In the Andalusian communities throughout the olive-growing region of southeastern Spain men show themselves to be primarily concerned with two problems of identity: their place in the social ...hierarchy, and the maintenance of their masculinity in the context of their culture.
In this study of projective behavior as found in the folklore of an Andalusian town, Stanley Brandes is careful to support psychological interpretations with ethnographic evidence. His emphasis on male folklore provides a timely complement to current research on women.
Es un hecho general, dentro del mundo occidental y especialmente del Mediterráneo, que los hombres creen sufrir una crisis personal al cumplir 40 años. Incluso ha recibido ya múltiples explicaciones ...«científicas» de índole variada (demográfica, ciclo doméstico, prácticas de empleo laboral, fisiológica, psicológica, etc.) que, tras un examen minucioso del autor, demuestran ser finalmente explicaciones subjetivas, y sujetas a patrones culturales. Más que un hecho físico, se trata de un simbolismo numérico muy arraigado, como demuestra el hecho de que tales patrones y símbolos pueden variar, como ha ocurrido recientemente, debido a circunstancias socioeconómicas nuevas (incorporación femenina, aumento del ciclo de vida, etc.).
Este artículo es una contribución a la creciente literatura antropológica sobre las relaciones hombre-animales y las familias trans-especie. Cada vez más, las mascotas domésticas en los Estados ...Unidos se consideran miembros de la familia. De hecho, estos animales a menudo son tratados como parientes reales o sustitutos, ya sea cónyuge, hijo o hermano. Una consecuencia de esta tendencia es la aparición de batallas legales entre parejas que se separan por la custodia del perro o gato. A pesar de los códigos legales formales, que definen a los animales domésticos como propiedad personal, la separación de las parejas en la actualidad introduce criterios subjetivos en argumentos a favor o en contra de la custodia de los animales. Estos incluyen, por ejemplo, el tiempo que cada compañero pasa con el animal, que parece más dedicado al animal, o que ocupa un hogar que sería más ventajoso para el bienestar del animal. Los casos examinados en este artículo muestran que, si bien la mayoría de los jueces reconocen la presencia de factores impulsados por las emociones en cualquier batalla por la custodia, siguen cumpliendo con la definición de animales de compañía como propiedad. Sin embargo, los abogados de hoy en día sostienen que la nueva definición de familia trans-especie, junto con el papel social y afectivo mejorado de los animales, son apropiados para la consideración judicial en los juicios de custodia de mascotas.
Demonstrates how the annual fiesta cycle reflects political dependency of local communities on the nation-state, helps maintain formal authority, and perpetuates behavioral norms and social values.
Brochure listing the 1976 Cazorla annual festival schedule, including the procession of Giants and Big-Heads Source: Photo by Stanley Brandes A search for information regarding a festival, ritual, or ...other significant event is likely to yield a highly detailed, mainly chronological description of the event. What we miss in many of these accounts is an interpretation of the proceedings, some guiding theoretical framework by which to deepen understanding of the occasion. In this article I show...
This paper contributes to the study of how and why we bestow particular types of names upon companion animals, specifically dogs. The research is based on a cache of letters written in 1985 in ...response to a request from New York Times columnist, William Safire. Although the survey is in no sense scientific, it nonetheless taps trends in dog naming that have become steadily more prominent to the present day. Dog names as well as the criteria by which they are selected reflect central aspects of the relationship between pet owners and their canine companions. The letters reveal a growing preference for people names for dogs, which accords with the increasing treatment of companion animals as human. Dog nicknaming is common, particularly for those pedigree canines registered with the American Kennel Club. Dog naming provides pet owners a creative outlet, and a way to reinforce and communicate publicly a particular self-image. Adapted from the source document.
Staying sober is a daily struggle for many men living in Mexico City, one of the world’s largest, grittiest urban centers. In this engaging study, Stanley Brandes focuses on a common therapeutic ...response to alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), which boasts an enormous following throughout Mexico and much of Latin America. Over several years, Brandes observed and participated in an all-men’s chapter of A.A. located in a working class district of Mexico City. Employing richly textured ethnography, he analyzes the group’s social dynamics, therapeutic effectiveness, and ritual and spiritual life. Brandes demonstrates how recovering alcoholics in Mexico redefine gender roles in order to preserve masculine identity. He also explains how an organization rooted historically in evangelical Protestantism has been able to flourish in Roman Catholic Latin America.
This social thought piece constitutes a contribution to the history of anthropology in southern Europe. Using Spain under Francisco Franco as a case study, it demonstrates the close connection ...between anthropology as an academic discipline, on the one hand, and fascist rule, on the other. While anthropologists neither whole-heartedly accepted the Franco regime (1939-1975) nor worked directly on that regime’s behalf, anthropological topics, theories, and approaches of the day posed no threat to the fascist regime and were, in fact, consonant with certain basic principles promoted by that regime. The culture concept, which linked particular territories to particular customs and ways of life, was in complete accord with the fascist division of society into named geographic entities, each with its own folklore, speech patterns, and popular forms of ritual and religion. Anthropologists and supporters of the Franco dictatorship alike—whether intentionally or not—ignored considerations of socioeconomic class. At the same time, anthropologists began to investigate small communities located in highly complex, literate societies. The rural peoples of these societies came to be classified as "peasants," identified as repositories of traditional, stable ways of life, inherited from the distant past. Such anthropological studies were consonant with the ideology of the Franco regime, which glorified rural peoples and a supposedly ancient, heroic past. Similar developments were occurring elsewhere in Europe, particularly among anthropologists and folklorists working during the political reign of dictator Antonio Oliveira de Salazar (1932-1968). This piece concludes with changes that have occurred both politically and anthropologically since the rise of democracy in Spain and Portugal during the late 1970s.
This social thought piece constitutes a contribution to the history of anthropology in southern Europe. Using Spain under Francisco Franco as a case study, it demonstrates the close connection ...between anthropology as an academic discipline, on the one hand, and fascist rule, on the other. While anthropologists neither whole-heartedly accepted the Franco regime (1939-1975) nor worked directly on that regime's behalf, anthropological topics, theories, and approaches of the day posed no threat to the fascist regime and were, in fact, consonant with certain basic principles promoted by that regime. The culture concept, which linked particular territories to particular customs and ways of life, was in complete accord with the fascist division of society into named geographic entities, each with its own folklore, speech patterns, and popular forms of ritual and religion. Anthropologists and supporters of the Franco dictatorship alike--whether intentionally or not--ignored considerations of socioeconomic class. At the same time, anthropologists began to investigate small communities located in highly complex, literate societies. The rural peoples of these societies came to be classified as "peasants, " identified as repositories of traditional, stable ways of life, inherited from the distant past. Such anthropological studies were consonant with the ideology of the Franco regime, which glorified rural peoples and a supposedly ancient, heroic past. Similar developments were occurring elsewhere in Europe, particularly among anthropologists and folklorists working during the political reign of dictator Antonio Oliveira de Salazar (1932-1968). This piece concludes with changes that have occurred both politically and anthropologically since the rise of democracy in Spain and Portugal during the late 1970s. Keywords: History of anthropology, Spain, Portugal, Mediterranean Europe, fascism
Although the bullfight as a public spectacle extends throughout southwestern Europe and much of Latin America, it attains greatest political, cultural, and symbolic salience in Spain. Yet within ...Spain today, the bullfight has come under serious attack, from at least three sources: (1) Catalan nationalists, (2) Spaniards who identify with the new Europe, and (3) increasingly vocal animal rights advocates. This article explores the current debate—cultural, political, and ethical—on bulls and bullfighting within the Spanish state, and explores the sources of recent controversy on this issue.
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