In memory of a shaman: Tëpi Pajé
Tëpi Pajé (Photo: Barbara Arisi) By Barbara Arisi Tëpi Pajé was a powerful shaman of the Matis people. He was called xó’xókit, a word that names the one…
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Zomaar een ochtend in het veld; een verslag uit Indonesië
Reclame voor Citraland Door Freek Colombijn Een risico van antropologisch veldwerk is dat we soms vergeten hoe sterk we gebonden zijn aan onze eigen ervaringen. We doen…
Paid Internships for IU Students at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures
We have realized a big museum goal–establishing a paid internship program at MMWC. Please check out the announcement (below and here) and encourage bachelors and masters students to…
The Dead Make an Appearance at the Family Reunion
The Malagasy people of Madagascar have built a way of life around death. They perform a ritual called a famadihana ceremony, also known as “the turning of the…
Cremation Jewelry: Another Way of Remembering
When someone passes away, there is an impulse to find ways to remember the dead. Mourning jewelry is always a good choice: it contains some part of the dead’s…
Opening Anthropology: An Interview with Keith Hart
Summary A three-part interview with Keith Hart by Ryan Anderson on Savage Minds Blog Part 1 The Open Access (OA) movement is one of resistance to the privatization…
Death – The Great (In)Equalizer
A traditional Western European plague doctor; they were hired en masse during the “Black Death” epidemic. Retrieved from http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html Death is an omnipotent for…
Reclaiming Nature? Indigenous Homeland and Oil Sands Territory
Tara Joly, University of Aberdeen § Settler colonial relations construct the Athabasca region as extractive oil sands territory, yet the region remains homeland for Indigenous peoples, including Méti…
Epitaphs
Although widely culturally variable, it is often an important ritual in death to mark the grave or otherwise physically memorialize the deceased. This is certainly widely practiced in the United State…
Living longer- How long is too long?
Following a paradigm shift from infectious to chronic disease, life expectancy rose for individuals, currently at 78.8 years of age (U.S based). The article linked below addresses how the…
Hindu Perspectives on Death: Karma and Its Implications
Hindu beliefs about death, specifically about karma, have always intrigued me. While I’m not religious, I’ve been exposed to Hindu beliefs my entire life, and examining them through…
Dreaming about World War Three
Talkin’ World War III Blues Bob Dylan One time ago a crazy dream came to me I dreamt I was walkin’ into World War Three I went to…
Welcome to the Authoritarian Kleptocracy Part VI
If you got the money, honey, they got your disease. My latest articles and interviews: Globe and Mail: Some call this America’s resistance. Really, we are helping each other…
Southern Foodways Alliance: 2017 Summer Oral History Workshop
An organization whose work I am enthusiastic about is the Southern Foodways Alliance. Here I share news of its next oral history workshop. I quote from the call…
Social learning in the Anthropocene: novel challenges, shadow networks, and ethical practices
My most recent article is now out at the Journal of Environmental Management. At least for a time, it is free to download by clicking here. The ideas…
Enterprising Opportunities: Responsibilising Ghana’s Poor
by Tim Perkin Agbogbloshie is an area of Accra, Ghana’s capital, which has become a graveyard for global electronic waste (e-waste). In light of its structural adjustment after…
Political Leaders’ Body on Display
In 2013, the body of Hugo Chavez, who is the former president of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, was to be embalmed and kept in a crystal casket…
Grief: Ritual Finger Amputaion
The death of a loved one can be a traumatic experience and causes emotional pain and suffering. However, in some cultures the loss can result in physical pain…
Anthropology’s heterodoxy
“Flowers” by Claude Monet By Ton Salman In the following blog, Ton Salman reacts to Matthias Teeuwen’s contribution to Standplaats Wereld of 13-2-2017, titled “Is Anthrop…
Mild Apocalypse – Feral Landscapes in Denmark: Reflections on an Exhibition
By Nathalia S. Brichet, Frida Hastrup, and Felix Riede § From the late 1930s until 1970, low-grade brown coal was extracted at Søby in mainland Denmark. This activity carried out largely…
The Philippine mining clampdown that wasn´t
By Boris Verbrugge, Radbout Universiteit On February 2, 2017, Philippine Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who has the full backing of the country’s controversial president Duterte, announced the clos…
Medical anthropologists in/of Aotearoa meet for launch and symposium
Sorry to miss what looks like a great symposium and launch of the new Society of Medical Anthropology in Aotearoa. SOMAA By Nayantara Sheoran Appleton. On Wednesday February…
Clarity in Dying
Katie Cooper There are just somethings that we do not like to talk about. Like how often you wear the same pair of socks, or how you take…
Managing cultural complexity, 3 options courtesy of Tom Friedman, Chance the Rapper, and Maggie Siff
(Originally published Feb. 16 on Medium) Tom Friedman was interviewed by Al Hunt on Charlie Rose Tuesday night. He was pitching his new book: Thank you for being…