anthropology in the news | antropologi.info

Socially conscious hip-hop is worldwide phenomenon

Published on March 13, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, migration, music, politics

Canadian Press

Somali-born rapper K’naan says hip-hop records helped him cope with his country’s civil war, his adolescence as a refugee and his life as an immigrant in North America. “It’s a whole new thing that is happening, even in villages in Africa,” said K’naan, whose music touches on everything from personal empowerment to life in Somalia.

Marc Perry, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois, says despite rap’s commercialization, socially conscious hip-hop is common among immigrants in the West and black populations in such countries as Brazil and South Africa. That’s not surprising given hip-hop’s history, Perry said at a recent symposium at Concordia University called Hip-Hop: Culture of Resistance. >> continue

Canadian Press

Somali-born rapper K'naan says hip-hop records helped him cope with his country's civil war, his adolescence as a refugee and his life as an immigrant in North America. "It's a whole new thing that is happening, even in villages…

In Egypt: Economy and perceptions of modernity change religious festival

Published on March 11, 2005 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology in the news, culture traditions, religion cosmology

Cairo Magazine

Moulids are multi-faceted festivals held in honor of holy people. The surrounding area is transformed into a festive space that, in the case of large moulids, may engulf an entire neighborhood. Anthropologist Farouk Ahmed Mostafa says, “Moulids have played a large role in invigorating the economic life of the society in which the saint is located.” Moulids also provide an opportunity for reestablishing social contacts with out-of-town friends, he explains.

Times are changing for Egypt’s moulids. Yet the reasons for change are more subtle and complex than the government’s dislike of street merchants or anxiety about crowds. While state policies certainly shape these temporary transformations of public space, shifting shades of religiosity, the economy and perceptions of modernity also contribute to the changing form and character of Egypt’s moulids. >> continue (link updated)

Cairo Magazine

Anthropology and Race – Discussions in the Classroom

Published on March 10, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, persons and theories, Us and Them

Interesting thoughts by Alex Golub incl. links to articles.

“I spend a lot of the class slowly unprying my student’s idea of race. “Why are so many african americans professional athletes?” becomes “Why are so many professional athletes african american?” (because there are millions of african americans and very very few professional athletes).

Then I try a thought experiment: if excellence in athletics is explained by genetic endowment, perhaps Australia’s dominance in Rugby League is due to the Australian Rugby gene? Obviously not, say my students, since Australians are white, and our weirdo American intuitions only like genetic explanations for non-white people.”

>> continue

Interesting thoughts by Alex Golub incl. links to articles.

"I spend a lot of the class slowly unprying my student’s idea of race. “Why are so many african americans professional athletes?” becomes “Why are so many professional athletes african american?” (because…

AAAs Anthropology News March: Tsunami, Unemployment, Muslims in Thailand

Published on March 8, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, culture traditions, fieldwork / methods, journal articles / papers

Here are three more articles from the Anthropology News March 2005 by the American Anthropological Association:

Vishvajit Pandya: “When Land Became Water”. Tsunami and the Ongees of Little Andaman Island
I had a chance to visit the Ongees in the last weeks of January to find out how my old friends explained the tsunami and what they planned for their future. >> continue

Carrie Lane Chet: Work and Unemployment in the Global Labor Market
Since the fall of 2001, I had been conducting ethnographic fieldwork among unemployed high-technology workers in and around Dallas, Texas. >> continue

Raymond Scupin: Polarized Cultural Stereotypes Contribute to New Violence
The Thai government’s insensitivity toward the people and cultures of South Thailand is undoubtedly one factor contributing to the new violence in this region. >> continue

Here are three more articles from the Anthropology News March 2005 by the American Anthropological Association:

Vishvajit Pandya: "When Land Became Water". Tsunami and the Ongees of Little Andaman Island
I had a chance to visit the Ongees in the last weeks…

First Swahili PC office suite released in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Published on March 8, 2005 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology in the news, language, technology

Wikinews

The office suite was translated from the English version of OpenOffice.org, an open source suite based on Sun Microsystems’ StarOffice. This is the first ever release of a word processor in Swahili. The translation effort required translating 18,000 English strings, made up of one or more words, many of which have previously had no direct Swahili equivalent. As part of the translation, the team developed a glossary of 1500 technical words in Swahili. >> continue

Wikinews

The office suite was translated from the English version of OpenOffice.org, an open source suite based on Sun Microsystems' StarOffice. This is the first ever release of a word processor in Swahili. The translation effort required translating 18,000 English strings,…