Cultural Relativism & Anthropology
An assessment of cultural relativism & anthropology in 2011 as “Before you Judge, Stand in Her Shoes” dueled with “Don’t walk a mile in her shoes.”
Anthropology – Understanding – Possibility
These blog-posts are about the intersection between anthropology and politics. They are often guided by the wisdom of Michel-Rolph Trouillot in Global Transformations: Anthropology and the Modern World.
Many people believe anthropology should have nothing to do with politics or that anthropology can only analyze political configurations but not contribute to them. Others believe that their academic anthropology job is their politics. Trouillot pushed for a middle ground, an academia that was not explicitly political while insisting that anthropologists should have academic projects outside of academia. As Trouillot once commented in a seminar, an academic anthropology job is not activism: “You can’t have your job and eat it too.”
Here are some classroom resources that might be helpful:
An assessment of cultural relativism & anthropology in 2011 as “Before you Judge, Stand in Her Shoes” dueled with “Don’t walk a mile in her shoes.”
“The Mismeasure of Science” reassessed Gould’s “Mismeasure of Man.” In a climate of race resurgence and attacking anthropology, this was a horrible idea.
2011 article “Is Anti-White Bias a Problem?” revealed a delusion of perceived anti-white bias, but researchers deceptively argued it was new or increasing.
Many commenters have described female circumcision as “torture.” Anthropology can respond without sensationalizing or approving.
With death of Osama bin Laden, how anthropology supports pursuing criminals, not blanket “war on terror,” and anthropology questions xenophobic nationalism.
Anthropology got in the news for a “F— You Republicans” e-mail. Can anthropology survive the ambush? On understanding conservative victimhood politics.
The idea of “Race Remixed” was always questionable. Census numbers didn’t show remixing, but a racism of persistent inequalities and “probationary whites.”
Does culture matter? Anthropology promoted culture, but the book “Culture Matters”–and David Brooks–reveal a perverted idea of culture.
Loving anthropology for the questions it asks, the way anthropologists search for answers, and the importance of the answers to our world.
Kottak and Gezon’s Culture uses a magazine-style textbook to double down on culture in anthropology. That’s problematic–culture is already everywhere.