To this day, I love fried Spam and eggs. The crunchy and salty slice of processed mystery meat dipped in just cooked egg yolk is one of my favourite breakfasts. After all, it was the breakfast that I grew up eating on Sunday mornings when we’d all sit around the table and mum would hand out these small rectangles of fried salty goodness. I didn’t think it was that strange till I had a conversation with some of my friends who furrowed their little brows in disapproval, “ew, Spam is gross, it’s like dog food”. I quickly learned that my beloved Spam breakfasts were not as commonplace as they seemed, but rather they were an oddity. In a world of bacon and egg rolls with hash browns, my beloved family breakfasts of Spam and rice were distinctly different.
Special ANSA Collaboration: Hanne Worsoe & Romy Listo on Fieldwork Trauma in & Outsider Witnessing
The Familiar Strange · Special ANSA Collaboration: Hanne Worsoe and Romy Listo on Fieldwork Trauma and Outsider Witnessing This week we bring you a special collaboration between The Familiar Strange and the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists or ANSA. In this special collaboration, Familiar Stranger Alex sits down with Hanne Worsoe and Dr Romy Listo … Continue reading Special ANSA Collaboration: Hanne Worsoe & Romy Listo on Fieldwork Trauma in & Outsider Witnessing
My Divine Pet Rock
Amusing anecdotes about fieldwork were, from what I could tell, basic currency throughout university halls, on conference panels, and in graduate student lounges. Many of my teachers and advisors had often relayed similar, if self-deprecating, stories about their own spectacular mishaps or moments of levity while working with people in every context imaginable: research participants, colleagues, friends, and community leaders alike. So why then was this reaction to my story so sudden and so visceral?
Ep #75 The Anthropologists Perspective on Nomadland & Commodified Mothers: This Month of TFS
The Familiar Strange · Ep #75 The Anthropologists Perspective on Nomadland & Commodified Mothers: This Month of TFS This month familiar stranger Tim kicks us off by pondering the ethnographic and anthropological nature of the award winning film Nomadland directed by Chloé Zhao. The strangers discuss the almost anthropological origins of the film and other … Continue reading Ep #75 The Anthropologists Perspective on Nomadland & Commodified Mothers: This Month of TFS
The Moral Economy of the English Football Fan in the Twenty-first Century
In late April of this year, it was announced that twelve of the wealthiest and best supported teams from across Europe would be competing in a new competition across Europe. The Super League was to be played in place of the current Champions League. However, places in the Super League would not be decided on where a side finished in the existing domestic league table but instead the league would have no relegation or promotion and access to the league would have been based on prior agreement by the founding clubs. These clubs were the richest with the largest global audiences but not necessarily the best achieving teams. Within three days of the announcement of the new league, all of the English teams who had committed to participating had withdrawn in the face of giant public backlash. The proposal was, seemingly without exception, hated by every football fan including those of the teams that would have joined the league. So why did this particular proposal arouse such anger and disgust?
Ep #74 Colonialism & Monsters:Yasmine Musharbash on Monster Anthropology & Social Transformation
The Familiar Strange · Ep #74 Colonialism & Monsters: Yasmine Musharbash on Monster Anthropology & Social Transformation This week Clair brings you an interview with Dr Yasmine Musharbash! Dr. Yasmine Musharbash is a senior lecturer at the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University. Her fieldwork is based in central Australia, and … Continue reading Ep #74 Colonialism & Monsters:Yasmine Musharbash on Monster Anthropology & Social Transformation
Exploring Faith and Space with Hillsong Church
Mimicking a rock concert, I had to pre-book my space for the Hillsong service online before attending. Once on-site, I was scanned in by ushers with radios and shown to the seat listed on my ticket. Doors opened to the venue 30 minutes prior to the beginning of service, there was a sound desk, a series of serious-looking cameras and a small team of staff dressed in black managing the audio and visual aids for the accessible service. I was seated in the middle of what was previously the mosh pit. Chipped wooden floors vibrated beneath my boots as the congregation cheered and stamped their feet welcoming the leading band onto the stage to a well-produced modern video of young people running through the streets of London in search of their faith to a timed light show. If the sing-a-long style lyrics and catchy musical riffs weren’t about Jesus, I would have mistaken my being at a rock concert rather than a church service.
Ep #73 Corporate Clapbacks and Twisting Traditions: This Month on TFS
The Familiar Strange · Ep #73 Corporate Clapbacks and Twisting Traditions: This Month on TFS This week we bring you another panel in our new format! This time, we’re diving into the conflict between Amazon and its workers in Alabama trying to form a union. Clair raises the topic of “corporate sassiness” and how we … Continue reading Ep #73 Corporate Clapbacks and Twisting Traditions: This Month on TFS
Holding Belief in Suspense
Some months ago, I went for an early morning run with a mate at my fieldsite. After a short trot together, she left for work, and I decided – against all advice from my adopted Aboriginal family and many others – to put off my fieldnotes and continue a few more kilometres on the road alone. A short way up, I saw in the distance a lone figure seemingly dancing about on the road. I was all at once entranced, curious, astonished, and frightened. I turned and returned speedier than ever before!
Ep #72 Weaponised Photography & Sex Work: Camille Waring on Online Intimacy & Lens Based Violence
The Familiar Strange · Ep #72 Weaponized Photography & Sex Work: Camille Waring on Online Intimacy & Lens Based Violence Before we dive into today’s episode we’d just like to add a content warning for this episode for sexual assault. This week, Familiar Stranger Carolyn sits down with Camille Waring from the University of Westminster. Camille … Continue reading Ep #72 Weaponised Photography & Sex Work: Camille Waring on Online Intimacy & Lens Based Violence
The Familiar Strange 