English posts – Page 17 – STANDPLAATS WERELD

Apple as Religion?

Published February 10, 2010

?By Jethro Alons An article in De Pers last week examined the success of Apple in the light of the impending introduction of the new iPad. In this article Apple was compared to a religion. Apparently, research showed that when people see the brand Apple the same areas in the brain become active as in people who are religious. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, himself said that his products are a mix of art, science and religion.

Although my inner anthropologist is always excited at the prospects of a new form of religion, I have to say I was quite skeptical about this. Apple as religion? Really?

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Fieldwork 2010: greetings from Moscow!

Published February 1, 2010

In part 2 of this series, Laura van Deventer looks back on her first weeks of fieldwork in Russia.

I will live in Russia’s capital city for three months, as part of my master’s program in anthropology, to find out how a group of people that I will refer to as the N., is living here.

Initially, it was arranged for me to live in a pension run by the company where a friend’s father works. This turned out to be very expensive. Using the network of friends and family, another room was organised for me. Now I live with a Russian lady, Nina, her 30 year-old son, and their dog called Brunhilde. Nina told me that the grandmother was a spy for the KGB in Poland. Then her son said: “You’re drinking your tea from a FSB-mug: ‘souvenir.’” Wow, until now I have only read about these things. Now I’m living right in the middle of it. I might as well be a Bond-girl!

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The anthropology of athletes

Published January 29, 2010

Doing anthropological fieldwork is not always easy. That’s what Kamiel Arents found out last year when he did his Master’s in social and cultural anthropology at the VU. He made a short film about his fieldwork, giving an informative and funny impression of what it can be like to do anthropology. Kamiel had decided to go to London to study athletes training for the Olympic Games in 2012. He soon realized that there were quite a few hurdles he had to face himself to make his project work.

Haiti in the news

Published January 22, 2010

How to Mock the Past of a People in Shock

Security For Food Distubution — US Marines monitor food distribution in Haiti

By Donya Alinejad

The aftershocks of the earthquake continue to hurt and haunt Haitians. As the nightmare goes on, the estimated death toll has reached 200,000 and the European Commission has estimated that 2 million people are homeless. Emergency aid from all over the world is being mobilized. But news of international aid seems to be reaching us much faster than the aid itself is reaching those who need it.

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Christmas in the Kalahari

Published January 7, 2010

By Maarten Deprez

Now that the Christmas and New Year fuss and feasting are over, yet the events still lie fresh in our memory, it is a good time to look back and reflect. One fun and rewarding, though at times somewhat unsettling way to do so, is to take a look at what other people do and then I mean not merely your neighbour (unless he or she had a really interesting party), but people at a greater cultural distance. For maximal effect, I propose to go far beyond the usual “What did you do for Christmas/New Year?” question to friends and colleagues, to read a classical account from anthropologist Richard Borshay Lee, on how he celebrated Christmas with Kalahari Bushmen.

Riots in Albina Suriname

Published January 5, 2010

Marjo de Theije, one of the staff members of the Anthropology Department of the VU, carries out research on Brazilian goldminers in Suriname and was in Albina two days after the riots. She wrote a personal account of the situation in Albina:

Nobody was prepared for a tragedy like this. Suriname is a country proud to be a place where many cultural groups live peacefully together. This is exemplified by the close proximity of the mosque and the synagogue in the centre of Paramaribo. However, “Albina” happened. And society is short of explanations. Albina, or better Papatam, the industrial area where the attack on the Brazilians happened, was surprised by the riots on Christmas eve 2009. Papatam housed several commerces related to the gold mining business along the upstream Marowijne river (and Lawa and Tapanahoni and into French Guiana).

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Master Conference & Golden Moose

Published December 24, 2009

Field — Master's conference 2009 at the VU

Last Thursday our department organized a “Master’s Conference”, a study-day in which our master’s students presented their research plans. After having worked incredibly hard to finish these plans in time, the students will all go off “in the field” in January for their individual 3-months research projects. The end of this conference entailed a little suprise for the editors of this weblog, who were awarded the Golden Gooze 2009…!

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About: Seeing Culture Everywhere

Published December 18, 2009

Earlier this week Pal Nyiri wrote a post on his talk about the evolution of consumer boycotts in China at the AAA. Both of his new books – Cultural Mobility and Seeing Culture Everywhere – made their debut at this AAA – the latter even sold out! Here a little foretaste about ‘Seeing Culture Everywhere’.

By Pál Nyiri

Joana Breidenbach and I wrote this book as a response to Ulf Hannerz’s lament about the inability of anthropologists – the professional students of human cultures – to respond adequately to “one-big-thing” books such as Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations by presenting alternative visions that were clear and accessible. “Leaving an intellectual vacuum behind is not much of a public service,” Hannerz wrote in Foreign News.

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The South African Vuvuzela at the FIFA Football

Published December 16, 2009

By Duane Jethro

The FIFA Fan Fest™, a locally organised public festival celebrating the FIFA 2010 World Cup™ final draw, was the watershed event marking South Africa’s official role as host of the 2010 World Cup tournament. Held in Long Street Cape Town, the magnanimous celebration stretched from the Convention Centre on the east, through the heart of the city to its western boundary. Attended by revellers, officials and, celebrities from across the globe, it represented the first major occasion for the local organising committee and the South African public to welcome the global football loving audience to South Africa. Significantly, amongst many nations represented at the event, there seemed to be a large contingent of Dutch supporters present, celebrating the Netherlands’ berth, and indulging in the general festivities.

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Category: English posts