I was lucky to have Mexican friends to put me up, ferry me around, shower me with food and attention, without asking for a thing in return. It wasn’t long, however, before their hospitality began to overwhelm me. I felt compelled to return the generosity in whatever meagre way I could – and hamstrung by my inability to do so.
Ep. #40 Robot Reflections: Inger Mewburn on researching researchers & welcoming our robot overlords
“Machine learning is a broad area of study, and that’s one thing you don’t see from a distance, is how broad it is. We like to do what we call human-in-the-loop type of machine learning, which is a co-creation of something. So, what we’re using is the machine to, sort of, both capture our knowledge … Continue reading Ep. #40 Robot Reflections: Inger Mewburn on researching researchers & welcoming our robot overlords
Eating Iran: From the delicious to the inedible
I was having second thoughts, but pressed on safe in the knowledge that I was performing an act that would raise my esteem in the eyes of those present and help to rapidly acculturate me. Biting down on the now-charred-still-white pieces, to be sure, the flesh was not as bad as I expected. Neither good nor bad, it was remarkably neutral in taste - flavoured only with a little bit of salt and eaten with lavash bread. My guide smiled as I ate. “They say it’s good for your virility”, he chuckled, “but not even us locals really eat it that much”.
BONUS EPISODE: ‘The scariest word in the English language: a public lecture on schizophrenia’
In this public lecture, Gabrielle Carey and Julia Brown hope to achieve at least two things. First, to humanise and reduce fear around the condition of schizophrenia (a heavily neglected social issue in Australia). Second, to show how two disciplines (literature and anthropology) can complement each other in the name of better communicating lived experiences of difficult subject matter.
Ep. #39 Heartless Foundation, Stories, Reconciliation & Failed Election Prophecies: This month on TFS
On this month’s panel, we welcome Will Grant from The Wholesome Show onto the podcast and introduce Kylie Wong Dolan, one of TFS' Editorial Board members who is making her podcast debut! Dr Will Grant is a senior lecturer, researcher and Graduate Studies convenor at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science … Continue reading Ep. #39 Heartless Foundation, Stories, Reconciliation & Failed Election Prophecies: This month on TFS
On Being Declared Missing in the Himalayas
Neither the Fulbright Commission overseeing my work nor the US Embassy in Kathmandu could contact me and, in the interim, the three other visitors to Mustang had all been declared missing and then subsequently found dead. This was one of those situations where, due to the fact that I was believed to be hurt or lost, a series of emergency procedures would go into effect. I would also later find out that several staff members at Fulbright had already been quietly talking about what kind of memorial they would be holding when the inevitable news arrived.
Ep. #38 When good intention isn’t enough: Jacqui Hoepner on morally repulsive public health research & academic freedom
“I went into this thinking that objectivity and neutrality were the Name of the Game. That you couldn’t do good research if you were in any way biased or if you had your own opinions or experiences or values that might influence the research.” In episode number 4 of our STS Series, Dr Jacqui Hoepner, … Continue reading Ep. #38 When good intention isn’t enough: Jacqui Hoepner on morally repulsive public health research & academic freedom
Anthropologists and Dragons
I surprised myself by not hesitating. Spinning around, I headed straight back toward one of those that had followed us into the alley—a woman in dark robes, eyes barely visible beneath a dark hood. I barked a threat, telling her to turn around and walk away. She snarled a retort that we should hand over the object or else. Seeing no other choice, I drew my sword and plunged it deep into her chest.
Ep. #37: Democracy sausage, fan identity, mental health policy & being anthro-diplomats: This month on TFS
This month, we’d like to welcome and thank special guests Dr Jill Sheppard and Martyn Pearce from Policy Forum Pod for joining our semi-themed panel discussion, inspired by the upcoming Australian Federal Election. Dr Jill Sheppard is a lecturer and political scientist at the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University, … Continue reading Ep. #37: Democracy sausage, fan identity, mental health policy & being anthro-diplomats: This month on TFS
On Writing Ethnography ‘At Home’
My friends know that I am writing about them, but they do not know how I will do so. They do not know if I will be able to capture the nuances of their gender identities, if I will take their words and actions out of context or expose their secrets, shared after whispers of “this can’t go in your study, okay?”
The Familiar Strange 