A Canadian anthropological approach to the study of empire and the human condition
Source verification of digital information has risen to prominence with the Iranian election protests that have been ongoing since Saturday, 13 June, 2009. This does not just apply to alleged information distributed through social media, of course, as it also applies to mainstream media who, like the BBC, have been found to use doctored photos […]
Read More…Which Revolution? If the headlines had spoken of a “Twitter revolution in Canada,” a North American society with very widespread broadband Internet access, and almost complete Internet penetration, and one of the highest rates of personal computer ownership, one would have still needed to be very skeptical: 74% of Canadians surveyed have never even heard […]
Read More…In a whirlwind of war, economic crisis, deepening pain that nurtures deepening suspicions and hatreds, some managers of crisis looked for a new means of pacification. George W. Bush was far too provocative (“Bring ’em on!” — and on they came), too confrontational, too much like the stereotype of the cowboy, destined to be reviled […]
Read More…Imagine that there has been a steady beat of war drums supporting the notion of attacking Iran, sooner rather than later. This in the midst of a fuel price crisis that “suddenly” reveals the Persian Gulf to be the holder of the world’s most essential commodity. This is in the midst of two wars that […]
Read More…The imperialist syndrome that has been institutionalized at least since 1492 in the Americas, with its familiar register of notions of superiority, a right to dominate, of the civilizing beneficence of Western rule, of force needed to tame wild creatures so that they can learn to take responsibility, with routinized actions and customary rituals, acting […]
Read More…Orange has become America’s new national colour. Before the Hate had proceeded for thirty seconds, uncontrollable exclamations of rage were breaking out from half the people in the room. The self-satisfied sheep-like face on the screen, and the terrifying power of the Eurasian army behind it, were too much to be borne: besides, the sight […]
Read More…From Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 3, 2007: With debate over the role of anthropologists in aiding the military machine a theme threading through their annual meeting, scholars voted Friday to demand that the American Anthropological Association reinstate strict language from its 1971 code of ethics prohibiting secret research. Members at the meeting – who, for […]
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