Refugees and Police Violence in Calais
An anthropologist reflects on ethical responsibility and everyday violence. Sitting on a bench in a beautiful town-center park in Calais, we speak to a number of Ethiopian refugees…
Tag: Top News
Colonialism’s Orchestrated Disasters in Puerto Rico
“María, María, perdí la esperanza, María, María, perdí la esperanza.” I am reminded of these lyrics from the bomba group, Yuba Iré, when I see the pictures and…
Close Encounters of a Hairy Kind
Hair is something we think we know. Growing spontaneously from our heads, demanding attention throughout our lives, it is intrinsically bound up with our identities and biographies, our…
When Black Boy Joy and STEM Don’t Mix
As a kindergartner with Black boy joy, Carter excitedly began public school wanting to become a scientist. Carter considered scientists “some of the smartest people on earth,” because…
Fieldwork/Fieldplay?
For several weeks I have been trying to figure out if I could write anything on the topic of workplace abuse of power and sexual harassment in anthropology…
The Strength of Anthropology
Deciphering the Enigma of Social and Cultural Mechanisms [pquote] anthropologists are still asked to resolve human problems as if there were some miracle solution… Anthropological answers are mu…
Anthropology for the Planet
Partnering with business for sustainability. Although the US federal government under the Trump administration is working to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency and withdraw from the Paris…
The Storm After Maria
Puerto Rican Aftermath Puerto Ricans are US citizens. Puerto Rico is a colony. The tensions encompassed by these two facts were extremely clear in the federal response to…
Four Stories, A Lament, and an Affirmation
Alisse Waterston’s Presidential Lecture at the 116th AAA Annual Meeting No doubt these are dark times. What of us, as anthropologists, in these times? How will we pass…
Reimagining Political Horizons
Anthropologists have long been engaged in resistance and activism. “Social movements have been important spaces for generating anthropological theory,” Leith Mullings insisted in her bold 2013 preside…
Good Intentions and Murky Ethics
How anthropology matters in short-term global health travel. According to Volunteer World, an online international volunteer placement platform, “International voluntary work plays a key role in deliv…
Anthropology in Unseen Spaces
Documenting the human costs of the US security-state. This spring, Esperanza, a Salvadoran woman in the small California Central Valley town of Mendota, was on her way to church…
Latinx America and an Anthropology of Dissent
[pquote]Instead of proclaiming and declaring anthropology’s importance, we should step back and ask: What is the matter with anthropology?[/pquote]Our Annual Meeting theme has a problem. “Anthropology…
Call for 2018 Opinion Columnists!
We are seeking opinion columnists to write engaging, critical commentary for the Anthropology News website in 2018. Do you want to provide your anthropological viewpoint on current events…
We’re Looking for Annual Meeting Reporters!
Anthropology News will be running a series of reports on events at the Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Would you like to share your reflections on a panel,…
What’s in a Kiss?
On a late October day in 2016, police detained 17 journalists in a raid on the Istanbul offices of Turkey’s oldest newspaper, Cumhuriyet, as part of the post-July…
Beyond the Criminal Discourse in Title IX Procedures
On September 22, 2017, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rolled back the Title IX guidelines implemented under the Obama Presidency. The shocking implications of this are too numerous…
Here’s the Rub on the Dove Skincare Ad
The latest rendition of “sorry, not sorry” is not just topping the Billboard charts. It is also a public relations anthem about “missing the mark.” This time, Dove…
A Defense of the Charlottesville Counter-Protesters
Not all forms of violence are created equal. On August 12, violence unfolded at a white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Trump’s immediate reaction…
A Brexit in the World, and How It Found Its Place
On the relocation of the UK in a time of populist instability. [pquote]Once the formal Brexit process is completed, Britain will no longer be in the same place…
The Paranoid Style of Climate Change Denial
How Conspiracy-driven theories help the Trump administration reject science. After the unprecedented flooding in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey, Michael Mann, a leading scientific voice on climate ch…
Deterritorializing Chinatown in Digital Tokyo
Editors’ Note: This article is part of the series Digital Anthropologies in East Asia. [pquote]The growth in digital forms of sociality and their intersection with new mobilities has ensured…
The Disastrous End for DACA Students and Workers
Early morning on September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order, issued to protect over 800,000…
Agents of Humor?
Students in Russia and Ukraine address global politics through local comedy Kostya, brow wrinkling, ended his call and told the team of rehearsing students, “Vova said he heard…