So-called honor killings take the wind out of a form of cultural relativism that I refer to as absolute cultural relativism. According to absolute cultural relativism, anything that goes on in a particular culture, and is justified within that culture, cannot be questioned or changed by insiders or outsiders. For insiders, such questioning is cultural [...]
European colonists came to North America seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. They destroyed the very same for those who had lived here for centuries.
One person’s liberty often means someone else’s shackles. One group’s success often means another group is in ruins.
The boom and crackle of Independence Day fireworks in the United States are [...]
• Africa is not a big country
In a letter to the editor of The New York Times concerning an article on the global war on AIDS, Steve Black zings it for totalizing “Africa.” He writes, “Now just imagine what would happen to investment in the United States if articles did not distinguish between the United [...]
The Nacirema are a large and diverse group of people who live south of Canada and north of Mexico (spell the tribal name backward in case you haven’t figured out who they are). In the mid-20th century, Horace Miner wrote a clever parody about the culture of this tribe. The nickname continues to have some [...]
In Haiti, Vodou priests (houngans) and priestesses (mambos) use a wide variety of plant species to treat illnesses. About 20 plants are employed as a vermifuge–a medicine that expels intestinal worms.
A recent study screened 12 commonly-used plants used in Vodou treatments for intestinal parasites to detect their effectiveness against infective-stage larvae of a species of [...]
• Yo-Yo Ma’s anthropological soul
Classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma is, according to an article in the Washington Post, “one of the most recognizable classical musicians on the planet.” Besides being a star of the musical world, he is also a social activist, in his own way. “I realized late in life,” Ma says, that my twin [...]
Guest post by Helen Caldicott
Ever since white men appeared 200 years ago on the shores of Sydney Harbour in their uniforms, with their guns and flags, the aboriginal people have been hunted, shot at and herded off cliffs and escarpments, and have had to drink from poisoned water holes.
Until very recently, aboriginal children were [...]
In the United States, cases of invasive cervical cancer have declined in recent decades due to earlier detection through the Pap smear and improved forms of treatment. Significant regional variations exist across the country in mortality rates from cervical cancer, and the Appalachian region stands out as having high rates. It is also an area [...]
They are both about Haiti. They are both worth reading. In my view, one is the best of op-eds and one is the worst. Please read them and say what you think and why.
Op-ed #1: In the February 7 New York Times, Ben Fountain takes us to rural Haiti in 1999. After driving for a [...]
This list is intended to provide a guide to recent resources on culture and society in Haiti for people who wish to be better informed about the context in which the recent earthquake and its devastation are occurring. With apologies, most of the journal articles are not public access.
Furthermore, we really encourage everyone to visit [...]
