How Our Contradictions Make Us Human and Inspire Creativity
The fissures created in our experiences between our principles and actions can be a source of profound creativity and reflection. Nicolas Nova/Flickr This article was originally published…
Tag: Opinion
Archaeology in Times of Trump
Archaeologists Against Trump is the name of a Facebook group. It can also be applied to the writings and actions by a large number of archaeologists concerned with…
Black Lives Matter and Reflections from a Civil War
The Black Lives Matter movement is seeking to put an end to the inequities faced by blacks in the United States. In Sri Lanka, the failure to redress…
Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy: Bullying, Domination, and Fearmongering
When pundits and defense intellectuals fret about Donald Trump’s foreign policy (if “policy” isn’t too grand a name for what often amounts to little more than improvised verbal…
We’re Looking for Columnists!
We are seeking opinion columnists to write engaging commentary for the Anthropology News website in 2017. Do you want to provide an anthropological perspective on “hot topics” in…
Paleolithic Ax Debunks Colonial Myth
Earlier this year, a team of Australian researchers led by Peter Hiscock from the University of Sydney published new findings about a fragment of a ground-edge ax—which might…
Clothed-Minded Views on Burqinis
In late August, a Muslim woman on a beach in Nice, France was forced to remove her top and was allegedly fined for wearing a burqini, a modest…
Graffiti Bombing in U.S. National Parks
Graffiti in U.S. national parks has become increasingly common. Carving into rocks or writing and painting on them leaves images and impressions that are difficult to remove—forever changing…
The Paradox of Donald Trump’s Appeal
Offensive and bombastic rhetoric is key to Donald Trump’s campaign. Why are voters drawn to this taboo-violating candidate? Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Associated Press Donald Trump is the …
The Prominence of Consent
Is understanding consent as “simple as tea?” Increasingly, we have begun to think that it is common sense to see rape and other forms of sexual assault almost…
Sunken Treasure
Finders Keepers? Reproductions of the treasure found on the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon carrying a…
Let’s Keep Arguing About Flags and Statues
The Confederate flag, which many people see as a symbol of America’s racist past, continues to spark debate. fauxto_digit/Flickr Last summer, the Confederate flag was finally taken down…
Vikings, Citizen Science, and Being Wary of Media
There are only two things of archaeological interest my friend Ralph has brought up in our daily carpool commute so far this year. The first was the discovery…
Anorexia’s Deadly Deceit
Anorexia is commonly associated with body image issues. But more significant influences may be how people diagnosed with anorexia perceive and experience food—and how they associate eating practi…
Unsettling Gender Normativities through Dance and Music
The annual Istanbul LGBT Pride Week will kick off at the end of June in Turkey. For the 24th consecutive year, the event will incorporate the traditional parade which will…
Europe’s Destructive Spirals of Distrust
On February 6, 2016, thousands of people protested the immigration of Muslims, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and other cities across Europe. Peter Dejong/AP Photo Controversies around minori…
Being Polyamorous: Part 1
“Hi, I’m Viola and I’m Polyamorous” *Although very open and keen to discuss her experiences and sexual preferences, “Viola” cited bullying and security concerns. Out of respect for…
The Bone Lab Goes To School
“You’re the lady that taught us about the bones last year,” one of the students exclaimed as I made my way through the door of Bedford Village Public…
The Tip of an Archaeological Iceberg
Stonehenge, the Neolithic monument in Wiltshire, England. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.…
On Exploring Masculinities in the Middle East
Nasreddin Hodja miniature at the Topkapı Palace Museum Library in İstanbul. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons “Eat, eat my fur coat,” said Nasreddin Hodja to criticize societal attitudes th…
Trump’s Tactics and Republican Speechlessness
The most astounding thing about the rise of Donald Trump is not his willingness to use racist hatred as a central theme in his presidential campaign—it’s the unwillingness…
Detention for Unaccompanied Children
Exploring Child Migration through a Legal and Anthropological Lens Part I: Overview In 1985, a 15-year old girl named Jenny Lisette Flores fled the El Salvadoran civil…
Stolen Art
Hiding in Plain Sight Bell-krater featuring an elderly satyr and a young Dionysus. Attributed to Python (Greek, South Italian, Paestan, active mid-4th century BC). Polaroids of this bell-krater…
Confronting Rape Culture
The November 19, 2014, publication of “A Rape on Campus” in Rolling Stone magazine threw the University of Virginia into a frenzy of institutional responses. The article reported…