The kindness of Kenyans

All Africa published an op-ed by Rahul Oka, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. He comments on reports circulating that the Kenyan government plans to shut down the Dadaab refugee camps with a population of nearly one-half million, and the Kakuma camps, as well as to disband the Department of Refugee Affairs. Oka writes: “Based on my experience in this African nation…I know this simply will not happen. Not only because that action will be contrary to international laws, but because it is contrary to the hospitality and compassion of Kenyan peoples. I have been visiting Kenya for over 15 years… And wherever I have been, in Kakuma and the rest of Kenya, I have been privileged to meet the warmest and most welcoming people I have known, exemplifying deep-seated ideas of hospitality…”

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Finding lost loved ones

An article in The Houston Chronicle addressed the problem of migrant disappearances in Texas and included commentary from a public event on the subject held in Houston: “In Texas alone, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of missing migrants,” said Christine Kovic, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Houston Clear Lake “People shouldn’t be dying crossing the border. Many are trying to reach loved ones here in Houston.” During the event, people with missing family members had access to resources from the Harris County Sheriff’s office, the Texas Center for the Missing, the South Texas Human Rights Center, and more to help them to find lost relatives and loved ones.

Continue reading “anthro in the news 5/23/16” →

Is voting “sacred” in India?

Mukulika Bannerjee, associate professor of social anthropology at the London School of Economics and director of the South Asia Centre, published an op-ed in The Hindu (India) drawing on her book, Why India Votes. She writes: “Indians clearly like to vote. Evidence from the ongoing Assembly elections shows that turnouts are above 80 per cent…Statistics show a steady rise in the turnout figures over the last three decades in several parts of India. The gap between women and men voters has also steadily reduced and in some States female voters outnumbered males. But what does this enthusiasm for voting actually signify?” She goes on to explore this question.

Continue reading “anthro in the news 5/16/16” →

What is “India”: Textbook debate in California

The New York Times reported on a debate in California about content related to “India” in high school textbooks. On one side, is the Hindu American Foundation which is lobbying for retention of the term “India” for what others say should be termed “South Asia.” Discussion also includes descriptions of Hinduism and the caste system. Thomas Hansen, professor of anthropology and South Asian studies at Stanford University, has butted heads with the Hindu American Foundation for more than a decade over how Indian history is taught in California:  “This group has a lot of interest in calling everything Hindu and Indian so that it can equate modern-day India with historic roots. But it’s absurd. It would be like calling Ancient Rome Italy…Our duty is to make sure that the history is keeping with the scholarly research rather than give in to what a particular group wants.”

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Rethinking environmental determinism

An article in The Pacific Standard considers the concept of environmental determinism, shared by some anthropologists and geographers, in the light of global warming. It draws on the work of Susan Crate, cultural/ecological anthropologist at George Mason University in Virginia: “[O]ne of the first papers to explore the cultural impacts of climate change in Siberia, Gone the Bull of Winter…describes the impacts of shorter, cooler winters on a group of horse and cattle breeders who live in northeastern Siberia, known as the Sakha. The Sakha personify winter in the form of a white bull with blue markings, huge horns, and frosty breath, which traditionally descends during the months of December and January. But as Sakha elders told Crate, the bull symbol is losing its power in Sakha culture as the winter’s power wanes. They’re not saying that the symbol is transmuting or evolving; they’re saying that the climate changes are directly endangering this central symbol. It’s not just Sakha symbols, either; it’s their livelihood, too.” [Blogger’s note: Susan Crate is the focus of a documentary, The Anthropologist, which follows Crate and her daughter as they visit several people who are affected by global warming.]

Continue reading “anthro in the news 5/9/16” →

Biological anthropologists address sexual harrassment

Science magazine reported on a special panel at the annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), held this year in Atlanta. Within general anthropology, the field of physical/biological anthropology has been particularly affected by concerns about various forms of sexual harassment and assault: “Biological anthropology has a problem,” said panelist Robin Nelson of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. “But we’re not alone.” The article mentions several other biological anthropologists including the one at the center of the storm: Brian Richmond of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, who allegedly sexually assaulted a research assistant who worked for him and sexually harassed trainees at a field school in Kenya sponsored by the George Washington University.

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Leadership controversy at UC Davis

The Los Angeles Times carried an article about allegations against the UC Davis chancellor, Linda Katehi. It quotes Suad Joseph, professor of anthropology and gender and sexuality studies at UC Davis, who continues to support the chancellor. She is calling for an external review of possible bias against women administrators in the entire University of California system.

Continue reading “anthro in the news 5/2/16” →

The banality of U.S. politics

Paul Stoller, professor of anthropology at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, published a piece in The Huffington Post on the banality of U.S. presidential politics. He leads with this observation: “Am I alone, or is there an exponentially expanding audience of people who have grown tired of our fight club presidential politics? In this 2016 political season, which has now reached the all-important New York primary, there have been endless exchanges during which the various candidates have unabashedly teased, cajoled and insulted one another.”

 

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Trash anthropology in the news

On Earth Day, The Los Angeles Times carried an article about the scope of the world’s trash problem and the obliviousness of Americans to how much trash they create and its effects on the environment. The article mentions the research of cultural anthropologist Joshua Reno of Binghamton University in New York State, author of Waste Away: Working and Living with a North American Landfill.

 

Continue reading “anthro in the news 4/25/16” →

Global mental health and economics

USA Today carried an article about a report from the World Health Organization claiming that every U.S. dollar invested in mental health treatment can quadruple returns in work productivity. The article quotes Jim Kim, World Bank president, medical anthropologist, and doctor: “Despite hundreds of millions of people around the world living with mental disorders, mental health has remained in the shadows…This is not just a public health issue — it’s a development issue.” Also quoted is Arthur Kleinman, professor of medical anthropology and psychiatry at Harvard University: “Mental health needs to be a global humanitarian and development priority… We need to provide treatment, now, to those who need it most, and in the communities where they live…Until we do, mental illness will continue to eclipse the potential of people and economies.”  [Blogger’s note: Sounds like a boon for Big Pharma?]

 

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China’s food industry: Not relevant to the U.S.?

The Huffington Post carried an article about two contrasting zones of presenting the value of scientific research in Washington, DC, this past week. In the White House, President Barack Obama gathered with young students to celebrate scientific discovery. On the opposite end of Pennsylvania Avenue, adult scientists put on an exhibit illustrating the negative effects of politics on research. One exhibitor was Megan Tracy, assistant professor of anthropology at James Madison University. She received an award of $150,000 from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study the effects of China’s poorly regulated milk market. Some U.S. congressional critics asked what good it did the American taxpayers to help China with its dairy. In response, Tracy notes that the U.S. imported more than $28 billion worth of food from China in 2013.

 

Continue reading “anthro in the news 4/18/16” →

Protecting, Preserving, and Presenting the Cultural Heritage of the Near East 

When: April 18, 8:30am – 12:30pm
Who: AIA, ASOR, The Smithsonian Institution, and the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute
Where: Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum
The Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

This event is free and open to the public 

ASOR (The American Schools of Oriental Research) and AIA (The Archaeological Institute of America), in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and The George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute, will commemorate International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called World Heritage Day) with programming at the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday, April 18, 8:30AM-12:30PM.

The symposium will report on efforts to document, protect, and preserve cultural heritage sites in the Near East, and will build upon conversations started at a NEH-funded summit held by AIA and ASOR in Washington in December 2015. Topics will include assessing the damage suffered by Near Eastern cultural heritage sites imperiled by conflict and by looting; technological strategies for documenting and preserving the cultural heritage record; and conservation projects, especially those that engage local communities and stakeholders.

Speakers and topics will include:

• Hanan Charaf, University of Paris I-Sorbonne, Cultural Heritage in Lebanon
• Michael Danti, ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives, Cultural Heritage in Syria and Iraq
• Susan Kane, Oberlin College, Cultural Heritage in Libya
• Salam Al Kuntar, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Program (SHOSI)
• Oystein LaBianca, Andrews University, Cultural Heritage in Jordan
• Alexander Nagel, Smithsonian Institution, Cultural Heritage in Yemen
• Katie A. Paul, Antiquities Coalition, Cultural Heritage in Egypt
• Gil Stein, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan
• Christopher Tuttle, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, Cultural Heritage and the Role of American Research Centers

Click here to register.

Sex trafficking and tea

CNN carried an article following up on a series of videos it did last month about how girls growing up on tea plantations in Assam, India, are often targeted by human traffickers. The current article poses selected questions, sent in by viewers of the videos, to several experts including cultural anthropologist Sarah Besky, professor at Brown University and author of The Darjeeling Distinction: Labor and Justice on Fair-Trade Tea Plantations in India. She responds: “Human trafficking in Northeast India does not only happen on tea plantations. It happens across rural and urban areas…poverty and a lack of employment opportunities are important factors — this goes for anyone, not just girls who grow up on tea plantations.”

Continue reading “anthro in the news 4/11/16” →

Take that trash and…

The Atlantic interviewed cultural anthropologist Joshua Reno, assistant professor at Binghamton University about his research on landfills and social aspects of waste disposal in the U.S. and Canada. He worked in a landfill for nine months and learned about the intricate process of managing waste. He suggests that the effectiveness of landfills allows people to forget about the waste they produce.  Reno is the author of Waste Away: Working and Living with a North American Landfill which seeks to reconnect people with their waste.

Continue reading “anthro in the news 4/4/16” →