The current political tide around the world including in the US has been one of populist angers. The dispossessed, those whose lives have been made increasing precarious have been mobilized to voice their anger and distrust of government in ways that are often racist, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-gay. At the same time, new movements for social justice and equality are arising. What can anthropologists, who speak to the nature and scope of the human experience across time and space, contribute to understanding the current moment? What do archeology and physical anthropology tell us about human relationships that foster empowerment and disempowerment? How can we build on anthropological understanding of the human past, human evolution, language and meaning, and social and cultural relationships to forge democratic social systems that combat all forms of oppression? What would democracy mean in this context?
Flipping Scripts in an Angry Nation: Putting the Anthropological Project to Work for Change Via Everyday Talk (in Schools)
Mica Pollock, Professor, Director of CREATE (Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence) University …
Is Extreme Inequality Inevitable?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the 99 Percent.
Rosemary Joyce, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley In many people’s minds archaeology is about …
Passions for Interests: Water and Rural Political Belonging in America
Jessica Cattelino, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies, associate director of the Center for the Study …
Will Humans Survive Our Assault on the Earth?
Patricia Wright, Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology, SUNY Stony Brook and founder of environmental organization Centre Val …
Are Racism, Violence, and Inequality Part of “Human Nature”? : Why Understanding Human Evolution Matters
Agustin Fuentes, Professor and Chair Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame Many popular accounts of human evolution …
Getting Talked into (and out of) Whiteness
Mary Bucholtz, Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of California, Santa Barbara It has long been recognized by social …
The Refugee as a Political Figure for our Time
Illana Feldman, Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs, George Washington University Recent years have been marked by …