Anthro in the news 5/19/14

Philly-Poverty — Street scene in Philadelphia. Credit: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia: A city in ruins

The Philadelphia Inquirer carried an article about how Philadelphia became the poorest big city in America and various social science perspectives on how that happened. Judith Goode, professor of urban anthropology at Temple University, is quoted as saying that although a new generation of leaders – including Philadelphia’s Ed Rendell – has brought a stronger focus to urban renewal since the 1990s, most of the programs have been aimed at tax breaks for developers and businesses luring upscale suburbanites to the central core. Efforts that would help poverty-stricken neighborhoods – luring back blue-collar employers coupled with job training, or improving public schools – got much less priority.

“Urban renewal hasn’t worked in ways to help poor people,” said Goode. Continue reading “Anthro in the news 5/19/14” →

Anthro in the news 5/12/14

David Graeber in the news

McMillan-photo — Cecily McMillan outside court as the jury was deliberating. Credit: The Villager.

An article in The Villager described recent developments in the case of a 2012 Occupy activist in New York City who has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer. A Manhattan jury on Monday convicted Cecily McMillan, a 25-year-old New School graduate student, of felony assault of a police officer. She has been remanded to custody at Riker’s Island without bail, pending sentencing on May 19. She could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, but also could get probation with a suspended sentence and no jail time.

The article mentions David Graeber, an anthropology professor at the London School of Economics, often called an Occupy Wall Street founder and credited with coining the movement’s slogan, “We are the 99%.” He disagreed with the decision, saying the McMillan case sent a chilling message: “You do not have the right to freedom of assembly. Do not show up at a protest unless you are willing to face the possibility of torture, physical injury and years in jail.”

David Graeber in the news again

Should your job should exist? PBS Newshour interviewed David Graeber about his category of “bullshit jobs” Americans are now working more and more hours. But what, Graeber asks, do BS workers actually do: “It’s as if…we’ve created entirely new jobs to accommodate the workaday world. Administrators (think telemarketing and financial services) and the growing number of human resources and public relations professionals can’t pick up their own pizzas or walk their dogs.” Therefore, we have all-night pizza delivery men and dog-walkers, just to keep other people working. The interview follows up on an essay Graeber wrote in 2013 in Strike Magazine. Continue reading “Anthro in the news 5/12/14” →

Anthro in the news 5/5/14

President Obama in Indonesia: The son of an anthropologist

barack-stanley-ann-dunham-halfsister — Stanley Ann Dunham (left) with her two children, Barack (middle), and Maya (right). Source: stanleyanndunhamfund

That’s meant to be a compliment! The Washington Post and other media covering the President’s trip to Asia noted that President Obama appeared to be especially comfortable during his visit to Indonesia:

“While Obama often utters a few halting words in the language of the countries he visits, he tossed off Malaysian phrases with ease during a state dinner in Kuala Lumpur. He also broke into a spontaneous exchange in Indonesian during a town hall meeting the next day. His personal connection to the region showed up in more subtle ways as well, as when he slowed his pace to keep in step with Malaysia’s king — a move many Malaysians saw as a cultural gesture of respect for an elder.”

Obama lived in Indonesia between the ages of 6 and 10. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was a cultural anthropologist whose second husband was Indonesian. Their daughter, Maya Soetero, is President Obama’s his only sibling. Dunham spent two decades living in the region doing anthropological research on local artisans. She died at the age of 52 in Honolulu.

Vetiver: Wealth from Haiti’s land whisked away

According to an article in Reuters, the vetiver plant, a tropical grass, is a little-known Haitian agricultural treasure, producing one of the most prized essential oils for high-end perfumes. The crop is a major employer in southwest Haiti, where farmers have harvested vetiver for decades but earn little from it. Production of the plant in Haiti collapsed in the late 1960s during the three-decade-long dictatorships of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) and Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc). Pierre Léger, a Haitian agronomist, revived vetiver farming in the 1980s. Léger took samples to the top French and Swiss perfumers. “The quality was so good, they couldn’t believe it was from Haiti.”

The question now is: given the global value of Haitian vetiver, how can Haitian farmers benefit from it? Critics say the fair-trade system may not help the farmers enough given the precarious situation of vetiver famers. Cultural anthropologist Scott Freeman, a visiting scholar at George Washington University and author of a 2011 paper on Haitian vetiver, said events often force farmers to dig up immature roots to cover medical care, school fees or a funeral: “When they find themselves in a tight squeeze, they dig up the vetiver.” Continue reading “Anthro in the news 5/5/14” →

Event at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, April 30th

When: April 30th, 4:00 pm

Where: Mann Library, 237 Mann Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853

Challenged to become more actively engaged with and play a larger role in democratizing society, universities are partnering with people to reduce inequities and provide greater access to knowledge gained from anthropological research. This engaged stance moves the application of theory, methods and practice toward action and activism, and reduces disparities in underserved communities.

Sam Beck will discuss his book Toward Engaged Anthropology in a Chats in the Stacks book talk.

Beck is a senior lecturer in the College of Human Ecology and director of Cornell’s Urban Semester Program.

The book, published in July 2013 and co-edited by Beck and Carl A. Maida, offers essays by seven experts on a new form of engaged, public anthropology that is taking hold in the field for its promise to address social and economic disparities found in many communities and social groups.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Information: mannlib.cornell.edu/events-exhibits

Tattoos as Transformational Pilgrimage: Women’s Tattoo Narratives in Houston, Texas

Guest contributor: Laura Newman

Skin communicates many messages to others — a person’s race, gender, age, and even socioeconomic status. A tattoo is a chance for individuals to mark themselves outside of conventional boundaries. As DeMello explains: “If the physical body serves as a site in which gender, ethnicity, and class are symbolically marked, tattoos and the process of inscription itself create the cultural body themselves, thereby creating and maintaining specific social boundaries. Tattoos articulate not only the body, but the psyche as well” (1993:10).

Tattoos also have meaning to the individual. For my M.A. thesis at the University of Houston, my research goal was to analyze and understand how tattoo narratives help the story teller explain to themselves and to others how their tattoo has symbolized a change in their lives. Getting a tattoo can be a significant event for women in itself. Tattoos are often planned out with the artist to ensure that it is exactly what the wearer wants.

A tattoo narrative is rich with details and meaning. “As individuals reflect on the major events that have shaped their lives, they maintain and get others to acknowledge important features of their self-understanding. More than a social obligation, this sharing of personal experience serves the psychological purpose of bolstering one’s subjective sense of being properly motivated and well directed in life” (McCollum 2002:113). Being visually accessible to others the tattoo story is told over time and repeatedly. My goal was to record these stories and identify important changes in a woman’s life related to their tattoos. Continue reading “Tattoos as Transformational Pilgrimage: Women’s Tattoo Narratives in Houston, Texas” →

Anthro in the news 4/28/14

Graeber is an activist, not an anarchist

PBS interviewed cultural anthropologist David Graeber, professor at the London School of Economics, in its Making Sen$e segment on Switzerland’s basic income debate and its appeal in the United States. The conversation focused on how a basic income would liberate wage slaves. Here is a snippet:

So you like this idea?

“I think it’s great. It’s an acknowledgement that nobody else has the right to tell you what you can best contribute to the world, and it’s based on a certain faith — that people want to contribute something to the world, most people do. I’m sure there are a few people who would be parasites, but most people actually want to do something; they want to feel that they have contributed something to the society around them.” Continue reading “Anthro in the news 4/28/14” →

DC event: Revolution and art in the Kyrgyz Republic

Sally Cummings, St. Andrews University
When: Thursday, May 1, 2014, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Voesar Conference Room, Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Suite 412

Professor Sally Nikoline Cummings teaches in the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews. Her more recent publications include Understanding Central Asia (2012), Sovereignty after Empire: Comparing the Middle East and Central Asia (co-ed, 2012) and Symbolism and Power in Central Asia: Politics of the Spectacular (ed. 2010). In late 2009 she commissioned two prominent Kyrgyz artists to develop over a three-year period twelve visual art exhibits that captured the emotions surrounding the 2005 transfer of power. The resulting exhibition, “(…) Ketsin!,” premiered in London in May 2013. Professor Cummings narrates here the story of this exhibition and what it tells us about political intention and art, the nature of the 2005 events and the artist in times of political upheaval.

To RSVP, click here.

DC event: Book forum on The Tyranny of Experts

Presented by the Cato Institute

Featuring the author William Easterly, Professor of Economics, New York University
When: Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 4 pm with reception to follow
Where: Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001

The technocratic approach to ending global poverty favored by development experts often strengthens authoritarian governments and neglects or undermines the preferences and personal choices of poor people.

William Easterly will explain why a different branch of economics emerged for poor countries and how it has served the interests of decisionmakers in powerful countries, political leaders in poor countries, and humanitarians in rich countries. Join us to hear Professor Easterly make a case in favor of liberty that has so far been disregarded by the experts: poverty can only be ended and development sustained by respecting the individual rights of the world’s poor.

To register to attend this event, click here and then submit the form on the page that opens, or email events@cato.org, fax (202) 371-0841, or call (202) 789-5229 by 4:00pm on Monday, May 5th, 2014.

If you can’t make it to the Cato Institute, watch this event live online at www.cato.org/live and follow @CatoEvents on Twitter to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.

DC event: Tribal knowledge meets Western scientific inquiry in the ecology of the Klamath-Siskiyou region

Collaborative methods to understand the history and ecology of the Klamath-Siskiyou Region-Incorporating Tribal Knowledge with Scientific Inquiry
By Dr. Frank K. Lake, research ecologist, USDA-Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
When: April 25, 2014, 4:30-5:30 pm
Where: Q?rius Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History Washington, DC

This lecture will explore relationships between people and their environment as viewed through scientific and American Indian cultural perspectives. Various methods are used to understand and describe the history and ecology of a region — from biological, anthropological and historical frameworks. Each approach includes innovative channels for collaboration between communities, tribes, organizations, agencies, and academics. Multi-disciplinary studies that investigate linkages between socio-cultural and ecological factors across different scales will be presented to understand the dynamics of history, culture and place.

Recovering Voices is hosting this public talk as part of its Cultural Planet lecture series.

Podcast series on careers from the National Association of Practicing Anthropologists

The National Association of Practicing Anthropologists announces a new resource for students, instructors, and new professionals: a pilot series of 8 podcast interviews exploring career trajectories with a diverse group of veteran practitioner anthropologists. These were recorded in 2013-2014 to discuss how practitioners got from grad school to career goals, and how they apply anthropology in their professions.

Mari H. Clark, Independent Consultant, World Bank, et al.
Patricia Ensworth, Principal, Harborlight Management Services
Adam Koons, Senior Vice President for Program Management, Relief International
C. Timothy McKeown, Legal Anthropologist (litigation support) U. S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians
Mary Odell Butler, Evaluation Program Manager (retired), Battelle
Ellen Puccia, President, Beta Research Associates
Laurie Schwede, Social Science Research Analyst, U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Survey Measurement
Stan Yoder, Senior Qualitative Research Specialist (retired), ICF International, Demographic and Health Survey Group.

The interviews last from 15 to 30 minutes and are free of charge. To hear or download the podcasts, go to the NAPA website. Be sure to give us your feedback as well; if this series is a success NAPA will explore other podcasts in the future.

The NAPA Podcast Series is coordinated and edited by Steven K. Wilson, and he is eager to hear from you! Go to the link provided in the previous paragraph.