Cross posted: limits of a monetized economy



I've written about the failure of our economic models to account for our happiness and welfare in the work place. I want to go into a little more detail about what an alternative view for our society might look like… Continue

The Following is one of my essays in adoptive kinship, hope you guys share some opinion:



Kinship in a Western middle-class family has traditionally been defined by their biogenetic relationships and the blood-tie between relatives (Schneider 1968: 23). As Schneider pointed out the traditional definition of kinship, even though among Western societies the existence of relatives by marriage is acknowledged, made biogenetic kinship real kinship (1968:24). During the Cold War, the… Continue

I just joined the COOP and am pleased to see so much activity from such an array of anthropologists.  I am a Principal at Weinman Schnee Morais, a marketing research firm in NYC (www.wsm-inc.com).  We often blend anthropological and psychological methods in our reseach.  For more on how to do that, see the following of my publications:

 

Refocusing Focus Groups: A Practical Guide.  Ithaca: Paramount Market…

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Cross posted on the the Lobster Brain: Mixing Food and Ideas

 

Are you a Fried Twinkie?

Corporate America fills us with FDA approved créme filling, but Hunter Thompson explores the chemical meltdown aftermath in Hell's Angels



The fried Twinkie, is both authentic and in-authentic, a paradox of our post-industrial…

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John's proposal  that we reconsider the role of creative literature in anthropology/ethnography is timely as I have gone back to writing short stories about the people whose faces are stored in my memory.  Like in this "first draft" piece , I know the protagonist did exist, but my memory of him is very limited.  What I have in mind are the things that happened to me where he played a peripheral part.  The question is whether this story of estrangement and derangement-- mine and Sorro's-- is…

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I wonder how many of us have seen the YouTube video  The Rural Women Solar Engineers of Africa. I find it inspiring in all sorts of ways, as a demonstration of how ordinary people can make a huge difference in their local communities and of how smart thinking can explode conventional ideas about how to run projects aimed at alleviating poverty. As an anthropologist interested…

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In some Asian countries a culture of gender discrimination that leads to the selection of a child’s sex is creating grave social problems. The number of males born for every 100 females illustrates its dimensions. In Vietnam the number is 107, in Taiwan 109, in India 112, and in China estimates range as high as 119. Given the size of the populations in India and China, these skewed sex ratios yield an enormous female deficit. However, these countries are the exception. Western countries and…

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It appears that Lewis Binford passed away yesterday. While I have never been very intrigued by archaeological theory, it is undeniable that Binford's early work on "new archaeology" was, as my professor once proclaimed, "the shot heard 'round the world" (or at least in the field of archaeology). And although I am a cultural anthropologist, I do have a great appreciation for the way in which he revolutionized the field of archaeology.

 

Here is his obituary:…

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The Growth and Future of Business Anthropology

 

     Varieties of surveys have indicated that employers look for the skills that undergraduate training in anthropology provides. The subject matter of anthropology is intrinsically fascinating; as such, it offers valuable preparation for careers in journalism, politics, public relations, or public administration, fields that involve investigative skills and working with diverse groups. Today,…

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