SAPIENS Poet-in-Residence Jason Vasser-Elong reflects on horrific cycles of violence—and highlights injustices that are often papered over. We All Love…
Wisdom From the Winding PathAn anthropologist dreams of his work with Songhay sorcerers in Niger and of French poet Edmond Jabès, fictionalizing conversations and…
Crystal Worl’s Countermural Tells a Different History of AlaskaIndigenous artist Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl’s new public mural honoring Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich places Alaska Native peoples’ resistance to colonialism at the center of Juneau’s history.
Indigenous Mapmaking, or Bringing a Dead Map to LifeIn a new book, an anthropologist explores how oil palm plantations in West Papua are upending Indigenous Marind communities’ ways of life. In this excerpt, Marind villagers call upon their plant and animal kin to confront a map used by the oil palm industry.
What Kenya’s Killer Cops Reveal About Police CultureAnthropologists studying police violence in Nairobi are uncovering systemic problems that shed light on brutal law enforcement tactics around the world.
Was the Acropolis a Harem? A Myth of OrientalismNew research makes a case for reexamining the way 15th-century Turks used the Acropolis of Athens—and the role of Western beliefs in exoticizing the people of the Ottoman Empire.
Predominantly White Institutions’ Overtures to Black Students OR This Is What They Tell You Without Telling YouA Black queer anthro-poet unveils the exploitative strategies of many predominantly White institutions that use BIPOC as a broom to sweep their racialized issues under the rug of “diversity.”
More Than a MountainIn this podcast episode, listeners learn about Dzil Nchaa Si’an, a sacred mountain in Arizona that Apache tribal members depend on and deeply value. The mountain has also become a site of resistance.
#MeToo Anthropology and the Case Against HarvardWhen anthropologist John Comaroff at Harvard University was put on unpaid leave for allegations of sexual misconduct, a network of colleagues rallied to support him—revealing how entrenched systems in academia often allow sexual violence and other power-based abuse to continue.
Egyptology Has a Problem: PatriarchyAn Egyptologist reflects on the angry responses she’s received to her recent book, The Good Kings, and what they reveal about male power and minority rule.
