youth | antropologi.info

Ethnographic lecture confronts female gang myths

Published on February 21, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, books, fieldwork / methods, gender, Northern America, youth

The Lantern, Ohio State University

In a presentation titled “The Politics of Representation,” ethnographer Marie “Keta” Miranda addressed the general misrepresentation of gang members, but focused largely on women. She discussed the knowledge she gained through her ethnographic collaboration with Chicana youths in Oakland, Calif., published in the 2003 book “Homegirls in the Public Sphere”.

It is important to recognize that women in gangs do have agency and they do make significant decisions. She said the gangs she studied in northern California were unique because they consisted entirely of young women. Miranda stressed the need for people in power to change their approach in order to provide more understanding of subculture groups. >> continue

SEE ALSO:
Homegirls in the Public Sphere – Reviewed by Ramona Lee Pérez, New York University (Association of Feminist Anthropology)

The Lantern, Ohio State University

In a presentation titled "The Politics of Representation," ethnographer Marie "Keta" Miranda addressed the general misrepresentation of gang members, but focused largely on women. She discussed the knowledge she gained through her ethnographic collaboration with Chicana…

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…

“Pop culture is a powerful tool to promote national integration”

Published on January 24, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, media, music, Us and Them, youth

RedNova News

WHEN reality television show Malaysian Idol came under attack last year, Dr Wan Zawawi Ibrahim, a professor of social anthropology, was one of the few academics who came to its defence. He is optimistic of pop culture’s positive effect on national integration and the creation of new identities among the young.

“Malaysian Idol is an example of pop culture which has created social spaces for youngsters of different ethnic groups to come together,” says the 57-year old researcher. The notion of pop culture as a social binding tool is not new. It has proliferated in local films, music or theatre years before the Idol series was even conceptualised.

Wan Zawawi also wants more social spaces for youths to come together. “Malaysian Idol, the National Service programme, cybercafes and even designer coffee outlets like Starbucks and Coffee Bean are social spaces for youths of various ethnicities to interact with each other,” he adds. >> les mer

RedNova News

Shanghai: Study says 1 in 4 youths thinks about taking own life

Published on December 7, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, youth

Christian Science Monitor

A recent study revealed that one-quarter of the children (ages 8 to 15) in China’s wealthiest city have considered taking their own lives. Perhaps more surprising is that the results were made public. Long a taboo topic in China, suicide is becoming part of public discussion.

“In the area of the examination system, there is tremendous pressure on kids today, especially urban kids,” says Arthur Kleinman, chairman of Harvard University’s anthropology department, who has studied social trends in China for three decades. >> continue

Arthur Kleinman: Ethics and Experience – an Anthropological Approach to Health Equity (Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Working Paper Series Number 99.04)

About Arthur Kleinman’s research (Harvard University)

Christian Science Monitor

A recent study revealed that one-quarter of the children (ages 8 to 15) in China's wealthiest city have considered taking their own lives. Perhaps more surprising is that the results were made public. Long a taboo topic in…

Universal children’s sign language gives new insights into how languages evolve

Published on September 20, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, language, persons and theories, youth

BBC

A new sign language created over the last 30 years by deaf children in Nicaragua has given experts a unique insight into how languages evolve. The language follows many basic rules common to all tongues, even though the children were not taught them.

It indicates some language traits are not passed on by culture, but instead arise due to the innate way human beings process language, experts claim.

The development of language has long been the focus of debate. Some people in the extreme “nature” camp believe that grammar is essentially hard-wired in the brain, while those in the extreme “nurture” camp think language has no innate basis and is just culturally transmitted. >> continue

(via Sybille Ambers Blog)

BBC