vassos argyrou – ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY

0.171: Anthropology and the Will to Meaning: Vassos Argyrou

This interlude in the series is to finally introduce the work of Dr. Vassos Argyrou (Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Hull), specifically his book, Anthropology and the Will to Meaning: A Postcolonial Critique (London: Pluto Press, 2002) which I have referred to in the past on several occasions (a condensed version of […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Not Radical Enough: Disengaged Anthropology (1.5)

“The choice to rely … on cultural anthropologists in the rebuilding of a defeated enemy has particular resonance now as the United States struggles to rebuild a stable and viable Iraq. … As the occupation of Iraq appears more complex by the day, where are the new Ruth Benedicts, authoritative voices who will carry weight […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

George Marcus: “No New Ideas” (2.0) & the After-Life of Anthropology (1.1)

In a recent notification of new articles in Cultural Anthropology, I saw this particular item: Cultural Anthropology 23.1 (February 2008) IN CONVERSATION: George Marcus and Marcelo Pisarro, “The End(s) of Ethnography: Social/Cultural Anthropology’s Signature Form of Producing Knowledge in Transition” In an extended abstract of the piece that was circulated by email, the journal editors […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Impermanence, II

Coincidentally, while reviewing a chapter in Vassos Argryou’s compelling book, Anthropology and the Will to Meaning (2002)–I will have much more to say in coming weeks and months about this unique text, the first anthropological work I have read in many years that has so excited me–I came across this rather innocuous paragraph on an […]