A Canadian anthropological approach to the study of empire and the human condition
critique of the fundamentally colonial structure of the anthropological discipline, taking us well beyond the discussion of easy and obvious targets of discussion such as ethics and whatever institutional relationships
[This is the first in a descending series of articles that will bring this blog to a close.] Circle the Wagons! If the “nativism” that Adam Kuper alleges was spawned by the marriage of American post-modernism and radical political engagement means that only the native can speak for the native, then Kuper will have none […]
Read More…I presented the paper below, “(Re)Imperializing Anthropology and Decolonizing Knowledge Production,” at the 8th Annual Critical Race and Anti-colonial Studies Conference of Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equality (R.A.C.E.), held at Ryerson University in Toronto, 14-16 November, 2008. Almost a year has passed since I promised to post it here, and I suspect that […]
Read More…“Rough Terrain,” an article by Vanessa Gezari in the Washington Post (30 Aug. 2009), one of the latest in a series of articles in the mainstream media devoted to the Human Terrain System published over the past two years, introduces us to the figure of “Doc”: Karl Slaikeu, a 64-year-old psychologist and conflict-resolution specialist from […]
Read More…Discordia Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal, 2004, 68 min 40 s On September 9, 2002, a scheduled appearance by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked heated debate at Montreal’s Concordia University. By the end of the day, the “Concordia riot” has made international news, from CNN to Al-Jazeera. This film documents the fallout from that […]
Read More…A previous article on this site quoted sections of Ahmed Rashid’s TALIBAN: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), a partial copy of which is available here. The following is a review by M. Jamil Hanifi published in The Middle East Journal, with details of the history of […]
Read More…Open to the Military For those following the current conflict between the Open Anthropology Project (OAP) and the Open Anthropology Cooperative (OAC), outlined in these three posts (1, 2, 3) and the extensive commentary that follows them, readers will know that one of the key actors in this has been Keith Hart, who established the […]
Read More…Reading Ahmed Rashid’s TALIBAN: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), a partial copy of which is available here, at least a couple of questions I had were addressed early on in the book. This post is meant to complement an earlier one, “Glimpses of What the Mainstream […]
Read More…Reading like a classic scene replayed from the vast literature on colonial history, this gem: In the southern province of Helmand, U.S. Marines have been trying to secure the strategic town of Dahaneh to cut Taliban supply lines and enable the government to open a polling station there. After two days of fighting, Marines helped […]
Read More…The following article was published in Anthropology News (the newsletter of the American Anthropological Association) in its September 2005 issue, page 7. It has been submitted for reproduction on this blog by the author. The author is thanked for making this work openly accessible and for contributing to this project’s strong concern for the continued […]
Read More…The following article was published in Iranian Studies volume 27, issue no. 2, June 2004, pages 295-322. It has been submitted for reproduction on this blog by the author. The author is thanked for making this work openly accessible and for contributing to this project’s strong concern for the continued war of occupation of Afghanistan. […]
Read More…Before proceeding with the first guest article on this blog by Dr. M. Jamil Hanifi, an introduction is in order. Dr. Hanifi is currently an independent scholar whose long standing research interests focus on the anthropology and history of Afghanistan. He is himself an Afghan, born in Sorkhab, Logar Province. He obtained his Ph.D in […]
Read More…I know I am not the only one who misses the verbal lashes of The Watchman (Wayne Hade of Trinidad, a former police constable) and I thank Guanaguanare very much for taking the time to produce a written transcription of this calypso, as follows below the video. Of course trinidesi also deserves many thanks for […]
Read More…‘Peruvian Indians are being driven to desperate measures to try and save their lands which have been stolen from them for five centuries. ‘Their protests signal that the colonial era has finally drawn to a close. No longer are Amazon Indians prepared to put up with the illegal and brutal treatment which has been routine. […]
Read More…Vehicles captured my attention on several occasions while I was in Vancouver, with its “sky train,” compact taxis, cruise ships, yachts, and buses — most were vehicles for commerce, tourism, and leisure. During my first night I was drawn to loud music blaring several stories below from what must have been the longest stretch limousine […]
Read More…The following is a copy of the paper I delivered at the CASCA-AES conference in Vancouver on Friday, 15 May, 2009, for a panel organized and chaired by Dr. Greg Feldman titled, “The Use of Culture and Anthropology in Counter-insurgency and Peacekeeping Operations.” The audio copy of this paper may contain minor discrepancies compared with […]
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