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American scholars alarmed by controversial education bill

Published on September 1, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, politics, University / Academia

National Catholic Reporter

American scholars are alarmed by a controversial education bill that would increase government monitoring of federally funded programs in international studies at colleges and universities.

Backers of the bill say it will help restore balance to Middle East studies programs, which they say are overly critical of Israel and of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Opponents say the bill could lead to intrusive investigations of faculty and will undermine the credibility of American scholarship.

The proposed board would have the authority “to study, monitor, apprise and evaluate a sample of activities” to ensure that programs represent “diverse perspectives.”

Although the legislation was born out of the polarized debate about Middle East studies, it will apply to a variety of other academic programs related to international studies, including the study and research of modern languages, area studies and anthropology. >> continue

National Catholic Reporter

American scholars are alarmed by a controversial education bill that would increase government monitoring of federally funded programs in international studies at colleges and universities.

Backers of the bill say it will help restore balance to Middle East studies…

1500 Delegates expected at World Congress on Human Movements and Immigration

Published on August 31, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, migration

Forum Barcelona 2004

The World Congress on Human Movements and Immigration from September 2 to 5 will bring together some 1,500 delegates from all over the world to assess the effects of migration flows and think of new ways to address these issues in a global and efficient way.

The dialogue, which will begin on Wednesday, is divided into three main topics: transformation (understood as he impact of the knowledge and information society on migration flows); cultural diversity (with specific attention to the new relations established between different communities, identities, territories and cultures); and justice (given the social and economic contrasts and the different levels of access to goods resulting from migration flows). >> continue

Forum Barcelona 2004

Papuan anthropologist wins award for study on gender issues

Published on August 30, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, gender

The Jakarta Post

A Papuan anthropologist, Marlina Flassy, has been declared the winner of the Peniti Emas community research award, capping a series of science and technology achievements by people in the remote province.

Marlina’s research conducted in 2001, found changes to the value systems of the patriarchal Papuan communities, which had begun to provide women with access to education to improve their prospects for marriage.

“In the past, when a man proposed to a woman, he gave the woman only a package of kain timur (eastern cloth) as a bride price. But now, the higher the educational background the bride has, the higher she will be priced, sometimes amounting up to Rp 50 million (US$5,500),” the lecturer of the state Cendrawasih University in Jayapura said. (no longer available online)

The Jakarta Post

Marlina's research conducted in 2001, found changes to…

Missionaries focus their efforts on the most remote indigenous groups on earth

Published on August 29, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, indigenous people / minorities, Latin- and Central America, religion cosmology

RICHARD N. OSTLING, The Associated Press

The Missions Institute of New Tribes Mission specializes in evangelism among the 3,000 indigenous groups in the world’s remotest tracts, places that remain isolated from the outside world and thus untouched by Christianity. Most operations are in Latin America, Southeast Asia and West Africa. New Tribes, based in Sanford, Fla., has assembled one of the largest missionary forces in the world: 3,200 workers in 17 nations, two-thirds of them Americans.

Teams of five or six missionaries leave the modern world and its conveniences behind to spend years living among tribespeople, learning their language and culture in order to translate the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into tribal languages, most of which have never before been reduced to writing. The workers then teach reading and writing, and establish churches to be run by tribal converts.

Survival International, the London-based tribal rights champion, and many academic anthropologists criticize incursions by missionaries. But Greg Sanford, the sophisticated but plainspoken director, vigorously defends New Tribes practices. He insists that the missionaries help preserve tribal cultures rather than undermining them, and are humanitarians who provide literacy, basic medical treatment and other helpful knowledge. >> continue

RICHARD N. OSTLING, The Associated Press

Multimedia website on American Indians lives in the 1830s

Published on August 26, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, indigenous people / minorities, Native American, websites

Christian Science Monitor

In the 1830s, native Americans from the eastern half of the United States were being “relocated” to the West, while those already in the West were having their last experience with living in a land that was actually under their own control. At the same time, George Catlin, an ex-lawyer from Philadelphia decided to “gain fame” by recording Indian lives and cultures before they were permanently altered by European influences.

Campfire Stories with George Catlin offers both historical and contemporary perspectives on the meetings and conflicts between native and European worlds.

Online for about two years, this multi-award winning site from the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum uses a Flash interface to showcase its collection of Catlin’s paintings. The paintings are presented with historical documents as well as commentary from modern experts on art, culture and anthropology. >> continue

Christian Science Monitor

In the 1830s, native Americans from the eastern half of the United States were being "relocated" to the West, while those already in the West were having their last experience with living in a land that was actually…