Hetherington.911.2011-04-24-at-7.48.49-PM.png 680×449. Bandolier of Grenades, photo taken by Tim Hetherington in the Korengal Valley. Appreciated this photographer/blogger‘s interpretation: The power of the image is borne in some measure by its apparent simplicity as a still life photograph—an aesthetically beautiful rendering of the form of mundane, everyday objects. But of course, there’s the rub, since for [...]
Another article glossing over the significance of soft power for the easier-to-comprehend (and market) horrors (fascination?) of physical violence. For those unfamiliar with HTS Since 2007, the Pentagon’s Human Terrain System (HTS) has been placing social scientists in every Army combat brigade, regiment and Marine Corps regimental combat team. There are now more than 500 [...]
This photo helps anchor Tristes Tropiques in reality for me. Hard to believe he’s nearing his 101st birthday. Thanks @kerim for this. This beast of an intellectual is one of the few scholars who are responsible for blowing my mind all over the place with their theories of humanity. I still use his ideas on [...]
From a new Ad Age white paper, with projections on the 2010 Census: “The concept of an ‘average American’ is gone, probably forever,” demographics expert Peter Francese writes in 2010 America, a new Ad Age white paper. “The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling.” The message to [...]
Came across an interesting report via MindHacks on the different conceptions of happiness between East Asians and European-Americans. I’m always happy to see research that closely and thoughtfully considers the impact of culture on pretty much any behavior or concept often taken as universal. As an anthropology and psychology student I always approached psychological research [...]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9rUzLoKpfs For several years, anthropologist Karen Ho worked at an investment firm on Wall Street. Her experience there resulted in her dissertation Liquefying Corporations and Communities: Wall Street World Views and Socioeconomic Transformations in the Post-Industrial US. Today, Time released a brief interview with Ho, in which she discusses her thoughts on what’s wrong with [...]
From Beyond Culture Citing Washburn (1973) on the importance of play in learning “Through play (emotional, repetitious, from within) children prepare for the adult life of their culture. Separation of education from life…is new in the history of primates. In the American school there is no view of adult life…In schools discipline is substituted for [...]
