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“Socially-Constructed” Does Not Mean “Not Real:” Knowledge-Making and the Meaning of Subjectivity in the Social Sciences

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In any kind of research, there is more than one way to interpret what we are observing. The Positivist intent though, would be to find the “correct” interpretation that would lead one to the objective, universal truth, discarding all other interpretations as the useless results of human bias, error, and preconception. But what if, instead, we stopped searching for the One Truth (which may or may not even exist, and even if it does, humans might not be able to directly access it) and began to view truths as plural. That each piece of knowledge we gain is really a part of something larger, with a whole picture that only begins to come into focus the more of these partial truths we amass and fit together.

A Memory, But Not Remembered

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What lay inside a box of ashes certainly used to be a person, but one who had now been reduced to an object. A person-object, if you will. No culture, not even mine, is indifferent to human remains. Kin or foe, valorized or denied, dehumanized or objectified, we still have to come to some decision about what to do with what remains. And so, I am obliged, once more, to find a place for my father in my life.

Noah, the Slave Pirate: On Manuals and the Indispensability of Anthropologists 

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The juxtaposition between reliance on Noah’s anthropological skills and the presumed lack of relevance this discipline has to broader society ultimately makes for good comedy. Reading the subtext in this relationship we see the value which Noah brings. Without Noah’s anthropological skills, Archer would never be Pirate King. I would even go so far as to suggest that Noah’s anthropological training, including his linguistic skills, are why he alone, amongst the rest of his research vessel crew, is alive, and still enslaved by the pirates.

“Esteemed, Albeit Slightly Unhinged:” the Portrayal of Anthropology Professor June Bauer in US Sitcom Community

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Betty White made a cameo in the first episode of season two in the hugely popular US sitcom Community, rocking the role of anthropology Professor June Bauer. Described by the writers and publicized by the Hollywood Reporter as “an esteemed, albeit slightly unhinged, anthropology professor,” Prof. Bauer typifies one widespread perception of anthropologists.

A Better Way to Namasté

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Namasté is no longer just a pleasant Hindi greeting, but an English lexeme; a unit of language in the form of a word or phrase that has become an abstract representation of something other than its literal meaning. In this case, indexing a kind of white piousness that explicitly exoticizes and homogenizes South Asia into a caricature of disembodied Sanskrit words (like Ayurveda and Tantra), yoga poses, and “more authentic” religion all the while making unsubtle nods to imagined noble savagery and imitative ancient wisdom.

Teaching from the Textbooks: An Archaeology of the Current Historical Moment

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On the last day of class, my advanced theory students would break up into small groups and each have the option of choosing one such old anthropology textbook from the box of them that I had selected from the shelf. They would then spend the next 15 to 20 minutes exploring the book (looking at the table of contents, skimming chapters, reading the introduction, etc.) in order to answer three basic questions...Truthfully, I have never had quite so much fun, nor gotten so much out of, teaching from a textbook.

Purity, Danger, and Handwashing

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Author: Michael Dunford is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Culture History and Language. His research asks how how agrarian economies and agrarian ecologies intersect with the politics of ethno-racial difference in mainland Southeast Asia. Prior to his time at ANU, Michael was a social science instructor at the Parami Institute in Yangon, … Continue reading Purity, Danger, and Handwashing

Victorian Pseudoscience on a Netflix Budget: “Ancient Apocalypse” and the Paradox of Science Communication Online

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As scholars and investigators of conspiracy theory communities have noted, people who cling to these ideas long after they have been demonstrated to be factually false tend to do so for two reasons. One, because the conspiracy theory links them to a community of supportive, like-minded “others” among whom they feel a deep sense of belonging. And two, because it allows them to maintain an identity as the kind of person who knows and understands how the world “really works”.