Anthropology, applied anthropology, cultural anthropology, U.S. politics

Anthropologists and Foreign Policy

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Maureen Dowd NYT Didn’t See It Coming, Again (via The Neil Rogers Show)

One smart anthropologist reinforcing the idea that “mirroring” – assuming other cultures think like us – doesn’t work would be a lot more helpful than all of the discredited intelligence agencies . . .

So, the psychological concept of projection applied to cultural contacts. Not sure which anthropologist coined the term but it does make sense in an anthropological context.

The piece as a whole is rather typical NYT op-ed. Still, it’s interesting to see references to applied anthropology in such a context.

Africa

Commerce Over Philanthropy

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BBC NEWS | Business | Bono bets on Red to battle Aids

A global brand, Product Red has AmEx, Gap, Nike, and Armani join together to give money for the war against AIDS in Africa.

Bono rejected suggestions that he was being used by companies to restore their reputations.

There could be some doubt on this part and it’s hard not to be cynical about such endeavors. But, at least, it’s honest in its stance about commerce over philanthropy.

hype, journalism, media, mindshare, popular culture

Message to a Journalist Who Doesn't Get Jon Stewart

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New York Daily News – Entertainment Columnists – Richard Huff: A dislocated hipster

Richard,

No, you’re not the only person who doesn’t grok Jon Stewart. And you’re probably getting a lot of hate mail from fans of the Daily Show. That’s sad, but it’s a dimension of Internet culture that’s hard to avoid, at this point.
What’s especially sad is that these messages you’re likely receiving hardly help you to understand the phenomenon. To this social scientist, it’s a sad day when journalists are unable to understand what is happening around them. Assuming they do want to understand, of course. Continue reading Message to a Journalist Who Doesn't Get Jon Stewart →

nostalgie, Québec, télévision

Nostalgie, quand tu nous tiens

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Pense souvent à la danse de chaperonnette à pois, le personnage principal d’une émission pour enfant de la fin des années 1960, début 1970. L’original s’appelait Lupo lupone e cappuccetto a pois. C’était tessinois (de la Suisse Italienne): RTSI – Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana. Il y en a un extrait (en italien), version RealVideo. Il y a deux épisodes complets sur Veoh.

Et il existe un coffret en français, mais l’image est paraît-il de piètre qualité. N’empêche, ça peut être agréable d’en regarder quelques minutes, histoire de toucher à la nostalgie.

Faut dire que ça vend, la nostalgie.

friendship, social networks, social software

Social Networks, Software, Wiretaps

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PBS | I, Cringely . January 26, 2006 – The Falafel Connection

Social networks from the point of view of computer geeks. Social networks are quite important in social sciences (from Milgram to Boissevain, Milroy to Eckert). And there’s a parallel in the computer world through “social software” (online sites and tools such as Friendster, LinkedIn, FaceBook, LiveJournal, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Flock…).

Cringely talks about a specific case (wiretaps) but broad ideas about social networks have become mainstream.

Does this new awareness of the effects of networking have any consequence in the way we understand friendship?

A bilingual blog on disparate subjects. / Un blogue disparate bilingue.