#A future history of water: Andrea Ballestero’s response
When encountering the generosity of brilliant colleagues, one can only start with gratitude. Add to that a historical moment when a virus has reconfigured the languages, spaces, and…
Tag: power
What Does It Mean to Decolonize Heritage?
At the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza District, Rwanda, tourists can visit coffee shops built in a traditional architectural style. GIZ/Martin Karenzi Most tourists visit the district of…
They’ll Steal Your Eyes, They’ll Steal Your Teeth
[no-caption] Attila Haag/EyeEm/Getty Images “They’ll Steal Your Eyes, They’ll Steal Your Teeth” is part of the collection Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora. Read the…
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,…
#PoliticalEngagements: Digital Engagements
For many social anthropologists working on different forms of political expression, online settings have become an inextricable part of their research sites, a trend further entrenched by the…
Lessons From Mars—and Jamaica—on Sovereignty
Maroons of the Sovereign State of Accompong make their home in mountainous Cockpit Country in Jamaica. Ted Eubanks On February 15, in the darkness and silence of outer…
#PoliticalEngagements: Defiant Engagements
Working in political environments that run counter to our personal values and commitments, and with people who are challenging these contexts in different ways, led us to think…
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…
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…
Animating Stories of Global Migration
Who gets to tell the story of human migration around the globe? And what kind of story is it? The Story of Migration, an animated short illustrated by…
Qualifying Exam Essay: Power and Politics Within and Beyond the Human
I have passed my qualifying exams and so am making my essays available on my blog. The other essays can be found: Attending to Animals in Anthropology and…
Kenyan Mothers Take on Police Violence
Lucy Wambui is a convenor of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network in Nairobi. Ed Ram I first met Sarah Wangari three weeks after her son Alex…
War between good citizens and bad citizens: tools for today’s totalitarianism in Brazil and the Philippines
On May 6, 2021, on the heels of Brazil’s deadliest month since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, special police forces in Rio de Janeiro killed 28 people…
ResonanceCast #2: Incitement and Coups
Podcast with Jastinder Kaur and Daniel White, moderated by Ian M. Cook Allegra Lab · ResonanceCast 2: Incitement And Coups Referenced articles: Towards an Anthropology of…
Towards an Anthropology of Coups
When is a coup a coup? Reflections on the anthropological study of ‘coups’ There have been more than 200 coups in 95 countries over the last 75 years,…
Archaeologists Should Be Activists Too
Archaeologists are well-suited to help organize protests such as this “Count the Vote” rally in 2020. Jon Irons When Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, paused counting votes for one night…
“The State” Is a Story We Tell Ourselves
Protestors filled Plaza San Martín in Lima, Peru, last November to demonstrate against the legislative coup that removed then-President Martín Vizcarra from power. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty…
Qualifying Exams Reading List: Power and Politics Within and Beyond the Human
Adamson, Joni. “Indigenous Literatures, Multinaturalism, and Avatar: The emergence of Indigenous cosmopolitics.” American Literary History 24, no. 1 (2012): 143-162. Agamben,…
And You Watch as We Make Woodwater Again
[no-caption] Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images and you wonder how we remember our culture of traumatization our body beings tied to a land we were told was not ours…
When “Voluntary” Return Is Not a Real Option for Asylum-Seekers
Wrestling with the themes of violence, hope, and resilience, Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi often makes delicate use of red—the color of blood. Imran Qureshi “Love Me, Love Me…
A Letter From COVID-19
[no-caption] Beastfromeast/Getty Images In June 2020, I published a “Letter From COVID-19” in the Italian newspaper la Repubblica. At the time of writing, Italy was still under lockdown…
Anti-Asian Racism’s Deep Roots in the United States
People protest anti-Asian hate crimes on April 4 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violen…
#BookReview: Terraformed
Terraformed by Joy White aims at making sense and contextualising the vulnerability and inequality experienced by the Afrodiasporic population of the UK. The author describes her effort as…
What Dog Breeds Say About Race
In the Philippines, the most sought-after dogs are those that have a breed—and preferably a certificate that proves their provenance. Be it Alaskan malamute, German shepherd, or Siberian…