• They say that breast is best

ABC’s Yahoo News, among other media , carried reports about cultural anthropologist Adrienne Pine, single mother and professor at American University in Washington, DC, who sparked controversy after breastfeeding her toddler in class. She says that she wasn’t trying to start a revolution, but was trying to manage an untenable situation of lecturing on the first day of class and having a feverish toddler who could not go to daycare. “It wasn’t the ideal option but the fact is there were no ideal options and it was the best of the options available to me,” Pine said.

• Hello baby, goodbye libido

Medical practitioners attending the annual meeting of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynacologists in Canberra learned that they should be aware of the sexual health of new parents. Sexual anthropologist Bella Ellwood-Clayton, who spoke at the conference, said it could take years for couples to resume their normal sex lives: “Rather than setting the bar for six weeks, I think it’s more likely to set at six years.”

• Moving back to the village in Spain

The current economic crisis is sending Spaniards from cities to villages where the cost of living is lower. An article in The New York Times quotes Carles Feixa, professor of social anthropology at the University of Lleida in Catalonia: ”Rurbanismo started before the crisis, once the Internet took off and made it possible to work anywhere…but what the crisis is doing is making the model more attractive.”

• Resetting dress from Manhattan to Gurgaon

The New York Times carried an article profiling a New York professional woman who returned to India and faced a challenge that her male counterparts do not: wardrobe. As an investment banker in New York City, Poornima Vardhan had all the right clothes: power suits, cocktail dresses and jeans. But no saris. In India, it’s goodby to cocktail dresses. Even in upscale, westernized Gurgaon, saris still reign. The article quotes Mukulika Banerjee, professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and co-author of a book titled The Sari: ”A complete no-no in Indian modesty is to show legs…cleavage is fine but not legs.”
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 09/17/12” →

• Chinese exceptionalism

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s insistence on a democratic approach to controversies involving China has brought out similarly insistent statements from defenders of the “Chinese way.” They point to flaws of democracy while touting China’s special Confucian values. This is dangerous thinking, according to op-ed contributor to the Christian Science Monitor, Kevin Carrico. He writes: “The notion of Chinese characteristics portrays the people of China as so unique, on account of their longstanding cultural traditions, as to be immune to the political and cultural change that has swept the world in recent decades.” Carrico is a Ph.D. candidate in sociocultural anthropology at Cornell University, researching neo-traditionalism, nationalism, and ethnic relations in contemporary China.

• Women’s second class citizenship extolled in Egypt

An article on an apparent rising tide of attitudes in Egypt that women should be good wives and mothers but not leaders or rulers quotes Hania Sholkamy, an anthropologist and an associate professor at the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo: ”The woman is the symbol of a moral platform through which easy gains can be made…Those who deprive women of their rights, limit their freedom or place them in a subordinate position believe that the political cost of doing so is very low.”

• Mines vs. people in Oz

A cultural heritage specialist and archaeologist has claims that a mining company’s environmental impact statement is not based on proper consultation with Cape York Aboriginal groups on a proposed sand mine. An article in the Courier Mail quotes Mick Morrison, a Flinders University archaeologist.

• Lapdancing is not the Bolshoi?

In a tax case in New York City, New York State’s Court of Appeals considered whether lap dancing constitutes a form of art. A lawyer representing Nite Moves, a strip club in Latham, New York, asked the judges to rule that the club was exempt from paying $124,921.94 in sales taxes on its door admission fees because it offered artistic, choreographed performances, invoking a provision that exempts Broadway shows and ballet performances from taxes on admission fees. An un-named cultural anthropologist who is an expert on exotic dance was cited as saying that lap dancing is an art form. A ruling is expected next month.  Judge Pigott, who appears to disagree with the anthropologist’s views, commented, “We need to get past the idea that somehow this is the Bolshoi.”
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 09/10/12” →

• Retributional hair cutting and Amish trials in Ohio

The New Zealand Herald, along with several other mainstream media, covered the ongoing trial involving a breakaway Amish group accused of settling a score by carrying out hair-cutting attacks against members of their faith moved into the hills of eastern Ohio two decades ago after a dispute over religious differences. It quoted David McConnell, an anthropology professor at Wooster College who noted that a dozen Amish groups live in Ohio’s Holmes County which is , home to one of America’s largest Amish settlements.

• Is corporate social responsibility an oxymoron in China?

Andrew Hao, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California- Berkeley, published an essay in The Huffington Post highlighting negative social and environmental impacts of industrialization and economic growth in China. He argues that these matters are increasingly represented as ethical failures specific to China’s position in a global moral economy.

• First Nation’s protests in northern Canada

According to an article in the Montreal Gazette, chiefs in three impoverished Atikamekw communities gave the Quebec provincial government an ultimatum to resolve a 33-year-old land dispute or face blockades on logging roads across the Haute Mauricie region. Negotiations have stalled, and the deadline has expired. Grand chiefs in the Aboriginal towns want a bigger stake in the management of natural resources on their reserves as well as a “James Bay Cree” style agreement with the provincial government. Marie-Pierre Bousquet, a Université de Montréal anthropology professor is quoted as saying, “There’s really no excuse for the deafening silence our politicians have shown this issue. It would seem the Atikamekw in particular are truly an invisible people.” The Atikamekw villages lie in the heart of Quebec’s massive Boreal Forest, where the faltering logging industry is the only major employer. It is estimated that the unemployment rate among the northern communities is as high as 50 per cent. Despite all three mainstream political parties planning major mining and natural resource exploitation projects in northern Quebec, none have made consulting with Aboriginal leaders a priority.
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 09/03/12” →

• Class conflict in Spain
An article in the New York Times describes class conflicts in a time of austerity and joblessness and demonstrations in rural areas that echo the civil war years. José Luis Solana, a professor of social anthropology at the University of Jaén, was quoted as saying that even if some of the claims made by the farm unions were questionable or exaggerated, ”an agrarian reform and proper land distribution in Andalusia is one of the missing elements of our transition to democracy” – both in terms of social justice and improved economic efficiency.

• Lessons from the Hadza
Herman Portzer contributed an op-ed to the Sunday New York Times in which he reports on findings from a study of their everyday energy expenditure. Results suggest that Hadza energy expenditures are not markedly different from those of people who live in modern, sedentary contexts, pointing more toward diet as the cause of obesity in many developed, Western populations. Portzer is an assistant professor of anthropology at Hunter College and co-founder of the Hadza Fund which supports the Hadza people of East Africa.

• Low-end globalization
The South China Morning Post carried an article about China-Africa trade ties, noting that Hong Kong will play an important role in the emerging relationships. The article focused, however, on the cultural gap between Chinese and African people and the lack of attention to interpersonal relationships between Chinese and African people. It mentioned the work of Gordon Mathews, an anthropology professor at Chinese University and author of Ghetto at the Centre of the World, a book on Chungking. Mathews, who coined the term “low-end globalization,” estimates that at least 20 per cent of the mobile phones sold in Africa have passed through Chungking.

• Healthcare tourism south of the border
Matthew Dalstrom published an article in the Huffington Post on health care tourism from the United States to Mexico. Dahlstrom, assistant professor of anthropology at Rockford College, points out that, in the United States, rising health care costs, decreasing insurance coverage, and the great recession have made it increasingly difficult to afford health care, especially for elderly retirees. Dahlstrom is researching the growing number of U.S. retirees who travel to Mexico for health care. One of the most popular locations is Nuevo Progreso, in northeast Mexico. Nuevo Progreso has bars, restaurants, and stores selling tourist items as well as over 70 dental clinics, 60 pharmacies, and 10 doctors’ offices that advertize low prices, high quality health care, and English-speaking employees.

• Forensic anthropology of migration attempt failed
Argentinian forensic experts have traveled to southern Mexico to exhume 96 bodies thought to be those of Central Americans who died as they tried to get to the United States. Six experts from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) are working with local and federal authorities in the cities of Tapachula and Ciudad Hidalgo in the state of Chiapas.
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 08/27/12” →

• Complexities of the conflict in Mali

AllAfrica’s coverage of a large peace rally in Bamako, Mali, included commentary from Kassim Koné, a social anthropologist. In his view, the demonstration is proof that Malians see the current crisis as a political rather than a military problem: “Political groups in the south are all positioning themselves, and are doing what they can to hang on to power. And they all want to have a major say in the government…” He added that the fact that the rally occurred during Ramadan “…is very significant. It means it [the crisis in the north] is both religious and political.”

• Take that anthro degree and…

…become a successful organic farmer. The Toronto Star ran a story about the rise of young, educated women in farming in rural Ontario. One of the farmers mentioned is Leslie Moskovits who earned a degree in anthropology and environmental studies at the University of Toronto. After doing an internship on a farm as part of her studies, she was inspired to take a different career path from working in an NGO. She is now the  owner of a 38-hectare pesticide-free vegetable farm and feels she’s saving the earth from the ground up. Moskovits said farming is empowering for women:  as a farmer, you can be your own boss and make creative decisions.

• Street views of Maya ruins

Google is adding interactive images of dozens of pre-Hispanic ruins to the “Street View” feature on its Google Maps website. Google Mexico and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced that 30 sites have been added to Street View. Dozens more will be coming online this year with the eventual goal being 90 sites. The feature allows users to click on map locations to obtain 360-degree, interactive images composed of millions of photos taken at street level by specially equipped vehicles. Sites online include Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan and Monte Alban.

• Very old tomb in Oaxaca

The tomb of a high-ranking member of Zapotec society was found at a 1,200-year-old funerary complex in Mexico’s  southern state of Oaxaca, according to the National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH).

The burial chamber contains human remains that are likely those of a male, according to INAH archaeology coordinator Nelly Robles Garcia. She further explained that the site of Atzompa, a small satellite city of Monte Alban, “…changes the perception we had in the sense that it was not as similar to Monte Alban as had been thought but, instead, developed its own architectural expressions.

• Very old seal showing man-lion combat

Tel Aviv University researchers recently uncovered a seal, measuring 15 millimeters (about a half-inch) in diameter, which depicts a human figure next to a lion. The seal was found at the site of Beth Shemesh, located between the Biblical cities of Zorah and Eshtaol, where Samson lived, according to the book of Judges. The scene engraved on the seal, the time period, and the location of the discovery all point to a probable reference to the story of Samson, whose adventures included a victory in combat with a lion
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 08/20/12” →

• It’s religion, stupid

What we don’t understand about religion just might kill us says cultural anthropologist Scott Atran in an article in Foreign Policy:   “In an age where religious and sacred causes areresurgent, there is urgent need for scientific effort to understand them. Now that humankind has acquired through science the power to destroy itself with nuclear weapons, we cannot afford to let science ignore religion and the sacred, or let scientists simply try to reason them away. Policymakers should leverage scientific understanding of what makes religion so potent a force for both cooperation and conflict, to help increase the one and lessen the other.” Atran holds appointments at France’s National Center for Scientific Research, the University of Michigan, John Jay College, and ARTIS Research. He is author of two books, Talking to the Enemy and In Gods We Trust.

• Listen to the farmers

In an opinion piece in the Christian Science Monitor,  Daniel Bornstein, a junior at Dartmouth College majoring in anthropology and environmental studies, argues for investments in traditional food crops so that farmers in sub-Saharan Africa will benefit from advances in agricultural productivity. He says that so-called orphan crops  – sweet potato, cassava, and millet – will be crucial for strengthening the poorest farmers’  livelihoods and improving nutrition.  Bornstein has visited smallholder farmers in Kenya and learned from them that, decades ago their families grew a diverse array of crops valuable for local nutrition.  Now they focus on maize production because of its promising market opportunities.  They now see the problems from neglecting traditional crops. Bornstein, and others support giving farmers a voice in conveying their traditional knowledge though, for example,  the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and a recent citizens “jury” in Mail convened by the International Institute for Environment and Development.  Bornstein has been in Kenya researching farming  as an intern with the World Agroforestry Center, which is part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

• To praise or not to praise

Cultural anthropologist Elisa Sobo published an article in The Huffington Post that is based on her ongoing research of Waldorf education in the United States, specifically pre-K through grade 3. She discusses the nuances and implications of a practice of not specifically praising children’s accomplishments in the Waldorf system. Sobo is a professor of anthropology at San Diego State University and author of the forthcoming book, Dynamics of Human Biocultural Diversity: A Unified Approach and two earlier books.

• India’s coastal fishing in danger

The livelihood of India’s traditional coastal fishermen is endangered, said Dr. P. Vijay Prakash, former head of the Department of Anthropology at Andhra University. At a seminar in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, he argued that the fishing community is being encroached upon by government-initiated projects under the public-private partnership such as Pharma city, by the sea itself which is creeping into their settlements, and by the dramatic recent reduction in fish species due to industrial pollution. Prakash and his team have carried out field  research in 190 villages on behalf of National Maritime Foundation-Visakhapatnam Regional Chapter and sponsored by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
Continue reading “Anthro in the news 08/13/12” →