Guest post by Barbara Rose Johnston
I received last week copies of two very different publications reporting on outcomes from the scientific assessment of life in a nuclear warzone. These studies consider, first, the health experience of resident populations living in areas contaminated by nuclear weapons fallout, and, second, the health of people as affected [...]
Possibly trillions of dollars worth of mineral deposits lie untouched beneath the surface in Afghanistan. A recent New York Times report generated a flurry of discussion about whether this subterranean wealth would help Afghanistan and its people or prove to be a “resource curse” that instead brings more violence.
One thing is certain, if the minerals [...]
Could it be Chevron? Suzana Sawyer, professor of cultural anthropology at the University of California-Davis, breaks down Chevron’s multi-million dollar “Human Energy” PR campaign that was launched in 2007.
Chevron is the second largest oil company in the United States and fourth largest in the world. Its ad campaign, which includes television commercials and print [...]
Guest post by Terence Turner
“Debating Belo Monte Hydroelectric Complex on the Xingu River,” creative commons licensed content by Flickr user International Rivers. March 14, 2007.
UPDATED: Once again, the indigenous peoples of the Xingú valley in the Brazilian Amazon are planning to make the long journey to the town of Altamira*, where the Trans-Amazonica highway crosses [...]
The following is a message from David Vine, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at American University:
You can immediately assist the Chagossians by signing the petition by Friday, February 12, to support the rights of the Chagossians and protect the environment in the Chagos Archipelago. Click here for the petition: http://www.marineeducationtrust.org/petition/protect-chagos
The British Government is currently considering the [...]
Despite an abundance of aid materials and the good intentions of relief agencies, relief efforts in Thailand following the December 2004 earthquake/tsunami were afflicted by skewed distribution.
Jin Sato, associate professor in the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, analyzes the factors that skewed relief good distribution in an article [...]
Guest post by Laura Wilson
By focusing attention on a single but critical resource, Jessica Barnes sheds light on the complexities of social, economic, and political change in rural Egypt. The resource is water.
Barnes is currently completing her doctorate in Columbia University’s new multidisciplinary Ph.D. program in Sustainable Development. She combines training and perspectives in cultural [...]
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 [...]
UPDATE 1/14: This post was linked in a story by Discovery News’ James Williams.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola. Following the island’s discovery by Columbus in 1492, Spanish colonialists exterminated the island’s indigenous Arawak Indians. In 1697, the French took control of what is now Haiti and instituted an exceptionally [...]
The following list was determined by a panel of one, though, as you can see, many of the choices are externally validated. Congratulations to one and all!
Best Student Essays in Public Anthropology: The public anthropology award winners of 2009 are 19 students in Diana French’s Anthropology 100 class, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, at the University [...]
