Anthropology Magazine

Haunted by a Secret War

War

  • Excerpt

    A white temple wall with partially exposed brick is covered with holes. Two red, green, and yellow dragons perch on either side of stairs leading to a blue door.

    Haunted by a Secret War

    In a new book of ethnographic fiction on the lingering effects of the United States’ Secret War in Laos, the living must find ways to pacify the ghosts of those who suffered past violence.

  • Borders

    Several women wearing heavy coats push baby carriages on a path at a border checkpoint, with people dressed in uniforms walking behind and next to them.

    The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis’ Double Standard

    The warm welcome Ukrainian refugees have received from neighboring European countries contrasts sharply with the punitive treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa.

  • A red book cover with the title War Virtually.

    5 Questions About War Virtually

    In this live event, anthropologist Roberto J. González will discuss his new book, War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future.

  • Excerpt

    Four soldiers in military gear kneel and stand as they watch a small robot in a sandy clearing surrounded by brush.

    Requiem for a War Robot

    An anthropologist explores the brave new world of virtual warfare—and the fraught relationship between humans and machines.

  • Poetry

    Anti-aircraft missiles leave white contrails in a blue sky above Kyiv, Ukraine.

    Hard Water

    A poet-anthropologist honors World Poetry Day with a piece that imagines alchemizing the suffering and devastation of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

  • Decoded