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New blog: Sarapen. Online anthropology on Filipino bloggers

Published on July 8, 2006 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, cyberanthropology, fieldwork / methods, globalisation, internet, migration, Northern America, Us and Them, websites

(via Livejournal Anthropology Community) Jesse de Leon, Master’s student in Social Anthropology, has started blogging on his research on Filipino bloggers – a very interesting blog about migration, transnationalism, identity and internet research. In his second post he explains:

I’m what’s known as a 1.5 generation immigrant: someone who immigrated as a child old enough to remember the country they were born in. In my case, I immigrated to Canada from the Philippines when I was ten years old. I consider myself as having grown up in both countries. I know that if I had grown up entirely in the Philippines, I would be a different person than what I am today.

It’s therefore understandable that I’m interested in issues of migration, transnationalism, and identity. I’m particularly interested in what identity is like for other Filipinos who have migrated. Do they consider themselves as being completely Filipino? Or do they see themselves as being Canadians now (or American, or Australian, or so on)?

(…)

Now, this is all well and good, but lots of other people have examined these issues. What am I doing that’s new? Well, I’m investigating Filipino migration and identity, but I’m investigating them through blogs. Specifically, I’m looking at how Filipino bloggers talk about these issues. I’m also looking at how Filipino bloggers don’t talk about these issues.

>> visit Sarapen. Online anthropology on Filipino bloggers

His blog is hosted at edublogs.org – a free blog host that he recommends.

(via Livejournal Anthropology Community) Jesse de Leon, Master’s student in Social Anthropology, has started blogging on his research on Filipino bloggers - a very interesting blog about migration, transnationalism, identity and internet research. In his second post he explains:

I’m…

World Cup: Cultural representations and why patriotism is not healthy

Published on July 7, 2006 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, cosmopolitanism, Europe, sports, Us and Them

Kambiz Kamrani at anthropology.net has made a nice post about national fotballs: How do the different countries represent themselves? Sport is bringing the world closer together, in his opinion. His list of World Cup participants “shows us the color side of globalization in the form of socio-economic and cultural contributions of each country in the form of soccer balls” >> continue reading at anthropology.net

On the website Expatica, Editor-in-chief David Gordon Smith has written an interesting comment on the recent patriotism in Germany. As also noted critically by blogger Urmila Goel:

As also All of Germany is coloured in black-red-gold. Almost all. And all are very very happy. (…) I hardly find anybody who is so utterly disgusted by all this black-red-gold as I am. ‘Nations’ are based on exclusion. They are the basis for wars, not only with weapons. I do not like this structuring of the world, and I utterly dislike its national symbols. Especially the flags.

David Gordon Smith might be nearly as critical as Urmila Goel. As a migrant, he feels excluded (for some reason, he uses the term “expat” – but you should use it as a synonym for migrant):

It is a strange feeling to live here and be excluded from the collective hysteria: when newspaper editorials write about ‘us’ and ‘our team’, they are not talking about expats. For anyone who does not belong to, or identify with, mainstream Germany, ostentatious displays of patriotism can leave an uneasy feeling.(…) If anyone gets nervous at the sight of Germans waving flags, it is because Germany waged a terrible war within living memory.

He then goes on explaining why patriotism never can be healthy for a society:

Nationalism and war have always gone hand in hand, and probably patriotism is of most use to the nation state when it comes to armed conflict. Without feelings of intense patriotism, it would be hard for the nation state to get young men (and women) to die on its behalf. Patriotic emotions may not cause wars, but they make it easier for governments to wage wars–especially wars which can not be rationally justified. If it was not for patriotism, governments would have to be much more careful about engaging in military action.

But what sort of relationship should we have to our country of origin or residence?

I would argue that in the modern world the ideal relationship of an individual to a nation state (or supranational organisation) should be objective, critical and passionless. You might agree or disagree with certain things the state does, you might even be prepared to fight to defend it, but you do not feel the blind unquestioning loyalty that comes with patriotism. The fewer young men and women who are prepared to fight and die for an idea, whether that is a particular ideology or religion or the equally constructed notion of a nation state, the safer the world will be.

>> read the whole article at Expatica

I agree, but nevertheless I wonder: Are all flag waving people patriotic or nationalistic?

SEE ALSO:

German Politicians Hail New Patriotism

Cicilie Fagerlid: Will France be more tolerant and less discriminatory and racist due to its multicoloured team?

“Germans stick to the ethnic definition more than any other European nation”

World Cup Enthusiasm: “Need for a collective ritual, not nationalism”

Per Wirtén: Free the nation – cosmopolitanism now!

For an Anthropology of Cosmopolitanism

Interview with Benedict Anderson: “I like nationalism’s utopian elements”

Flags and identity: Strong feelings, mystical rituals and equivocal messages

Antropolog: "På børsen driver en med magi og ritualer"

Published on July 7, 2006 by lorenz Posted in Kultur tradisjon kunnskap, økonomi, religion kosmologi, sosialantropologi i Norge, Sverige og Danmark

(lenker oppdatert 3.8.2021) Vår økonomi er langt fra så rasjonell som mange tror. forskning.no skriver om antropologen Øyvind Eikrem som hevder at en driver med magi og ritualer på Børsen. Eikrem har tatt doktorgrad ved NTNU innenfor økonomisk antropologi.

Magiske handlinger tar sikte på å manipulere krefter utenfor ens egen kontroll for å frembringe et visst resultat. Selskapsanalyser, kvartals- og årsrapporter og kjøpsanbefalinger er eksempler på “rituelle handlinger av begrenset informasjonsverdi”. Også økonomer mener at aksjeanalyser er ubrukelige, men de er viktige som ritual. Framleggelsen av årsrapporter kan ifølge Elkrem sammenlignes med gudstjenesten på søndag”: Seansen er strengt regissert, er symbolsk i sitt vesen, og har regler for gjennomføring. En møter opp selvom innholdet er kjent fra før.

Eikrem karakteriserer dem som gir råd om aksjer, som “rituelle spesialister”. Som åndeformidlere i mindre industrialiserte samfunn omgir aksjeanalytikere og andre seg med en spesiell aura. Dette mystiske sløret er delvis basert på informasjon og kunnskap som (visstnok) ingen andre har, og delvis på sine evner til (tilsynelatende) å kunne forutsi selskapers børsutvikling. Men evnen til å kunne forutsi utviklingen er meget lav.

Heller ikke et tegn på “rasjonalitet” er språkbruken. Markedet blir ofte karakterisert med emosjonelle vendninger, som om markedet var en person av kjøtt og blod (“Markedet er nervøst” / “Børsen har i dag vært doven”).

Eikrem forklarer:

– Det antropologiske blikket tar ikke for gitt hva som styrer menneskers samhandling. Vi ser på praksisen. Hva som skjer på Teaterkafeen i Oslo eller andre møtesteder for finanseliten er like viktig som økonomisk teori for å forstå et finansmiljø.

>> les hele saken på forskning.no

>> last ned hele doktoravhandlingen: Det moderne økonomiske livs mystiske og magiske dimensjoner. Bidrag til en mer ambisiøs økonomisk antropologi

>> Wikipedia om Eikrem

SE OGSÅ:

Trosföreställningar snarare än kunskap styr vårt ekonomisk handlande

Klavs Sedlenieks: Latvian-Azande Parallel: Corruption as witchcraft for Latvia during the transition

Doktoravhandling: “Antropologer forstår forbruk og salg bedre enn markedsførere”

World Cup Witchcraft: European Teams Turn to Magic for Aid

(lenker oppdatert 3.8.2021) Vår økonomi er langt fra så rasjonell som mange tror. forskning.no skriver om antropologen Øyvind Eikrem som hevder at en driver med magi og ritualer på Børsen. Eikrem har tatt doktorgrad ved NTNU innenfor økonomisk antropologi.

Magiske…

Unni Wikan: “Dansk politi har forstått hva æresdrap handler om”

Published on July 7, 2006 by lorenz Posted in familie, innvandring migrasjon, kjønn, Kultur tradisjon kunnskap, sosialantropologi i Norge, Sverige og Danmark

Forrige uke fikk en far livstid for æresdrap. Grunnen til at antropolog Unni Wikan roser den danske dommen er at også bakmennene ble idømt fengselsstraffer. Den strengste straffen fikk ikke drapsmannen, men faren: Faren ble kjent skyldig i å ha avsagt dødsdom over sin datter og hennes mann og for å ha oppfordret til å drepe dem. Faren fikk livsvarig fengsel, drapsmannen fikk 16 år. Samme straff, 16 år, fikk en morbror og farbror: De fremskaffet drapsvåpenet.

Unni Wikan skriver:

Det er forbilledlig at far i denne saken får en strengere straff enn sønnen, drapsmannen. Jeg finner det også riktig at de to onklene som fremskaffet drapsvåpenet og deltok i familieråd om Ghazalas skjebne, får samme straff som ham. Drapsmannen var, slik jeg ser det, i en underordnet posisjon, skjønt han selvfølgelig bærer det hele og fulle ansvar for at han skjøt, med forsett.

(…)

[Dommen] viser at dansk politi har forstått noe helt sentralt: at æresdrap beror på overlegg og medvirkning av mange parter. Ved å sikre seg det omfattende bevismaterialet har man klart det mange andre ikke har lyktes i: å få bakmenn og medhjelpere dømt. Det er prisverdig.

Men likevel – harde straffer for æresdrap kan bidra til “uhyrlige konsekvenser”, skriver hun:

I Tyrkia og iraksk Kurdistan er selvmordsraten for unge kvinner gått dramatisk opp etter at en ny og streng lov mot æresdrap ble innført. En del antas å være kamuflerte æresdrap. Familier kan også ta jentene ut av Europa for å “gjøre jobben”.

>> les hele saken i Aftenposten

SE OGSÅ:

Unni Wikan: Æreskodeksen utgjør det største hinderet for integrering

Ærens menneskelige ansikt. Unni Wikan følger rettssaken som nå pågår i København. (Dagbladet, 17.6.06)

Intervju: Unni Wikan med planer om ny bok om innvandrermenn, ære og verdighet

Unni Wikan: Hederskulturen vill kontrollera privatlivet och dölja det för insyn

Berit Thorbjørnsrud: Fokus på æresdrap er blåst ut av proporsjoner

Ny bok: De fleste drap begås av vestlige menn med gammeldags æresbegrep

(updated) Embedded anthropology? Anthropologist studies Canadian soldiers in the field

Published on July 6, 2006 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, ethics, fieldwork / methods, Us and Them

(Links updated 30.7.2020) Anthropologist Anne Irwin has spent years in dangerous places with front line troops to observe how soldiers construct their identities as warriors. She wears the same combat uniform and body armour as the troops when she’s in the field. At the moment, she is researching how Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan bolster their identities by sharing their battlefield experiences through storytelling with their peers:

The storytelling not only helps forge the individual identity of each soldier, it builds interpersonal relationships that can have a bearing on how well the unit performs on the battlefield.

She says:

“These are tough, hard guys who people think of as being very one-dimensional. I guess what really strikes me is how much they really care for each other. How they can just pick themselves up and keep going.”

Irwin isn’t really “neutral”. She has spent 16 years in the Canadian Forces reserve – not as an academic. She retired as a Military Police officer with the rank of Major.

Irwin’s doctoral thesis at the University of Manchester was entitled: The social organization of soldiering: a Canadian infantry company in the field.

“Scientist studies soldiers ‘outside the wire'” (ctv.ca, 27.8.06)

Her paper “Soldiers Do It in the Field” can be downloaded as pdf.

UPDATE 1:

This story was also covered by the Livejournal Anthropology Community: “It seems like embedded anthropology to me”:

My point is that embedded anthropology would imply certain ethical and methodological problems in ethnography. These aren’t just a bunch of guys being studied, they’re a bunch of guys committing violent acts for highly-contested political goals.

(…)

In a world where journalists and spies are considered one and the same (thanks to even the military’s intel coming in directly from CNN in some cases), and with anthropology’s shadowy history of being used as cover for spying, how are anthropologists regarded in situations like these in general?

UPDATE 2: Similar problems of embeddedness might have occured in the film “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” by anthropologist Sam Dunn. He has been metal-fan and headbanger for years. Of course, his background has influenced the way he presented his findings, according to a review in The Japan Times (Link no longer working):

The film only partly succeeds in its mission, mostly due to Dunn’s dual roles here: an anthropologist, by nature, needs to have a critical distance from the society he puts under the microscope. Dunn, however, displays a missionary’s zeal in preaching the glory of metal, and explaining away its bad image. Dunn (…) appears in the film narrating, interviewing his idols, and headbanging with devil-horn fingers.

SEE ALSO:

Secret rituals: Folklorist studied the military as an occupational folk group

Anthropologist shoots down stereotypes about gun enthusiasts (Book review)

(Links updated 30.7.2020) Anthropologist Anne Irwin has spent years in dangerous places with front line troops to observe how soldiers construct their identities as warriors. She wears the same combat uniform and body armour as the troops when she's in…