An Open Letter to My Grandchildren
Dear Dean and Mona, At four years old and ten months old, you are both too young to understand why the grown-ups around you keep talking about…
Tag: Social justice
An Open Letter to My Children
Dear Nathaniel and Hannah, I am sorry that my generation has failed you. We have bequeathed you a world that has too many problems, too much fear, and too much…
There was “no racism before Obama”. Wait, what now?
Welcome to the (sur)reality that is the American election of 2016. The latest in a series of Perplexing Statements that People Believe Despite Immeasurable Evidence to the Contrary…
The Gap that Won’t Be Filled
An Anthropolitical Critique of the “Language Gap” Is language responsible for poverty? If poor and minority parents spoke like rich white parents, would they too become rich and…
In the Sand: Water, Land, and Infrastructure in Informality
Angela Storey, University of Arizona § Milk crates are a common sight when walking the narrow paths of informal settlements in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town suburb where more…
Rethinking BDS
A shorter version of this post will soon appear online as a podcast, in coordination with the motion put to a vote among the membership of the American…
“Anthropology for peace”
In the Communications Unit at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) where I work, there are posters from an old engagement campaign that read “_____ for peace.” The…
The Power of Menstrual Politics
The latest in the abortion wars: “One Indiana woman recently created the Facebook page Periods for Pence where she encourages others to call the governor’s office to report their periods,…
Confessions of a Reluctant Climate Project Collaborator
By Micha Rahder, Louisiana State University § Let me start with a confession: I never wanted to work on climate change. Laguna del Tigre National Park, Guatemala. Photo…
How BDS Risks Going over to the Dark Side; or, Why I am Ashamed of My Association
I get the logic of boycotts. In high school, I stopped buying grapes to support Cesar Chavez’ protest of the slave-like working conditions of Mexican farm workers in grape vineyards.…
24. Freedom technologists: a short reading list
Freedom Technologists: Digital Activism and Political Change in the 21st Century (working title), Chapter 2, Freedom Technologists This is the twenty-fourth post in the freedom technologists series. …
Social Change: One Petition at a Time?
As a high school student, I remember the excitement of going door-to-door to solicit signatures on petitions of various sorts. Adding one’s name to a list of other…
Anthropologists in Practice: An Interview with Janne Flisrand, Network Weaver and Owner of Flisrand Consulting
Anthropologists in Practice is an ongoing series of interviews featuring practicing anthropologists who work outside the academy. The goal of the series is to provide a source of…
Why Not “Je Suis Lassana”?
Much of the Western world has expressed solidarity with the right to publish offensive cartoons by identifying with the cartoonists at the iconoclastic weekly, Charlie Hebdo, who were…
Anthropology Students Show their Creativity (and courage)
Set Them Free, They’ll Grow Wings I occasionally teach a course at the University of Alberta. It’s called Anthropology 207: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. The class…
Make the Dangerous Choice to Dissent – Umair Haque – Harvard Business Review
This is my first ‘re-blogging’. While I may retweet, I generally prefer to speak my own words. But Umair Haque has captured my sentiments so well that I…