Social and Cultural Anthropology

How much is a body with minerals worth? Through the lens of lead-exposure politics, this article analyzes how people living near the mineral-storage yards of Peru's seaport of El Callao enact a response to this question. El Callao's port serves as a transport and storage hub for metal particulates awaiting foreign markets. The infrastructure required for this undertaking-trucks, roads, and repositories-also generate conditions of metal leakage and human exposure. Over the decades, low-income port residents have effectively acted as human infrastructures of toxic storage, a service for which they are selectively paid through ad hoc indemnification practices by multinational metal-trading corporations. While arguing that such infrastructural incorporations materialize the racialized ethics of Peru's extractive economy, the article also shows how denouncing lead exposure has generated new political means for port residents to access previously unavailable infrastructure (water, electricity, building materials) for their formalizing or informal settlements as well as other basic necessities of life. Decades after the "discovery" of lead at the port, these isolated gift exchanges and infrastructural improvements provide corporations a palliative approach to lead remediation and indemnification, producing a state of ongoing ethical deferral of complete lead eradication, which keeps minerals moving swiftly through the port and inside the bodies of residents. [infrastructure, ports, toxicity, ethics, corporate social responsibility, racial extractive capitalism, Peru] RESUMEN ¿Cuánto vale un cuerpo con minerales? Enfatizando las políticas de la exposición al plomo, este artículo analiza como las personas que viven en los alrededores de los depósitos minerales del puerto peruano del Callao responden a esta pregunta. El puerto del Callao es un centro de transporte y almacenamiento para la exportación minerales en polvo. La infraestructura requerida para esta tarea-camiones, carreteras y repositorios-genera condi-ciones, como escapes de metales, que exponen a los cuerpos humanos a partículas metalúrgicas. Durante décadas, los residentes de bajos ingresos que viven en las zonas aledañas al puerto, se han convertido en infraestructuras humanas para el almacenamiento de materiales tóxicos. Por este servicio de almacenamiento, los residentes del puerto reciben pagos selectivos, parte de las prácticas ad hoc de indemnización de corporaciones multinacionales involucradas en el comercio de metales. Además de argumentar que estas incorporaciones infraestructurales ma-terializan laética racializada que guía la economía extractiva del Peru; este artículo demuestra como denunciar la exposición al plomo ha generado nuevas posibilidades políticas para los residentes del puerto. Los residentes han logrado obtener acceso a infraestructura previamente no disponible (agua, electricidad, materiales de construcción) que les permite formalizar asentamientos informales y satisfacer sus necesidades básicas. Décadas luego del "de-scubrimiento" de plomo en el puerto, estos intercambios de regalos y mejoras infraestructurales permiten que las corporaciones mantengan un acercamiento paliativo hacía la remediación e indemnización de las comunidades

In almost all discussions of the future that I see, hear, or read, the central theme is the coming crisis of climate change, and, I think, that is appropriate. It is going to take a multi-national coordinated effort to preserve civilization. The only modern precedent I can think of is the allied coordination of World War II, although that scale is too small. There is no question that the planet and all the cultures on it are going to undergo dramatic unprecedented change. The only ques- tion is: what will that change be like?
In this essay I want to envision what the future might become if the worldview of humanity changed. What could life be like if the 4000-year-old Middle Eastern worldview holding that humans have dominion over the earth was abandoned? It is such a deeply incul- cated cultural artifact that it is still a factor in the third decade of the 21st century.

This is a four-field introduction to anthropology with both classic and contemporary research by anthropologists in all areas of the world.  It has 24 chapters including evolution, hominin evolution, human variation, a number of archaeology chapters, and cultural anthropology chapters including Enculturation, Language, Theory, Globalization, Race and Ethnicity, etc.

A comprehensive introduction to Cultural Anthropology. It has both the classic and contemporary research by anthropologists.  It includes 17  chapters including Human Evolution, Culture, Enculturation, Language, Theory,  Globalization, etc.

If there is a single thread running through this issue of the journal, it may be the complex interplay between the individual and the system(s) of which they are apart, highlighting a need for systems thinking in medical ethics and public health. Such thinking raises at least three sorts of questions in this context: normative questions about the locus of moral responsibility for change when a system is unjust; practical questions about how to change systems in a way that is morally appropriate without triggering unintended, potentially harmful side-effects; and epistemic questions about how to predict the multidimensional consequences of a proposed change or set of changes to an intricate social system such as healthcare. My focus will be on gender bias in the surgical profession.

The starting point in the article is the philosophy of science by Paul K. Feyerabend. The author discusses possible consequences of accepting and applying that project in the humanities. In his critical analysis he shows that a preferred vision of science – the one that applies and emphasizes such values as: freedom, pluralism, diversity, humanism, free choice, individualism, subjectivity, irony – is actually a scientific and political program reflecting the paragon of the liberal democracy. The solutions proposed in the field of humanities are a projection of socio-political demand. Hence, paradoxically, modern openness of the humanities, abolition of the inner barriers and divisions, blending of genres etc. may meet that demand.
[key words: Paul K. Feyerabend, scientific borders, field of science, scientific discipline, methodological pluralism, research subject, liberal democracy]

Punkt wyjścia w artykule stanowi filozofia nauki Paula K. Feyerabenda. Autor zastanawia się nad tym, jakie mogłyby być konsekwencje przyjęcia i stosowania owego projektu w humanistyce. W krytycznej analizie wskazuje, iż preferowana wizja nauki – aplikująca i akcentująca takie postawy i wartości jak: wolność, pluralizm, różnorodność, humanizm, możliwość wyboru, indywidualizm, podmiotowość, ironia – jest w istocie programem naukowo-politycznym odzwierciedlającym ideał demokracji liberalnej. Postulowane na gruncie humanistyki rozwiązania są projekcją społeczno-politycznego zapotrzebowania. Paradoksalnie więc współczesne otwarcie humanistyki, znoszenie wewnętrznych granic i podziałów, mieszanie gatunków etc może służyć takiemu zapotrzebowaniu.
[słowa kluczowe: Paul K. Feyerabend, granice naukowe, dziedzina naukowa, dyscyplina naukowa, pluralizm metodologiczny, podmiot badawczy, demokracja liberalna]

Hey Timmy, dont hate me, your books are almost impossible to find here

"Every year, leading social anthropologists meet in Manchester to debate a motion at the heart of current theoretical developments in their subject. Key Debates in Anthropology collects together the first six of these debates, spanning the period from 1988 to 1993. For each debate there are four principal speakers: one to propose the motion, another to oppose it, and two seconders. These debates give unprecedented insight into the process of anthropological theory in the making, as the many contributors both engage with each other's positions and respond to wider intellectual currents of the time. The first debate addresses the disciplinary character of social anthropology: can it be regarded as a science, and if so, is it able to establish general propositions about human culture and social life? The second examines the concept of society, in relation to such terms as individual, community, nation and state. In the third debate the spotlight is turned on the concept of culture, and on the role of culture in people's perception of their environments. The fourth debate focuses on the place of language in the formation of culture, highlighting the problematic distinction between verbal and non-verbal communication. The fifth takes up the question of how we view the past in relation to the present, touching on the difference between history and memory. Finally, in the sixth debate, the concern is with the cross-cultural applicability of the concept of aesthetics. Can there be an anthropology of aesthetics, or is the term so wedded to Western standards of evaluation as to make any such endeavour hopelessly ethnocentric? With its unique format, Key Debates in Anthropology addresses issues that are currently at the top of the theoretical agenda, and registers the pulse of contemporary thinking in social anthropology. The presentations, by leading anthropologists of both older and younger generations, are clear, original and provocative. Tim Ingold is Max Gluckman Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester."

In this landmark article published in the first volume of Man in India Sarat Chandra Roy, a pioneering Indian anthropologist elaborately discussed the origin of professional anthropological research in India.Roy noted the lack of interest of the educated Indians and Indian universities to anthropology.He concluded by saying that the development of an Indian School of  Anthropology by the Indians will be able to interpret Indian society, culture and the people with better insight  than their foreign counterparts. This is the elaborate version of  sectional Presidential address of the 8th Annual meeting of the Indian Science Congress held in  1921.

The purpose of the article is to browse selected artistic works and activities that fit within the logic of contemporary critical and engaged art, and to indicate the implications resulting from the established critical and engaged position. Presented cases come mainly from the Polish context or already have a well-established reception in the country, often they were also present in discussions going beyond the narrow group of art critics, sometimes becoming the object of media and more widespread discourse. The analysis of artistic activities enables capturing their political context in the sense of formulating a political message by the creators themselves, as well as its functioning in the sphere of socio-cultural reception and political transformation of these messages. The collected examples serve a reflection that casts doubt on some of the assumptions of engaged art, especially in terms of its non-obviousness and politicalness. The author argues that it is not about the fact that phenomena from the field of art or other socio-cultural practices do not have a political aspect, in fact, the point is that the dominant beliefs of the ubiquity of politics make it difficult to study the real presence of politics and simplify potential cognitive possibilities in this regard, funding simple and obvious interpretation keys.
[key words: critical art, engaged art, humanities,  politics, engaged humanities, political anthropology, anthropology of art]

Celem artykułu jest prześledzenie wybranych dzieł i działań artystycznych mieszczących się w logice współczesnej sztuki krytycznej i zaangażowanej oraz wskazanie na implikacje płynące z przyjętego stanowiska krytycznego i zaangażowanego. Przedstawione przypadki pochodzą głównie z polskiego kontekstu lub mają w kraju już utrwaloną recepcję, nierzadko też były obecne w dyskusjach wychodzących poza wąski obręb krytyków sztuki, stając się niekiedy obiektem dyskursu medialnego i bardziej powszechnego. Analiza działań artystycznych pozwala na uchwycenie ich kontekstu politycznego w sensie formułowania komunikatu politycznego przez samych twórców, jak i jego funkcjonowania w sferze społeczno-kulturowego odbioru i politycznego przekształcania owych komunikatów. Zgromadzone przykłady służą refleksji poddającej w wątpliwość niektóre z założeń sztuki zaangażowanej, szczególnie w zakresie jej nieoczywistości i polityczności. Autor przekonuje, iż nie chodzi o to, że zjawiska z zakresu sztuki czy innych praktyk społeczno-kulturowych nie mają aspektu politycznego, w gruncie rzeczy chodzi o to, że dominujące przekonania wszechobecności polityki utrudniają badanie realnej obecności polityki i upraszczają potencjalne możliwości poznawcze w tym zakresie, fundując proste i oczywiste klucze interpretacyjne.
[słowa kluczowe: sztuka krytyczna, sztuka zaangażowana, polityka, humanistyka, antropologia sztuki, antropologia polityki]

In Italy as much as in the People’s Republic, an exclusive attention to elite-led attempts to control unintended environmental consequences has suppressed alternative discourses in natural resource management. This may have catastrophic consequences for the prospects of imaging our way out of the global environmental crisis. However, at the grassroots there is no lack of alternatives. For instance, along the long history of China, as well as in its contemporary rural countryside, there are places where water was, and still is, managed as a commons.

Many of us have tasted Malay kuih and know how they look like, but do we know the stories behind the names and origins of the kuih that we love to eat? Why is a certain kuih of a particular shape or colour? What are the similarities between the kuih of different groups of people in the Malay diaspora?

This charming, illustrative A-Wesome guide of 120 Malay kuih aims to encourage a deeper cultural understanding of the diversity of Malay kuih. We hope that this guide will not only whet your appetite for delicious Malay kuih but also will serve as ‘food for thought’, sparking your interest to delve into an exciting world of discovery of the intricacies of Malay heritage food.

Desarrollado desde la perspectiva de la antropología histórica, este artículo expone una revisión actualizada de la circulación de cuentas vítreas en Chile tras el momento de contacto hispano-mapuche acontecido en el siglo XVI. A partir de la comparación de fuentes historiográficas y evidencias arqueológicas, el trabajo plantea que dentro de la sociedad mapuche la introducción de tales artefactos no logró desplazar en el corto plazo el uso de cuentas locales o llangka, lo que se tradujo en la coexistencia de ambos tipos al menos hasta el siglo XIX.

Abstract: Developed from the perspective of historical anthropology, this article offers an updated review of the circulation of glass beads in Chile after the moment of Hispanic-Mapuche contact in the 16th century. Based on the comparison of historiographic sources and archaeological evidence, the work suggests that within the Mapuche society, the introduction of such artifacts did not displace the use of local beads or llangka in the short term, which resulted in the coexistence of both types at least until the 19th century.