Ask SAPIENS …
Why Capitalize “Indigenous”?
(no-caption) Alison Wright/Getty Images Ask SAPIENS is a series that offers a glimpse into the magazine’s inner workings. Some readers may have …
Grass Trilogy
If you missed the “Introduction to Grass Trilogy,” you can find it here. By Ochirbatyn Dashbalbar Translated by Jessica Madison Pískatá 1. …
Introduction to Grass Trilogy
The sacred mountain Altan Ovoo rises in the Dariganga region of eastern Mongolia. Jessica Madison Pískatá I first arrived in eastern Mongolia …
i. will. cross.
I wrote my poem “i. will. cross.” at a site called the Line of Control, the ceasefire line that exists as a …
Symbolic confusion and how to flirt with emoji 💋😕
A couple of years ago, I started flirting with people online. Pretty much everyone. In nearly every conversation. I didn’t mean to, …
The National Lynching Memorial Speaks to My Black ’Bama Body OR Imma Be Here Forever, You Gon’ Remember This
A young African American man visits the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Bob Miller/Getty Images There was a …
Why Poetry + Anthropology?
[no-caption] Kim Herbst When a barbed-wire de facto border lights up but throbs with blood, when a lynching memorial veins into memories …
The Fish Trap
An equatorial moon arcs above the Upper Rio Negro region of Brazil. Glenn H. Shepard Jr. The U.S. poet-physician William Carlos Williams …
Gossip—A Thing Humans Do
Gossip and rumor are important informal modes of communication, influencing public opinion and individual actions. But, the distinction between information and falsehood …
Which Language for Local Food in Wallonie?
Joan Gross I just returned to my dissertation fieldwork site after 38 years. Back in the 1980s I examined the use of …
How to Resurrect Dying Languages
Hawaiian language teacher Nako’olani Warrington instructs 9-year-old Maleka Benjamin at an immersion school in Honolulu. Lucy Pemoni/AP Photo In the 1970s, the …
Can This Indigenous Language Thrive in a Digital Age?
On any given day, people throng the busy market in Concepción, Paraguay. Shoppers peruse the multicolored array of fruits and vegetables and …
Why Are Languages Worth Preserving?
This illustration represents how Indigenous peoples around the globe, as highlighted by depictions of a few specific communities, are striving to keep …
How Names Tell Stories of Loss and Resilience
Bhutanese Nepali performers—including Shyam “San” Rai at center—pose at a cultural festival. Katie Reilly When Shyam “San” Rai was 8 years old, …
Mary-Caitlyn Valentinsson on her dissertation
My dissertation, titled “Language Use and Global Media Circulation Among Argentine Fans of English-Language Mass Media”, explores the links between globalization, media/pop …
Are Colors Universal?
[no-caption] Marcel Hirshegger/SAPIENS Remember the meme #TheDress? Was it white and gold, or blue and black? With the help of Nicola Jones, …
“Warspeak” Puts All of Us in the Trenches
[no-caption] Complot/Shutterstock This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. In a manifesto posted online …