Anthropologist On The Street

Latest Episodes:

E18 Language, Time, and the Anthropology of Arrival with Dr. David Sutton May 31, 2018

Show notes

Cultural anthropologist Dr. David Sutton explains why fictional films and television sitcoms can be important in revealing hidden cultural rules, and discusses what the movie Arrival gets right, and wrong, about language, time, and anthropology.

E17 The Folklore of International Adoption with Dr. Patricia Sawin May 16, 2018

Show notes

Adoption is a culturally and historically complicated process that we like to envision as purely altruistic, yet usually involves moving children from less- to more-advantaged communities. Folklorist and anthropologist Dr. Patricia Sawin examines how parents' stories of international adoption help build new families, while sometimes over-simplifying difficult issues of race, privilege, and the power and limits of love.

E16 Free Food in the Corporate World with Jesse Dart Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

At the intersection of business anthropology and the anthropology of food, Jesse Dart researches how and why tech companies offer their employees free food. Looking at the same company's practices in several different countries, he draws out how patterns of eating reflect regional cultural beliefs about labor, land, and tradition, and how corporate practices both reflect and transform these ideas as well.

E15 Steampunk Archaeology & the Anthropology of Science Fiction with Gail Carriger Nov 08, 2017

Show notes

Gail Carriger is an archaeologist and bestselling author whose steampunk romance series reimagines the technology, social diversity, and moral rigidity of Victorian England. While her British Isles are home to werewolves, vampires, and the occasional preternatural, the fantasy elements allow her to explore historical and contemporary issues of colonialism, gender and sexuality, social class, and technological fads.

E14 Political Divisiveness & the Encouragement of Violence with Dr. Jennie Burnet Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

When leaders of multicultural societies emphasize ethnic division over national unity, assigning blame to the "other" and focusing on our differences rather than our similarities, the stage is set for political violence… or worse. Dr. Jennie Burnet's research into the causes and consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide reveals why we should be concerned about the current political moment in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, but it also suggests ways people can come together and take action to unify. Through diverse political representation, adept leadership, and public reinforcement of unity over division, other nations can avoid the catastrophic legacy that Rwandans are still recovering from today.

E13 The Shifting Tides & Interpersonal Politics of Archaeology with Dr. Katie Kirakosian Oct 25, 2017

Show notes

By looking at the lives and changing politics of archaeologists studying New England shell middens, Dr. Kirakosian examines how meaning shifts over time, how knowledge is created, whose knowledge counts, and why responsible science means taking into account the power and perceptions of the people behind the research.

E12 Friendship Beyond Dementia - The Anthropology of Aging with Dr. Janelle Taylor Oct 04, 2017

Show notes

Aging is a cultural phenomenon, made easier or harder depending on our expectations of friendships and families and our beliefs about what makes us a person. Medical Anthropologist Dr. Janelle Taylor talks about her research into successful friendships with folks with dementia, how friendships can adapt in the face of dementia, and why those relationships are crucial to patients and their family caregivers.

E11 Prison Labor, Fighting Wildfires, & Crafting New Identities with Lindsey Raisa Feldman Sep 28, 2017

Show notes

To combat growing the wildfires in Arizona, select inmates are temporarily released from prison to battle the flames. In this episode, I talk with anthropology doctoral candidate Lindsey Raisa Feldman works alongside and photographs the complex labor politics of these men and women, whose dangerous job is both exploitative and intensely meaningful.

E10 Racism, Educational Anthropology, & Everyday Terror with Dr. Jeanine Staples Sep 20, 2017

Show notes

Dr. Jeanine Staples, Associate Professor at Penn State, researches the intersection of race, gender, education, and literature, revealing how young black girls internalize social messages about their lack of worth, how those messages threaten the girls' health and well-being, and how schools both perpetuate the messages and offer a unique opportunity to stop them.

E9 The River is a Goddess - Environmental Anthropology with Dr. Georgina Drew Sep 13, 2017

Show notes

The Ganga River in India is a goddess – but does that mean she provides for her followers, or her followers need to protect her? Environmental Anthropologist Dr. Georgina Drew explains how a river is many things to its surrounding inhabitants, and how taking an ethnographic approach means viewing the partnership between the environment and culture, as well as how each impacts the other.

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