Methods Dispatch: Grocery Shop-Alongs
A phone full of photos of shelves full of food. Photo by Ariana Gunderson. Ariana Gunderson Greetings from the field! I’m in Leipzig, Germany for a year to…
A phone full of photos of shelves full of food. Photo by Ariana Gunderson. Ariana Gunderson Greetings from the field! I’m in Leipzig, Germany for a year to…
Isotopes in fossil teeth suggest ancient animals traveled less than once thought—making researchers rethink past human societies and future conservation. ✽ Hundreds of hooves thunder, announcing the h…
After more than two decades of living, studying, and writing about interdisciplinary collaboration, I believe that in this era of AI, collaboration is as important as ever. My…
The metrics of long-term business health that investors pay attention to – customer retention rates, revenue growth / predictable cash flow, and customer lifetime value – are a…
Without understanding the business, it’s impossible to identify and drive meaningful change in its metrics. How do we hold ourselves accountable to the businesses we serve?
A U.S. archaeologist reflects on the power of community-driven research in Tanzania to include local voices and reshape how the story of human origins is told. ✽ LAST…
Here’s what’s misunderstood: the real cost of building a product is in engineering. The design and definition phases – the first 5% of the overall effort – are…
An archaeologist reflects on the role of fiction, such as The Clan of the Cave Bear, to imagine the deep past—and inspire future generations of archaeologists. ✽ WHEN…
Most technology projects fail—some estimates suggest that 68% never meet their objectives. Emerging research indicates that AI projects fare even worse, with failure rates of 70–85%. In fact,…
Why a Product Leader Is More Critical Than a Tech Co-Founder Late last year I had the opportunity to provide guidance to a femtech founder who wanted to…
The Demystifying Language Project brings together New York City high school and college students with linguistic anthropologists to make research on language and power available for broad audiences.…
This text is a slightly adapted keynote/film introductory note I gave at a conference when the Department of Media and Social Sciences at the University of Stavanger celebrated…
A filmmaker showcases archaeologists unearthing tiny lithics that evidence the presence of hunters from 13,000 years ago in what is today Michigan. ✽ Brendan Nash, a doctoral candidate…
Using an original poetic form, a poet chips away at a difficult history—becoming an agent of her own remaking and more than just an estranged daughter. “Debitage” is…
One of the main strengths of ethnographic methodologies is immersed, long-term research, which enables in-depth learning and a holistic vision of a given issue. Restricted or volatile access…
Imagine the moment you first encounter a piece of creative ethnography—a poem, a performance, an image—that speaks to the heart […] The post Empathy and dialogue: embracing the…
This is the playlist link for 30 Minute Methods 30 Minute Methods is a series of short talks by sociologists, anthropologists and film/media researchers where the debate about…
A poet-anthropologist offers an “anti-glossary” to contest ways of knowing in social science that objectify people(s) into categories. “Emic/Etic” is part of the collection Poets Resist, Refuse, and…
Reflections on Rusha Latif’s Tahrir’s Youth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution (American University in Cairo Press, 2022). After more than […] The post Lessons from Tahrir for activists…
A poet moves through rituals of silence and erasure that permeate the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. “An Order for My Backpack” and “Three Stages of…
30 Minute Methods at #TDTU @XH&NV has started up again – the next one is on Tuesday 14th Jan at 4pm Vietnam time – zoom link available. Its…
Anthropologists from around the globe brought dazzling insights and deeply reported concerns to the digital pages of SAPIENS magazine. ✽ We are honored to have collaborated with dozens…
Abstract: Reviewing the Takhayyul Team’s long journey of ethics approvals by various institutional bodies, this paper questions the ethics of […] The post Ethics without the Ethics: The…
Wandering through the central streets of Tehran, you will invariably come across the ubiquitous street booksellers and their stalls. As […] The post Street Books in Tehran: Collective…