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Anthropology in a Time of Crisis. A Note from Nepal

Published on May 6, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, Asia, politics

Sara Shneiderman, PhD candidate in anthropology at Cornell University, Anthropology News May 2005

Although Nepal’s “regional ethnography traditions” have long focused on classic themes like religion and culture, recent years have seen anthropologists of Nepal expanding their study to deal with history, politics and the nation-state. With our access to information from trusted Nepali informants and colleagues all over the country, as well as detailed local knowledge, experienced anthropologists have something unique to contribute in this time of crisis.

Anthropological analyses of issues like conflict, state terror, trauma and political action are more necessary than ever. It is our responsibility as scholars, both Nepali and foreign, to continue contributing our skills to understanding the conflict, working for peace and rebuilding Nepali society. >> continue

Sara Shneiderman has published several articles on her research in Nepal in fulltext on her homepage at Cornell University

Sara Shneiderman, PhD candidate in anthropology at Cornell University, Anthropology News May 2005

Donna Goldstein has been named winner of the 2005 Margaret Mead Award

Published on April 17, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, gender

Denver Post

University of Colorado anthropologist Donna Goldstein has been named winner of the 2005 Margaret Mead Award, given every other year to a young anthropologist in recognition of excellent research. The American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology recognized Goldstein for her 2003 book, “Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence and Sexuality in a Rio Shantytown.”

Goldstein originally visited the shantytown to study an AIDS epidemic among women there, she said in a statement. But she ended up writing about how the women use storytelling and black humor to deal with their sometimes tragic lives. (article no longer online) / >> more info on the website of Society for Applied Anthropology (they might have mistaken 2004 and 2005?

Denver Post

The emerging field of commercial ethnography

Published on March 23, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology

SFweekly

Since October 2004 Jesse Kipp has been working at a top San Francisco advertising firm, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where he operates simultaneously as an anthropologist, a market research assistant, and a documentarian. Kipp is the company’s answer to a burgeoning industrywide research movement called “commercial ethnography.”

The documentaries themselves are highly stylized romps into the inner lives of target audience members — everyone from football fans bitching about a cable outage during the big game to the unguarded talk of Lisa and Amanda, which will be used to inform a new advertising campaign for Britney Spears’ perfume, Curious. In the end, the agency uses the films both to woo new clients and to better understand and craft ad messages. >> continue

SFweekly

Anthropologists wonder about iPod-culture

Published on January 31, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, culture traditions, internet, music, technology

Detroit News

Portable music players create their own culture. iPod users, who also call themselves “iPeople,” say they can’t get enough of the music downloaded from computer hard drives, the Internet and CD collections. Cultural anthropologists and techno experts wonder what the impact of their actions will be. At this point, experts are still grappling for answers. >> continue (updated link, original no longer available)

SEE ALSO:
iPod Nation? (The Tufts Daily, updated link)

Detroit News

Portable music players create their own culture. iPod users, who also call themselves "iPeople," say they can't get enough of the music downloaded from computer hard drives, the Internet and CD collections. Cultural anthropologists and techno experts wonder what…

Anthropologists on fieldwork for Microsoft in India

Published on January 12, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, Asia, corporate & business anthropology, culture traditions, design anthropology, technology

RedNova News / Seattle Post – Intelligencer

Microsoft Corp.’s research unit is turning to social scientists in a new effort to understand the long-term possibilities for computer technology in developing countries.

A Microsoft Research lab, to be inaugurated tomorrow in Bangalore, India, plans to employ anthropologists, ethnographers and others to observe and document the lives of people in India’s rural villages.

A primary aim of the new group is to help Microsoft understand the situation in rural villages before the company tries to create appropriate technologies for them – rather than first creating the technologies and then trying to find areas where they might apply. >> continue

SEE ALSO:
Microsoft hires five anthropologists (Inc Magazine, june 2004)
antropologi.info’s special on Corporate Anthropology

RedNova News / Seattle Post - Intelligencer

Microsoft Corp.'s research unit is turning to social scientists in a new effort to understand the long-term possibilities for computer technology in developing countries.

A Microsoft Research lab, to be inaugurated tomorrow in Bangalore, India,…