Contradictions of wokeness and privilege in the new elite
Musa al-Gharbi’s We Have Never Been Woke argues that contemporary US elites claim the language of social justice and identify with progressive causes on one hand while reinforcing…
Tag: Social justice
Alternatives to Extractivism. A manifesto of propositions and unresolved questions
In memory of Sabine Luning(30 August 1959 – 6 March 2025) whose support and input has shaped our thinking in […] The post Alternatives to Extractivism. A manifesto…
Why architecture and urban space are always political
The latest volume of the Routledge Handbook of Architecture, Urban Space and Politics edited by Nikolina Bobic and Farzaneh Haghighi explores the socio-political nature of architecture and urban…
Recalibrating Political Islam? The Syrian Revolution in Global Narratives
In the shifting political landscape of post-Asad Syria, global narratives surrounding political Islam are undergoing a recalibration, blurring engagement with […] The post Recalibrating Politica…
Recalibrating Hope and Revolutionary Temporality in the Wake of Al-Assad’s Downfall
To be honest, I can’t describe my feelings now; it is a historical moment. Syrians finally feel they can breathe, […] The post Recalibrating Hope and Revolutionary Temporality…
Recalibrating Syria: New Openings for Anthropological Engagement
Joyful crowds toppling statues, unsealing torture prisons, defacing regime iconography, ordinary people roaming freely through Al-Asad’s Presidential Palace . . […] The post Recalibrating Syria:…
What makes a home? A transformational politics for housing justice
Alva Gotby‘s Feeling at Home explores the complex interplay of practical and emotional concerns that a home involves, which are often flattened in debates around housing justice. Showing…
A Crisis of Fiduciary Regulation: From ‘Access’ to Foundering Formalisation in South African Property Inheritance
Administration has a difficult history in South Africa: apartheid was centrally an administrative project, through segregation and exclusion. Areas of […] The post A Crisis of Fiduciary Regulati…
Deregulated Grids, Natural Gas and the Texas Freeze – A Cautionary Tale
A little after 1 am on Feb. 15, 2021 during a frigid storm, the Texas electric grid came close to […] The post Deregulated Grids, Natural Gas and…
An Unlikely but Necessary Conversation: When Enemies Meet
It’s so easy to see our enemies as — well, enemies. What does it take to re-see them as human? Late in life, Erika Jacoby and Ursula Martens…
Have Students Stopped Reading?
Source here I get why social justice-oriented college students are furious with Israel. (I am, too.) I get why they are protesting to support Palestinians’ right to an…
The Complexity of Human Rights: A Discussion of Sally Engle Merry’s Work
Human rights are avowedly universal but must be translated by local activists to make sense in specific contexts, a process Sally Engle Merry called vernacularization. Human rights progress…
Understanding Humans: How Social Science Can Help Solve Our Problems – review
In Understanding Humans: How Social Science Can Help Solve Our Problems, David Edmonds curates a selection of interviews with social science researchers covering the breadth of human life and society,…
Global Language Justice – review
In Global Language Justice, Lydia H. Liu and Anupama Rao bring together contributions at the intersection of language, justice and technology, exploring topics including ecolinguistics, colonial legac…
AnthroKino: Spring Program
This spring, Allies meet (online) to watch ethnographic films and discuss with their makers. We have a line up of movies that explore the effects of urban infrastructures…
Book Review: Citizen Designs: City-making and Democracy in Northeastern Thailand by Eli Elinoff
In Citizen Designs: City-making and Democracy in Northeastern Thailand, Eli Elinoff explores citizenship struggles and the political engagement of residents living in Northeastern Thailand. Unlike tra…
It’s Not “Just” a Symbol
“Tails” side of the new U.S. quarter featuring Maya Angelou The new Maya Angelou quarter is a symbol, yes. But not “just” a symbol. Because, symbols matter. If…
What Should Teachers Teach?
Source here. Educators are wringing their hands these days about how much students have “fallen behind” the past year. News story after news story laments a year of…
When Cash Rules: A Local Researcher/Activist’s Fieldnotes on “Passive Locals” Living Around Mailiao’s Petrochemical Complex
Yunlin is a coastal county in Western Taiwan famous for its agricultural produce, also known as “the barn of Taiwan.” However, the exchange value of agricultural produce has…
Whedon, Fandom, and Cancel Culture
By Alissa Whitmore “A guy who goes around saying ‘I’m a feminist’ usually has an agenda that is not feminist. A guy who behaves like one, who actually…
Does “Reasonable” = “Racist”?
What can anthropology contribute to the critical conversation about race in America, following the welcome jury decision in the Derek Chauvin trial? After they amassed and presented a…
What Do You Mean by Abolition?
A collaboration between abolitionist groups in California educates and acts for a more just future. Abolition is increasingly being used in popular and public discourse to describe contemporary…
What Do You Mean by Abolition?
A collaboration between abolitionist groups in California educates and acts for a more just future. Abolition is increasingly being used in popular and public discourse to describe contemporary…
What Do You Mean by Abolition?
A collaboration between abolitionist groups in California educates and acts for a more just future. Abolition is increasingly being used in popular and public discourse to describe contemporary…