June 2008 – Ethnography.com

Nicole Suveges, a funny, kind person, has died on an HTS mission in Iraq

Posted on June 26, 2008March 29, 2009 by mark

The HTS program lost its 2nd Social Scientist this week, Nicole Suveges. She was funny and kind and one of the first people I met in the program. 11 other people, military and civilian were also killed in the explosion. The official announcement from the HTS is below (original link: http://humanterrainsystem.army.mil/In%20Memoriam.htm)

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the tragic death of Nicole Suveges, our social scientist team member assigned to the Iraq Human Terrain Team (HTT) IZ3, in support of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at FOB Prosperity, Baghdad, Iraq.…

US Embassy in Germany Protects Americans from Soccer Fans Armed with Bratwurst

Posted on June 25, 2008March 29, 2009 by Tony Waters

Tonight is the semi-final Euro-cup match between Germany and Turkey. People here in Germany really like soccer, and do things like watch it on outside screenings. But the US Embassy is on its toes! Americans in Germany are warned that such sporting events can result in boisterous behavior, and even a fight now and then. At a minimum, the US Embassy tells us, such events can result in bad things like traffic jams!…

High Schools and Declensionist Narratives

Posted on June 24, 2008October 2, 2011 by Tony Waters

Years ago at a conference, I heard a paper about “declensionist narratives. “ Declensionist narratives are the stories we tell each other about how/why today is an even bigger mess than the past. Since most people prefer complaining to praising, such narratives are quite common. They include your uncle who talks about how kids were more obedient in the old days, newspaper reporters who claim that a new type of “super-predator” has emerged in the ghetto, and teachers who claim that today’s student are more defiant or stupid than those during the good ol’days. …

Freshman Drinking and Coming of Age Rituals

Posted on June 15, 2008March 29, 2009 by Tony Waters

Every society has coming of age rituals, and institutions where they occur. Each society nees to figure out how to transfer rights and responsibilities from anxious adults, to their children. This requires adults to surrender some of their authority, and youth to take up some responsibility. This is often a process fraught with dangers, and every society handles it differently. The view from here in Germany is that the United States seems to focus disproportionately on the use of alcohol by youth.…