ELITISM – ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY

‘Race,’ ‘Diversity,’ and the University

If this was a good time for Canadian academia, you would not be able to tell from the blanket of almost absolute silence that has been pulled over universities. There is no euphoria, no celebratory mood, no applause for the changes that are happening. There is, however, a degree of infighting, mutual suspicion, recrimination, and […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Risk, Trust, and Fulfilment: Reality Tourism, Continued

The story of the Razor’s Edge company continues to unfold with the latest release of one of their private videos, the kind which have normally been distributed to prospective clients in person, until now. This is the third in a series. Sources close to the company confirm that what is presented below is a draft of a […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

The Working Class, Identity Politics and New Victorian History

Against the Labouring Classes: Identity Politics in the New Victorian Age The New Victorianism serves to not only divert politics into issues of morality and identity, it works to obfuscate the bases of increasing inequality. Focusing on the Democratic Party, and its abandonment of the working class over the past forty years, Adolph Reed Jr. […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

The American Anthropological Association and Egypt: It’s Mostly About the Artifacts?

I was getting really upset that every time I went on a show, all you would see is “Crisis in Cairo,” “Unrest in Egypt.” And they were totally missing the historical significance of what was happening. My country, you know, my people, these incredibly courageous people in Egypt, were standing up to a tyrant of […]

by Eliza Jane Darling

Deepwater Uni

The evangelical neoliberalism which erupted in the US House of Representatives in 2008 and spread like the mange to the UK House of Commons is coming soon to an English university near you. The free market rapture comes courtesy of a man so dreadfully incompetent he couldn’t even be trusted to run BP: Edmund John […]

by John Stanton

Bush’s Ugly America: Is It Obama’s?

Reproduced from The Black Commentator (Issue No 26, 23 January 2003) “The spirit was freedom and justice And its keepers seem generous and kind Its leaders were supposed to serve the country But now they won’t pay it no mind ‘Cause the people grew fat and got lazy And now their vote is a meaningless […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

0.19: Questions about Colonialism and Anthropology: Epistemology, Methodology, and Politics

Two Sides of the Same Coin Anthropology might look it came to us with a dual consciousness. On one side, a consciousness influenced by ideals of science and objectivity, driven to developing a commanding knowledge about human others. On the other side, a consciousness of itself as a creature of imperialism, guided by a scientific […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

0.20: “Potentially Dangerous Implications for the Practice of Anthropology Today”

[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 […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

How to Get More Frequent Flyer Miles for Your Zombie

Is it a surprise any more, that Paula Loyd should be resurrected for one more promotional tour for the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain System? I am referring here specifically to the piece by Amy Yee, in the June 2009 issue of The Progressive, conveniently titled “A Friend Falls in Afghanistan” (thanks to a commentator on […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

These Fine, Young, Humanitarian…Zombies

Yes, indeed, as predicted a movie is now out featuring the dead “cultural warrior,” the scholar in military uniform, the applied social scientist deep in the trenches of Afghanistan. He may be dead, but he’s back, and he’s coming right at you, over and over again in… No, that is not the movie (which does […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Marketing the Martyr: Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale…Paula Loyd

This post refers to three recent articles in the mainstream “news” media: Constable, Pamela. (2009). A terrain’s tragic shift: Researcher’s death intensifies scrutiny of U.S. cultural program in Afghanistan. Washington Post, February 18. Alpert, Bruce. (2009). Family of Afghan victim seeks to help her avenger. The Times-Picayune, February 14. Stockman, Farah. (2009). Anthropologist’s war death […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Beyond Molehills, the High Ground: Dershowitz, Finkelstein, Plagiarism, and Academic Freedom (1.7)

At Home in a Dysfunctional Family It was like listening to a family argument, my family, the style of argumentation, the hot flashes of temper, the rhetorical devices, the particular turns of phrase, even right down to the sounds of the voices themselves, that had my ears glued to the speakers for an hour last […]