Hallowe’en & Racism
LSPIRG’s (Wilfred Laurier University) I am Not a Costume campaign Boo! Hallowe’en is a rich holiday for anthropologists to dig into for how it brings together many different…
Tag: representation
Myths of American Democracy: Contradictions, Troubling Numbers, and Searching for Sense in the System
Debate Prep! Do you find yourself increasingly frustrated at the lack of real conversations between candidates and politicians? Are you confused about why someone who doesn’t walk to…
Differences between Sociology and Anthropology Disciplines
I’ve often thought about where the fuzzy line between Anthropology and its sibling discipline Sociology resides. Since it’s part of the anthropological prerogative to compare and contrast disciplines,…
Is it good enough to think like an Anthropologist?
In recent weeks we’ve been posting about the use of anthropological tenets and ethnographic practices beyond traditional field sites. This topic was addressed from author Elizabeth Durham’s perspectiv…
Articulating the Anthropological Toolkit to Non-Anthropologists
As a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology, I am currently teaching Communications to Engineering and Technology students. I am surprised almost everyday at the various ways I use my…
Decolonial Atlas
This blog — The Decolonial Atlas — is a really interesting tool for discussions of representation. As the authors explain, The Decolonial Atlas, started in 2014, is an…
Census Data and the Social Construction of Race
Since Franz Boas, anthropologists have argued that race is not a biological but a social fact that varies across time and place. Using the US Census, Vox underscores…
How a Teacher’s Race Affects their Ability to Teach about Race
I met with someone from the Diversity and Equity Office at the University where I teach part-time yesterday. We’ve agreed to collaborate on a few classes for my…
Indigenous cultural appropriation?
In June we posted an article from The Atlantic on The do’s and don’ts of Cultural Appropriation. In that post I suggested that the article, with its focus…
Reflecting on Métis identity
This post comes from the âpihtawikosisân blog. The author, Chelsea Vowel, describes herself as “Métis from the Plains Cree speaking community of Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. She currently lives…
How To Support Blacademics & Be an Ally
If you are working in academia, this post is for you. Ellie Adekur has created this important resource on How To Support Blacademics: For Non-Black Faculty and Grad…
Re/telling the story of Canada’s Residential Schools
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada investigated the impact of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools system on students, their families, and indigenous peoples across Canada more broadly. …
The dos & don’ts of Cultural Appropriation
In “The Dos and Don’ts of Cultural Appropriation” (2015, The Atlantic), author Jeni Avins argues that cultural appropriation can actually be a positive thing. Heavily focused on the…
Avoiding gendered bias… for instructors
Writing a reference letter for a student? The Feminist Philosophers blog has shared a handy infographic from the University of Arizona that will help instructors write great reference letters…
Black Disabled Woman Syllabus
Vilissa Thompson, Disability Rights Consultant & Advocate, has created the Black Disabled Woman Syllabus in response to the lack of intersectionality she has seen in disability studies. …
Critiquing Anthropological (textbook) Images
Google images: “anthropology textbooks” from Dori Turnstall Think about the typical cover images of anthropology textbooks. Most likely, you are thinking about exotic images of non-Western p…
Systemic racism in Hollywood
In this Vulture.com (2016), George Takei talks about Hollywood’s systematic whitewashing of Asian characters. These comments follow on the casting of white actresses Scarlett Johansson as “Major Motok…
A dilemma at the heart of multispecies anthropology: the “inclusion” of animals
“the “inclusion” of animals is not necessarily the most interesting issue, but rather how they are included [Candea 243]. If following a classic or “Durkheimian” model, where social…
Selfies | 自拍
In “Dim Stockings”, a short chapter included in his The Coming Community, Giorgio Agamben takes a cue from the prosaics of a stockings advertisement to discuss the commodification…
Your accent is we-ahd
I grew up a Navy brat, bouncing from coast to coast in the U.S. until the 11th grade, when I hunkered down in the South for more than…
Book Review: I See My Representation and I Will Raise You, Identification
By Dan Gardner To read Tom Boellstorff’s introduction to this book reviews series, head over to The Book Review as Conversation. “In a fictional world where I can use magic…
A Geek’s Guide to Washington D.C.’s AwesomeCon
By Emma Louise Backe Awesome Con is in Washington, D.C. this weekend and I can’t wait to see the Metro flooded with cyborgs, otaku and every version of…
Pixels and Politics: Representation in Video Games
By Christine Tomlinson To read Tom Boellstorff’s introduction to this book reviews series, head over to The Book Review as Conversation. T. L. Taylor. 2006. Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online…
“Irreplaceable ethnographic record”?; more like commodification andexotification
Books like Jimmy Nelson’s are important because they highlight the inner battle that occurs when consuming content that is simultaneously problematic and enjoyable. On the surface, this book…