It is clear to me that the American Anthropological Association (AAA) is rapidly becoming (already has become?) irrelevant to and un-supportive of the needs of anthropologists working in corporate, military, and other contexts where the methods are used as part of a deep, day-to-day hands-on practice. But the rift between applied and academia is an old one. I think its time to seek other options, namely to back an association independent of the AAA.…
Author: mark
Will consult for food
I have not been posting much recently. This is because I have been laying the plans to leave my current position at Jump Associates at the end of January to start a new path far away from the business of design and strategy. I have noticed I need a radical career change every 8 to 10 years. I am going to be doing a bit of independent consulting before my next gig.…
Well, at least the AAA meeting gave me some perspective
I didn’t say it was a happy one, but it is a perspective. Of course there were the expected strident calls of moral outrage over anthropologists in the military. Then it got worse when a voice vote was taken and passed that “no reports should be provided to sponsors [of research] that are not also available to the general public and, where practicable, to the population studied.” (from the Chronicle of Higher Ed.…
It’s time again for the Ig Nobel Awards….
Every year, the Journal of Improbable Research hosts the wonderful Ig Noble Awards for research that makes you laugh and then think. The Ig Nobles have all the usual areas such as peace, aviation, linguistics and of course, chickens. The ceremony also includes winning a date with a noble laureate, and the 24/7 lectures. In the 24/7 lecture series, established scientists have 24 seconds to give a technical explanation of their scientific field.…
American Anthropology Association Issues Statement on HTS, based on… not much it seems.
Ah, the days go by and even I cool down. While I am very critical of the wording the Executive Board chose for its statement on the HTS, I am not sure I would have wanted to be on the “AAA Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology With the US Security and Intelligence Community”. They were in what has to be a lose-lose position. No matter what they said, some large group of people were going to be really ticked off.…
The Pontiac Solstice is one of the most intriguing designs I know of
About a year and a half ago I purchased a Pontiac Solstice convertible, silver. Now some would point out this the classic midlife crisis car. However, if this truly was a midlife crisis purchase, I would’ve gotten the one painted in bright red. Now in and of itself the design is very well done, and they essentially fly out of dealer showrooms as fast as they arrive. But it does something else that I find absolutely fascinating.…
Are you Dir. of Consumer research? Let me save you money!
Everyone that has worked in any job in any field has done some time banging their head on a desk, counter or lift. As a public service here are a few topics you don’t need to do research on anymore, ever. Done. Finished.
1) That plastic packaging for cheap products that require an arc-wielder to get through. I cant even remember why it was invented. I think it was supposed to help reduce shoplifting and such.…
Jonathan Marks response to the Leakey Foundation regarding controversial writer Nicholas Wade
Jonathan Marks, Professor of Anthropology at UNC-Charlotte recently found our blog and has left a thoughtful comment on a post by Donna related to the controversy about Nicholas Wade being invited to speak at the Leakey Foundation. He has also let us post his letter to the Leakey Foundation that he wrote in response to including Wade in the series. Thank you for joining the conversation Dr. Marks and providing us with your point of view.…
Welcome Jennifer Jones, the first Ethnography.com grantee!
Jennifer Jones of California State University, Fresno is the first student to be awarded a travel grant to attend next years EPIC conference in Denmark. This year the grant was non-competitive and awarded by recommendation of a Fresno faculty member. It is hoped that this grant will be an annual event and be awarded on a competitive basis next year. She will also be contributing to the blog Ethnography.com, so look for a fresh new voice!…
More pondering about ethics
Over at the Anthrodesign list they have been talking about anthro’s in the military quite a bit. If you have any interest in applied anthropology, this is a very active discussion forum http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/anthrodesign/.
It has me thinking, so here is an e-mail I sent the list today.
Cheers,
Mark
Most people that know me know that I want to see anthropologists working in the widest possible breadth of areas: non-profit, academics, industry, military.…
News Flash: The Army’s Human Terrain Team in the New York Times, Anthropologists still Pissed.
Anyone that has spent time reading my entries in this blog already knows that I am an advocate of anthropologists working in all levels of government, military and intelligence communities. The latest entry into the conversation is from this New York Times piece entitled “Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones”.
By all accounts in the press, which I readily acknowledge from personal experience can be a dubious source, the presence of anthropologists has been effective in actually reducing the violence in some areas.…
Ethnography.com shows up in interesting places
The post about the Human Terrain System showed up in this thread on the Small Wars Journal. So here is what is interesting to me. On their search box, look up anthropology or anthropologists (make sure you click the button to just search the journal and not the web) and you will see a lively discussion about the role of anthropologists in war and the abuses in the past. This is not anthropologists talking about it, but military and military interested folks talk about OUR contribution (or lack thereof) in that field.…