It is the anthropologist’s fate to always be between things: countries, languages, cultures, even realities. But rather than lament this, anthropologist Paul Stoller here celebrates the creative ...power of the between, showing how it can transform us, changing our conceptions of who we are, what we know, and how we live in the world. Beginning with his early days with the Peace Corps in Africa and culminating with a recent bout with cancer, The Power of the Between is an evocative account of the circuitous path Stoller’s life has taken, offering a fascinating depiction of how a career is shaped over decades of reading and research. Stoller imparts his accumulated wisdom not through grandiose pronouncements but by drawing on his gift for storytelling. Tales of his apprenticeship to a sorcerer in Niger, his studies with Claude Lévi-Strauss in Paris, and his friendships with West African street vendors in New York City accompany philosophical reflections on love, memory, power, courage, health, and illness. Graced with Stoller’s trademark humor and narrative elegance, The Power of the Between is both the story of a distinguished career and a profound meditation on coming to terms with the impermanence of all things.
Victoria Novelo Oppenheim vivió en Yucatán de 2005 a 2013, tiempo durante el cual tuvimos la oportunidad de conocer su vida, su obra, y sobre todo, a la mujer extraordinaria que fue: imponente, ...inteligente, crítica, simpática y alegre. Esta semblanza comienza cuando una fría mañana de enero de 2013, por mera casualidad, nos encontramos en el Café La Selva, en Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, las investigadoras del Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (ciesas) Daniela Spencer y Patricia Fortuny Loret de Mola. Para aprovechar esta oportunidad, Spencer sugirió que, dado que Fortuny radicaba en Yucatán, podría encargarse de hacer los trámites para lanzar la candidatura de Victoria Novelo Oppenheim para la distinción del emeritazgo que otorga nuestra institución. Gracias a la preparación del dossier para solicitar la candidatura, afloraron los detalles de su impresionante trayectoria intelectual. Recibimos innumerables cartas de apoyo de colegas nacionales e internacionales, que llegaron con una velocidad sorprendente y fueron una prueba fehaciente de que Victoria había alcanzado un lugar importante entre las grandes antropólogas de México y el mundo. Por ejemplo, en una de ellas Gilberto Giménez subrayó lo siguiente: "en México, la obra de la doctora Novelo ha sido una de las contribuciones importantes -sin que ella quizá lo sepa- al movimiento contemporáneo de 'retorno de las culturas populares en las ciencias sociales latinoamericanas', particularmente visible en América del Sur, en países como Argentina y Brasil".
This is the magisterial biography of Franz Boas and his influence in shaping not only anthropology but also the sciences, humanities, and social science, the visual and performing arts, and America's ...public sphere during a period of global upheaval and social struggle.
This article aims to delve into the “native turn” emerging in anthropology and broad academia in Asia and the Global South in the last two decades, represented by their growing momentum in ...decolonization, autonomy, and “indigenization.” There, however, exists a tendency in anthropology, especially among non-Western and “mixed” anthropologists, to dismiss the idea of native(s) or native anthropologists and sometimes replace it with the amorphous notion of “halfies.” I contend that many of the “halfies” scholars, informed by postcolonial and postmodern thoughts, tend to misread the de facto postcolonial conditions in which the West continues to dominate in the existing world-systems. I argue that it is vital to acknowledge the native turn as an ethnographical fact because this recognition is closely associated with the prospect of decolonizing anthropology and Western-dominated knowledge production. Next, I use my experience of the native turn(s) to Tibetan and Chinese sociocultural institutions and political sensibilities to better contextualize and exemplify the examined broad native turn in anthropology and social science in Asia. Furthermore, I propose a multifaceted view of natives or nativeness as a necessary step to engage more constructively with the idea of native(s) and the native turn. In so doing, I advocate a post-postcolonial critique to make a timely and necessary intellectual intervention.
Anthropology is by definition about others, but in this volume the phrase refers not to members of observed cultures, but to significant others—spouses, lovers, and others with whom ...anthropologists have deep relationships that are both personal and professional. The essays in this volume look at the roles of these spouses and partners of anthropologists over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially their work as they accompanied the anthropologists in the field. Other relationships discussed include those between anthropologists and informants, mentors and students, cohorts and partners, and parents and children. The book closes with a look at gender roles in the field, demonstrated by the marriage in the late nineteenth century of the male Anthropological Society of Washington to the Women’s Anthropological Society of America. Revealing relationships that were simultaneously deeply personal and professionally important, these essays bring a new depth of insight to the history of anthropology as a social science and human endeavor.
Fingermarks used in forensic investigation are biometric elements widely utilized in identification thanks to their unique and classifiable characteristics. Despite numerous studies investigating ...fingermark development on different surfaces, few studies have addressed the skin surface of deceased individuals, given the challenging nature of this substrate. This study investigated the transfer and development of fingermarks on human skin that had been systematically deposited over the forehead, neck, and wrist. Additionally, gender, age, and the time elapsed since deposition were issued as additional factors impacting fingermark development. Therefore, we prepared a study setting representing a crime scene by modelling the scene and then utilized 400 fingermarks. The marks transferred to thermal paper were developed by applying ThermaNin and magnetic black fingermark powder as fingermark development methods and then photographed. They were then evaluated for their suitability for identification via scoring and statistical analysis. The results indicated that 36% of all marks obtained from the skin of living persons and 66% of those from skin surfaces of dead bodies received the highest score and were assessed as suitable for identification. Despite the negative effect of increased time since deposition, it was revealed that the ThermaNin method yielded better results than magnetic black fingermark powder.
A growing number of essays authored by anthropologists invoke the work of Emmanuel Levinas. The rise of this quiet tide deserves some reflection, not only because anthropological references to ...Levinas keep coming but also because very few of these efforts ever end up in discipline-specific journals. They tend to get pushed toward philosophical and theological venues. Why is this?
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