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India is not USA : The Scientific Gender Gap Should Be Understood Comparatively

Published on March 6, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, gender, journal articles / papers

Carol Mukhopadhyayis, professor of anthropology at San Jose State, Anthropology News March 2005(AAA)

Drawing upon ethnographic and questionnaire data from four urban areas in India, I took a comparative look at the scientific gender gap. My Indian expert consultants reject American notions of gendered brains, of mathematics as inherently “masculine” and cannot understand why American girls fear academic success or experience gender identity conflicts from excelling in mathematics.

Comparative research raises questions about the applicability of American theories to the scientific gender gap in the US. It suggests that these applications are mired in taken-for-granted American cultural models of gender and causality that prevent us from seeing alternative theories.

American expert models are virtually devoid of social context. Individuals appear to select activities, academic subjects, and occupations in a social void, in a world of infinite choices. >> continue (link updated)

Carol Mukhopadhyayis, professor of anthropology at San Jose State, Anthropology News March 2005(AAA)

Drawing upon ethnographic and questionnaire data from four urban areas in India, I took a comparative look at the scientific gender gap. My Indian expert consultants reject American…

Malaysian indigenous people seek land, cultural rights

Published on March 4, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, Asia, indigenous people / minorities

Yahoo Asia News / AP

Malaysia’s indigenous tribes are hoping that a planned revision of a colonial-era law will grant them ownership of forests that their ancestors inhabited for more than 10,000 years, activists said.

They say the centuries-old culture and lifestyle of peninsular Malaysia’s Orang Asli, or “Original People,” have been threatened by developments such as airports, dams and highways that force tribes to move out of their homes _ located in forests owned by the state _ into semi-urban settings.

“Our main concern is land,” said Juli Edo, an anthropology professor at Kuala Lumpur’s University Malaya who belongs to an Orang Asli tribe. “We want a legal backup for the right to own land,” he said Wednesday. >> continue

Yahoo Asia News / AP

Malaysia's indigenous tribes are hoping that a planned revision of a colonial-era law will grant them ownership of forests that their ancestors inhabited for more than 10,000 years, activists said.

They say the centuries-old culture and lifestyle…

CORRECTED: Muslims in Calcutta: Towards a middle-class & moderation

Published on February 28, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, religion cosmology, Us and Them

The Statesman, Calcutta

Slowly, a little warily maybe, Muslims of the city are making efforts to break out of the stereotypes and move out of ghettos. For a community mired in financial quicksand and plagued by poverty and lack of education, among other things, this is a tough task. And, systematic propaganda painting Indian Muslims as the Other in the psyche of the majority community makes the task even more difficult, felt Dr Mohammed Khalil Abbas Siddiqui, noted scholar and anthropologist.

“A push is required. Muslims are exploited as vote banks and then left high and dry. Also, the majority community has not made a serious effort to find out about Muslims or what their religion is all about,” said Mr Shafi, management and training consultant. Anybody listening? If not, start now. For, every seventh man in the city is a Muslim. >> continue

SEE ALSO:
Slowly But Surely, Calcutta’s Muslims Shine (IslamOnline, 2.3.05)

The Statesman, Calcutta

Dissertation in Anthropology put online before it will be published as a book

Published on February 22, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, Asia, language, Open Access Anthropology and Knowledge Sharing

Anthropologist P. Kerim Friedman (Temple University) published his dissertation on the web before it will be published as a book! “No need to wait for the book”, he writes. In an earlier post, Friedman encouraged anthropologists to use the Internet to share their knowledge and support the “Open Access” – philosophy.

About his dissertation he writes:

“This dissertation examines contemporary linguistic markets and language policy in Taiwan in terms of the historical processes of state formation, class alliances, and identity politics, drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of linguistic markets and Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony as well as the literature on nationalism and linguistic ideology.

Emphasis is placed on the historical processes underlying the construction of Taiwan’s linguistic markets as Taiwan’s linguistic nationalism emerged throughout history, focusing on the continuities and changes across Qing, Japanese, KMT and DPP rule.

>> continue

Anthropologist P. Kerim Friedman (Temple University) published his dissertation on the web before it will be published as a book! "No need to wait for the book", he writes. In an earlier post, Friedman encouraged anthropologists to use the Internet…

Pop goes Japanese culture

Published on February 6, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, culture traditions, globalisation, Us and Them, youth

San Francisco Chronicle

Five years into the millennium, Japan’s most visible export isn’t economic, but cultural. The jury’s still out on whether anime (Japanese animation), manga, toys, gadgets and fashion will sweep across middle America. “This stuff is getting globalized like never before,” says Anne Allison, chair of cultural anthropology at Duke University, whose examination of the subject, “Millennium Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination” (University of California Press) will be out in 2006.

“In the last decade, especially in the last five years, Japanese pop culture, particularly youth culture — anime, manga, Pokemon, kids cards — has circulated not just in the United States, but in Western Europe, East Asia and South America.” >> continue

SEE ALSO:
Interview with anthropologist Anne Allison about her research in Japan (Japan Review)
Book review: Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture (Japan Review) , see same book reviewed by H-Net Review

San Francisco Chronicle

Five years into the millennium, Japan's most visible export isn't economic, but cultural. The jury's still out on whether anime (Japanese animation), manga, toys, gadgets and fashion will sweep across middle America. "This stuff is getting globalized like…