“Legacies of Lawlessness: When does Illegality become Heritage?”
Activity
Abstract: Robin Hood, Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde…. There is an infinite list of people whose defiance of state law made them popular heroes, and whose memory is now enshrined as heritage. The same process perpetuates the image of popular rebellions that become emblematic of national pride…
Expanding education and entrenched inequalities: Formal schooling and its alternatives in Ranongga (Solomon Islands)
Activity
Abstract Education promises social mobility, yet expanding access to education rarely changes relations of relative inequality because new opportunities tend to be monopolized by the most privileged classes in society. Since the end of the so-called “Ethnic Tensions” of 1998-2003 in Solomon Islands…
Thirdhand news: Innocent looking sofa transmogrifies into death trap! Dirty father in law not allowed to touch new granddaughter! Customer tells: We do not have any non-smoking rooms, sir, sorry!
Activity
Abstract This baffling collection of enthusiastic statements was not sourced from Take 5 magazine. Each is instead drawn from my most recent work on thirdhand smoke or, if I’m being publicity-savvy about it (which I’m told by Bloomsbury I simply must be), the third section of my new book about the…
Toward the critical anthropology of the future: future scenarios in the age of climate change
Activity
Abstract: While the anthropology of the future began to appear in the 1970s, it quickly petered away but has started to make a comeback in recent years. Bearing the gravity of the ecological crisis, particularly climate change in mind, this seminar explores three possible scenarios for the future…
Operating the familial body – genes, kin and hereditary cancer
Activity
How do anthropologists understand and analyse experiences of hereditary cancer? The primary approach to date is predominantly biosocial, with emphasis placed on the presence of a genetic mutation as the key mode of interpreting experiences of (pre) cancer and the social relationships organised…
Discreet to Excrete in the Concrete Jungle: Women Bike Messengers and their Inventive Urban Strategies
Activity
Abstract: In spite of the radical changes brought in by new communication technologies, bicycle messengers are still integral to many urban economies throughout the world. While all messengers creatively navigate through dense, hostile traffic on the streets, women face additional challenges…