anthropology in the news | antropologi.info

“More compelling than Clifford Geertz’ The Religion of Java”

Published on October 18, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, books, religion cosmology

Danny Yee reviews Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account by Andrew Beatty and finds this book “in many ways more compelling” than Clifford Geertz’ The Religion of Java. Beattys book is based on fieldwork carried out in an Osing village near Banyuwangi, in East Java. “Even those without a specific interest in Java may find in Varieties of Javanese Religion a novel perspective on religious pluralism and the coexistence of diverse forms of religion”, Danny Yee writes

Danny Yee reviews Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account by Andrew Beatty and finds this book "in many ways more compelling" than Clifford Geertz' The Religion of Java. Beattys book is based on fieldwork carried out in an Osing…

Some new ethnographies (Book reviews)

Published on October 17, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, Asia, books, Caribbean, gender, Northern America, persons and theories, religion cosmology

The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology has published several new book reviews on its website:

Marc Augé: Oblivion
The French anthropologist breaks new ground introducing the theme of Oblivion (Les formes de l’oubli) – a challenging reflection on memory and forgetting. Through rites, oblivion also structures the relationship between past, present, and future. >> whole review

Denise Brennan: What’s Love Got to Do With It? Transnational Desires and Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic
In this well-written and compelling ethnography, Denise Brennan examines the “sexscape” of Sosúa, a Dominican Republic beach town. As an ethnography of a tourist “sexscape”, the book makes its substantial contribution to studies of transnationalism >> whole review

Aisha Khan: Callaloo Nation: Metaphors of Race and Religious Identity among South Asians in Trinidad
We read some wonderfully complex family histories (pp. 78-83) showing that neighborhoods, families, and even households, are often comprised of Hindus, Muslims, and even various sorts of Christians, all “living good together.” This is hardy ethnography: finely grained descriptions of the quotidian analyzed with sophisticated theory. >> whole review

Richard Daly, Our Box was Full: An Ethnography for the Delgamuukw Plaintiffs
At the core of the issue is identity and pre-eminence in regards to First Nations self-governance and land. Also, the argument that Daly puts forth regarding the need for this ethnography and its effect in the Canadian courtroom situates the dilemma of being an anthropologist (i.e. someone on the other side) and serving as an “expert” witness for the plaintiffs. >> whole review

>> overview over all reviews

The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology has published several new book reviews on its website:

Marc Augé: Oblivion
The French anthropologist breaks new ground introducing the theme of Oblivion (Les formes de l’oubli) – a challenging reflection on memory and forgetting.…

Ideas Bazaar about to shut down

Published on October 17, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology

Just a quick note. The Ethnographic consultancy Ideas Bazaar located in London, ~~shuts down~~ is ‘gracefully winding down’ as Simon Roberts puts it. In his most recent blog post, he shares some final personal thoughts about running a business on your own, without a business plan. Roberts is off to Intel Ireland to ‘run’ a European outpost of an ethnographic research unit called People’s Health Practices, he writes. His blog will soon return with a new look. >> read his whole post

SEE ALSO
Earlier posts on Ideas Bazaar

Just a quick note. The Ethnographic consultancy Ideas Bazaar located in London, shuts down is 'gracefully winding down' as Simon Roberts puts it. In his most recent blog post, he shares some final personal thoughts about running a business on…

Mining and tourism more important: Bushmen forcibly removed from Central Kalahari

Published on October 17, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, indigenous people / minorities, San-bushmen, tourism

(via Savage Minds) All but a few of the Bushmen living in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve have been forcibly removed from their homes in recent days in what spokesmen for the affected communities said is a final push by the government to end human habitation there after tens of thousands of years, according to Washington Post. Their increasingly sedentary lifestyle — which includes keeping domestic animals and using motorized vehicles — makes them incompatible with a park for wild animals, Goverment officials say. The Kalahari reserve is a major tourist attraction for the southern African nation of 1.6 million.

>> read the whole story

In a follow-up article in the Washington Post, we read;

According to Molapo’s chief, Molathwe Mokalaka, officials told the villagers that if they stayed, “you will eat the soil. Nothing else but the soil.” Villagers here said they never would have left Molapo if not for the guns and threats of police and wildlife officers. Some critics also contend that the government’s motive in removing the Bushmen is to gain easier access to deposits of diamonds located in the game reserve.

(…)

Molapo is now just a ghost town of empty huts made of sticks and grass. It was one of the last traditional communities of the hunter-gatherers who once roamed most of southern Africa.

>> read the whole story

Forcibly resettled by a Botswanan government eager to clear the way for diamond mining, the Bushmen are battling to regain their ancestral homeland (Mother Jones)

news archive San-bushmen

(via Savage Minds) All but a few of the Bushmen living in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve have been forcibly removed from their homes in recent days in what spokesmen for the affected communities said is a final push by…

Katrina disaster has roots in 1700s / Earthquake disaster in South Asia man-made

Published on October 16, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, culture traditions, development empowerment, ecology nature, Northern America

As noted before, disasters have their cultural aspects: Disasters are embedded in cultural practices of societies. “Disasters do not just happen.”

Anthropologist Anthony Oliver-Smith says in an interview about the earthquake in South Asia:

People often believe that nearly all environmental disasters are natural disasters when in fact many are the result of human actions, such as unsustainable use of natural resources. Even in the case of the recent earthquake in Pakistan, the majority of the deaths and displaced people can be attributed to the failure of building structures and their location.

A recent expert panel at Louisiana State University stated that the Katrina disaster actually has roots in 1700 when the French settlers started building levees in an attempt to stop flooding from the Mississippi River. Hurricane Katrina’s effects are the consequences of natural forces combined with the way people have engineered the landscape as far back as the early 1700s:

“It was not just a meteorological event, it was a social event as well,” said Craig Colten, professor of geography at LSU.

John Pine, interim chair of LSU’s department of geography and anthropology, said rebuilding will need to include recognizing how people have changed the landscape around New Orleans and how that could affect flooding and storm damage in the future. In doing that, he said, it’s important to include the unique culture and heritage of neighborhoods instead of imposing outside ideas on people.

Helen Regis, associate professor of anthropology, agreed.

“The people who live in New Orleans are the main experts on how to rebuild,” Regis said.

>> read more in The Advocate (Louisiana) (copy of article)

“Disasters do not just happen” – The Anthropology of Disaster (2)

New website: Understanding Katrina: Perspectives from the Social Sciences

Globalvoices: South Asian earthquake blogging highlights

South Asia Quake Help Blog

As noted before, disasters have their cultural aspects: Disasters are embedded in cultural practices of societies. "Disasters do not just happen."

Anthropologist Anthony Oliver-Smith says in an interview about the earthquake in South Asia:

People often believe that nearly all environmental…