The Shortcomings of Height in Politics
Why is height a focal point for some politicians? An anthropologist explores the significance of height—explaining how cultural perceptions influence and distort political dynamics in the U.S. ✽…
Why is height a focal point for some politicians? An anthropologist explores the significance of height—explaining how cultural perceptions influence and distort political dynamics in the U.S. ✽…
Middle-class, conservative women in Pakistan have found a political voice as supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party—putting them at odds with the secular women’s movement their own daughters…
An anthropologist working in Azerbaijan looks beyond forensic science to understand the value of culturally specific ways people navigate uncertainty in protracted conflict zones. ✽ I first met…
Gogi is a comic strip character who boldly addresses issues of women’s rights in Pakistan and the broader Muslim world. A cultural anthropologist interviews Gogi’s creator, Nigar Nazar,…
An anthropologist shines a light on Romani and Egyptian recyclers whose work has been made illegal, calling for a new way of viewing humanity’s garbage. ✽ One afternoon…
An anthropologist investigates an insidious side of Russia’s genocide against Ukrainians meant to shatter families: snatching children and occupying their minds. ✽ Not long after Russia’s full-scale i…
This week when I went back to Stockholm University the encampment was not there anymore. All songs, music, debates, seminars, whispers, shouts, and slogans were replaced by a…
In Fugitive Feminism, Akwugo Emejulu probes the concept of humanity through the lens of Black feminist thought (particularly Audre Lorde) and reveals its intrinsic exclusions and biases. Deftly intert…
In The Incarcerations, Alpa Shah unpacks the plight of the Bhima Koregaon-16, a group of human rights defenders who were imprisoned without trial for an alleged plot against…
So many great lines of parody and insight: “Did anyone ask John F. Kennedy if he … ate potatoes every night”. Excellent soundtrack… I am interested to discuss…
In 1931, an American newspaper competition asked its readers to submit the best use of the word denial in a sentence. The winner was “Denial ain’t (just) a…
In the wake of October 7th, I was asked by a fellow anthropologist if my Syrian friends and interlocutors – who participated in the 2011 revolution and are…
Dan Evans’s A Nation of Shopkeepers explores the growth of the “petty bourgeoisie” in the UK following Thatcherism, as the rise of home ownership, small landlordism and changes to the…
In The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule, Angela Saini explores the origins of patriarchy, debunking biological determinism and highlighting the role of nation building, social norms, and…
An anthropologist examines what past farmers can teach us about adapting to climate change amid—and sometimes against—powerful political influences. This article was originally published at The Conve…
As civil war continues to rip apart and threaten communities and families in Manipur in Northeast India, a poet reflects on those who leave and those who stay…
https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520389380/heavy-metal-islam Lara Sabra: Your book has shown that especially in the Middle East, which suffers from censorship and authoritarian regimes, art ca…
On Monday, May 25th, 2020, Cuba’s new president, Miguel Diaz-Canél, involuntarily found himself in the spotlight. Diaz-Canél had become the Cuban head of state two years before, and…
Anthropology is often seen as the discipline that makes “the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. Here, however, we are staying with the strange in the form of…
An archaeologist, anthropologist, and film expert examine the staggering amount of damage to cultural heritage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine. This article was originally published at The…
Palestinian narratives of their own dispossession are routinely dismissed—making witnessing Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Palestine that reignited in 2023 an urgent task. But witnessing is not enough….
I had occasion to revisit this from 2007 again today: politics-of-catsDownload
Israel’s war on Gaza that erupted in 2023 continues a long history of systemic displacement of Palestinians. Over 2 million Palestinian refugees currently live in Jordan in indefinite…
Caty Borum‘s The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power considers how comedy intersects with activism and drives social change. Borum’s accessible text draw…