Many people I meet, even people I talk to on a regular basis, do not have background knowledge of anthropology, and I think that is fairly typical. Anthropology isn’t taught in the American public school system and most people have only had a limited introduction to one of Anthropology’s subfields. Archeology or Forensic Anthropology areContinue reading “The Anthropologist’s Disclaimer”
Category Archives: Anthropology of Here and Now
What Anthropologists Do
The strength of anthropology is that we are always learning, gathering data isn’t something we do in a lab or even something we can easily shut off. We learn through immersion, living in the same cultural context as the people we are studying. We call it participant-observation occasionally even deep hanging out in an attempt to overContinue reading “What Anthropologists Do”
Performance Enhancing Drugs – College Edition
“Passing with Pills: Redefining Performance in the Pharmaceuticalized University” is a very thoughtful and thought provoking ethnographic look in the mirror. Tazin Karim of Michigan State University did an excellent job applying a critical, medical anthropological lens to academia and the pressures of the rite of passage in America referred to as college. When discussing the exportation/globalization ofContinue reading “Performance Enhancing Drugs – College Edition”
Gunman Suicide – A Social Illness
The media storm following the Newton school shooting has left our nation with heavy hearts and that unanswerable question “but why…?” The shooting occurred the day left Dallas heading home for Arkansas to spend my Christmas break with my family. These incidents which have become all too frequent always leave me initially dumbfounded, but asContinue reading “Gunman Suicide – A Social Illness”
Freedom of Speech 2.0 #freeandopen
Google calls Internet users to Take Action “it is ours and it is free a free and open world depends on a free and open web and a free and open web depends on me” (Google’s Internet Poem) A free and open internet is essential to democracy in the 21st century just as freedom ofContinue reading “Freedom of Speech 2.0 #freeandopen”
Politics and Wikipedia
Wikipedia is currently in fundraiser mode. It reminds of the PBS phone-a-thons of my childhood. But it also reminds me of an interesting component people frequently neglect when discussing social programs and taxes in relation to institutions seen as a “public good.” In the debate over who does a better job of address the needsContinue reading “Politics and Wikipedia”
Happy Thanksgiving Part 1
I have so much to be thankful for a sweet and loving family, my fiance and future in-laws included, and dear friends. I am thankful I’m in a great graduate program and almost done with coursework, at least from the perspective of Arkansas and Texas it looks like the economy is mostly recovering just inContinue reading “Happy Thanksgiving Part 1”
Nationalism, Communitas, and Spiderman…
Considering I was in Ireland for the 4th of July, I decided to get a little imaginative in the way I celebrated America’s Independence Day. Greg and I went out to eat, I got a milk shake and we watched the late showing of the new Spiderman movie in 3D. (The 3D is totally worth it onContinue reading “Nationalism, Communitas, and Spiderman…”
Home is Where the Heart is…
Listening to “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros I was inspired to make the following realization: The culturally prevalent concept “Home is Where the Heart is” which is found throughout American music and literature actually makes neolocality possible. By valuing the notion that our sense of home is tied to those we love rather than a senseContinue reading “Home is Where the Heart is…”
OpenSource-Capitalism
While it is frequently difficult to identify paradigm shifts as they are happening, I believe I stumbled upon one tonight. My boyfriend, Greg Wright, was telling me about this fascinating new project he discovered that will allow people to interact and play RPGs online in the dynamic new way in a world that is ultimatelyContinue reading “OpenSource-Capitalism”
Sydney Yeager 