Contextualizing Exclusion: Lessons from Kambis
In my first blog installment I described one of my bus rides in Tehran in order to show that education, the transmission and acquisition of knowledge and sensibilities, is…
Tag: Thematic thread
From the Centre of Europe to the End of the World: Intimate reflections on activism, healing and belonging in the field
I was not feeling any particular excitement or thrilling feverishness. Preparing for the unknown journey into fieldwork in Santiago de Chile to research inner dynamics of the student social…
REDUX: An educator’s perspective on the academic boycott of Israeli institutions #BDS #palestine
Over the past months, colleagues in anthropology and other fields have laid out strong arguments for why one should support the academic boycott of Israeli institutions. Last spring,…
Investing without wealth: The financialization of social reproduction #Crisis
A few years ago, even an expert on the risks of subprime lending would have been astounded by the very suggestion: a global crisis triggered by poor people…
Asking Gramsci’s question #crisis
Some object to the word ‘crisis’. However, it is useful for describing the sense that what seemed to be an understandable present and a plausible future have become…
#Crisis on the opposite shore – Notes from the field on #crisis, revolution, and the possible
This piece is a from-the-field reflection on the ways in which grand events and processes such as global financial crises and revolutionary upheavals come to intersect – often…
#Crisis, Gender, Time
Economic crises are especially hard on women (Bettio et al. 2013, Manganara 2014, Seguino 2009, UNICRI 2014, Walby 2009) and the Greek crisis is no exception (Athanasiou 2011,…
#Crisis in focus
This week we are featuring a series of posts curated by Dimitra Kofta on a very current theme: CRISES. Etymologically deriving from the Greek infinitive κρίνειν (krinin), crisis…
Dis-orientalizing & Ethnographic Journeys #Fieldnotes
I conduct fieldwork among young Hindus in Amsterdam, the city where I have lived for nearly six years. Amsterdam lends itself to compartmentalisation as it is neatly divided…
Shoes, walking and reflections on subtle conflicts within social movements #Fieldnotes
In my research, I have found myself walking constantly, primarily because the city where my field site is set breathes with mobilizations these days. Choice of shoes has…
Buses, Metros, Shoes & Confusing Journeys #Fieldnotes
This week we continue our thread on fieldnotes via four posts that all in their own way elaborate this thread’s overarching theme: journey. As is familiar to all…
Aftertaste: memories of #postsocialism
Allegra’s thematic thread on #postsocialism is coming to its end. We hope that the eight delicious specialties Allegra served you over the past two weeks have pleased your…
REDUX: Rethinking Refugees: Afghan Traders and Exiles in the Former Soviet Union #postsocialism
This piece explores the activities of Afghan merchants in the former Soviet Union especially Tajikistan in Central Asia and Russia and Ukraine. It brings attention to the problems…
Breaking walls and exploring #borders in the context of #postsocialism
Today we are very excited at Allegra – we continue our experimentation with serving you, dear readers, exotic and delicious slow food for thought. This time we created…
That buried secret of ours! non-fiction and fiction on memories of violence, death politics and the economy of silence in post-revolution Iran
Mahmoud Dowlatabadi is an acclaimed and respected writer in Iran. A post stamp has recently been produced in his honor. One of his latest novels, The Colonel, was…
Buses in South and North Teheran: Education and Schooling #Fieldnotes
The bus I was riding on my way to Tajrish (north Tehran) was beyond maximum capacity with its passengers. We were cramped and people stood and sat in…
Cultivating Childhood #EmergingDigitalPractices
Samira and Amna visit me in the afternoon after finishing Quran school (madrasa). After they have taken off their buibuis (long black overdress) and head scarves Samira continues…
REDUX: Journeys within and beyond the City – Part 1 #Fieldnotes
“That’ll be $1.09.” I hand over the last two dollars of my stipend in exchange for my favorite kind of cookie, a gingersnap, while the bakery owner and…
REDUX: 10 Tips for Surviving Fieldwork & Blogging! #Anthroadvice
Today’s post was originally published on June 3rd, 2014, as part of last summer’s fieldwork thread. Next week we’re sharing some of the fruits of our recent call…
Circulating the state idea and establishing a state system in Palestine #anthrostate
Since 2007, the Palestinian government in the West Bank has been working to build a state while under occupation. Already almost entirely dependent on international aid and shedding…