How and Why Hazing Evolved
Sailors aboard the USS Lexington celebrate crossing the equator with an elaborate hazing ritual on April 5, 1944. Participants include Her Highness Amphitrite (seated left), King Neptune (seated…
Sailors aboard the USS Lexington celebrate crossing the equator with an elaborate hazing ritual on April 5, 1944. Participants include Her Highness Amphitrite (seated left), King Neptune (seated…
Last Friday, as my last work event at Whittier College (since my postdoc contract is finishing up), I went to graduation. A few observations on graduation as seen from the…
This 15th-century depiction of cannibalistic practices was inspired by Marco Polo’s writings about traveling through Asia. Bibliothèque Nationale/Wikimedia Commons This article was origin…
Similar to many practices that we’ve discussed in the blog and in class, Aboriginal mortuary rituals in Australia are much different than Western ideas. The rituals begin with…
Lutte avec frappe, or “wrestling with punches,” the most popular sport in Senegal, adopted international anti-doping rules in 2015. Mark Hann On May 31, 2015, the combat between…
Locals observe foreign health officials burying an Ebola victim. WHO Guidelines for Ebola Burials The 2014 Ebola Outbreak claimed about 11,000 lives and transcended country borders. Ebola presents…
Death is already an uncomfortable topic to talk about, let alone the idea of human sacrifices. From the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifices were pretty common in Maya culture.…
The Western definition of death is known as “the irreversible cessation of all vital functions especially as indicated by permanent stoppage of the heart, respiration, and brain activity”…
Sky burials (or celestial burials, as they are also called) are the burial rites of choice for the Tibetans. After a member of the community has died, the…
A staged version of the Japanese ritual suicide known as Seppuku or Hara-Kiri, circa 1885. The warrior in white plunges a knife into his belly, while his second…
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…
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…
Superstition is a funny thing. As an anthropologist, I’m not terribly superstitious. I try to be a scientist, after all. But science is fallible, and supposedly rational behavior…
Every year in recent memory, the opening of the annual Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) conference begins with an acknowledgement that the meetings are taking place on Indigenous territory.…
A rain dance won’t make water fall from the sky. Casting a spell won’t cure cancer. Tarot cards can’t really reveal the future. Yet rituals like these have…
The 2016 Rio Olympics cost an estimated $11.46 billion. Most would say the Olympics don’t make financial sense. So why do countries want to host them? Felipe Dana/Associated…
In the 1980s, anthropologist John J. MacAloon argued that the real power of the Olympic Games lies in the unscripted, celebratory street festivals that erupt in public spaces.…
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 …
Stone tools, like Acheulean hand axes, remain well-preserved for eons because they are stones first, tools second. Fired ceramics remain well-preserved for millennia because they are, in essence,…
Today’s inquiry into the nature of legal fictions takes us to Jordan’s government-run Sharia courts, where the concept of “divorce before consummation” (ṭalāq qabl al-dakhūl) has become something…
This post is part of the Modes of Production feature moderated and edited by Patrick Neveling and Joe Trapido. From the sixteenth century onward, European trading networks grew…
Pets can easily become part of your family at home. When they die, it can hit us a much as a person’s death would. For a young child,…
New Year’s Eve of 2007 was grim. My husband and I hosted a party of battered friends, most of whom were under the age of 35. Within the…
In New York City, a photographer named Brandon has made a career of photographing people in the streets, recording their story, and posting them together on Facebook. Started…