This month, Ian (1:12) asks how we should engage when people describe their culture one way, but our observations of their behavior don’t match those descriptions. What is a “culture,” Ian asks, if its members don’t adhere to it? As Julia argues, “what people say is just as important in their cultural imaginary of who … Continue reading Ep. #12 Cultural imaginaries, deepfake videos, hatred in anth, & social dissociation: this month on TFS
Author: The Familiar Strange
Transnational Youth, Culture, and Politics in International Schools
Author: Nishadh Rego, a transnational youth, migrant, and new citizen of Australia. He is currently Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia. Check out some of his writing here, and follow him on Twitter @ntrego88 It has been both challenging and gratifying to read and comment on Dana Tanu’s innovative and stimulating work … Continue reading Transnational Youth, Culture, and Politics in International Schools
Ep. #10 Smoking v. vaping, anthrosmelling, de/colonization, & America’s gun “tribes:” this month on TFS
This month, Julia (1:12) prompts us to think about 'vaping' e-cigarettes as a clinical compromise for smokers with schizophrenia. Having observed this strategy to be effective in the UK, she questions Australia's black-and-white moral approach against vaping. She says to take such an uncompromising stance here borders on “the definition of psychotic thinking, where you … Continue reading Ep. #10 Smoking v. vaping, anthrosmelling, de/colonization, & America’s gun “tribes:” this month on TFS
Why #MeToo Is Complicated for Female Anthropologists
How do we ensure that the #metoo movements reach beyond both Hollywood’s red carpets and academia’s Ivory Towers, to areas where a shake-up is arguably most needed? How do we approach community solidarities that provide both victim and perpetrators meaning and comfort, at the same time as perpetuating the problem sexual abuse?
Anthropological Reflections on a Family Death
Comparing my own experiences of death to those of the Tiwi culture that I learned of in my anthropology studies, the void that I felt in the months since the passing of my father has manifested as feelings of disbelief, isolation and under-preparedness -- prompting me to write this blog.
Ep. #8 Savage Bitcoin, hamster flushing, scholars at work, and New Mandala: this month on TFS
This month, Ian (1:25) digs into Bitcoin, arguing that the cryptocurrency is no different than regular currencies, and can be analyzed along all the same lines: symbolically, materially, institutionally, relationally. “The same material problems of decay that would affect some other kind of material currency like a coin or a bill still applies to Bitcoin.” … Continue reading Ep. #8 Savage Bitcoin, hamster flushing, scholars at work, and New Mandala: this month on TFS
Living and F*cking with Acronyms: A response to Dennis Altman’s call to rethink LGBTI
Last week Australian academic Dennis Altman published a provocative piece in The Conversation, suggesting that it was time to re think the label LGBTI. In the place of the acronym LGBTI, which he describes as ‘a direct product of American identity politics’, he proposes the acronym SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) a term that originates in human rights discourses. Now it is here, as a white, queer anthropologist who studies what development means to slum children in India, that the celebration and adoption of a term produced by a global body like the UN baffles me a little.
Ep. #6 Golden Globes allyship, thinking sick, health gaps, and working slow: this month on TFS
This month, Jodie (00:53) points to what the men didn’t say at the Golden Globes, and the problems of performing allyship. “So if we’re looking at the men at the Golden Globes who appeared to not behave like allies… are you saying we can’t rely on appearances because we can’t see inside to really understand … Continue reading Ep. #6 Golden Globes allyship, thinking sick, health gaps, and working slow: this month on TFS
Inedia with a Grain of Salt
Author: Michael Rose, recently awarded his PhD from ANU. He would be thrilled to hear about any postdoc, writing or teaching opportunities that you might have going. You can contact him at michael.rose@anu.edu.au. You can check out his latest publication here. Dispatches from a breatharian December One weird Christmas, long before my time at the Australian National University, … Continue reading Inedia with a Grain of Salt
A Christmas Anth(rop)ology
For this week’s blog, we decided to each write some thoughts on Christmas, from varied anthropological perspectives. We come at this from the position of people who were born and raised in societies that celebrated Christmas in both secular and religious incarnations. In our desire to write to a more ‘public’ anthropology, we present our … Continue reading A Christmas Anth(rop)ology
The Familiar Strange 