New Blog Series

Fascism and Critical Thinking

The teaching of the Nazi past mobilizes regimes of faith in order to encourage the students to adhere to the established political regime in affective terms. But it also draws on regimes of reason and critical thinking. Being wary of politicians, the media, other peoples’ discourses in general, and not believing everything seen and heard, seems to be the teachers’ second main concern. Apparently contradictory with the use of affective pedagogy, regimes of faith and reason exist simultaneously in the teachers’ discourses.

Podcast

Salon B

Episode 4

Crisis

This episode is centered around the notion of ‘crisis,’ featuring moments of intensity that prompt change. We’ll be chatting with Karena Kalmbach, author of The Meanings of Disaster: Chernobyl and Its Afterlives in Britain and France, Mark Schuller, editor of the Catastrophes in Context series, and Jean-Paul Gagnon, editor of the Berghahn Journal Democratic Theory.

We will also share instructions on how to enter for the chance to win a $100 gift card to Blackwell’s Bookstore, “an Oxford family bookshop.”

FocaalBlog Feature: Debating the EASA/PrecAnthro Precarity Report

Stefan Voicu

EASA’s ‘Precarity Report’

Reflections, Critiques, Extensions

Every day across Europe hundreds of social anthropologists wake up knowing that their precarious employment conditions may one day force them to leave the discipline. Still, they keep the discipline going across the continent by teaching, providing vital research data for high-profile research projects and a substantial share of the annual publication output. They also apply for grants and jobs while balancing the tightrope of overtime work and personal life. All for the glimmer of hope of a permanent position.

Berghahn Journals

Open Anthropology

A subscribe-to-open (S2O) Open Access model piloted by Berghahn in partnership with Libraria and Knowledge Unlatched for 2020! The aim is to convert 13 Berghahn Anthropology journals to full Open Access on an on-going and sustainable basis.

Digital Archaeology

Unlocking the Love-Lock: The History and Heritage of a Contemporary Custom

Enhanced Love-locks Catalog

Ceri Houlbrook cataloged over 700 love-locks added to Oxford Road Bridge in Manchester from 2014-2019. Using her archaeological data and Timeline.JS, users are here able to view the data collection across 62 months of deposition. At the default zoom, individual dates will indicate all items cataloged on that day. The catalog contains both what are traditionally known as padlocks and “divergent deposits”, or objects that take the form of an array of items from nightclub entrance wristbands to disposable lighters, the variety of which includes obscurity but also pieces that are clearly more personal, even sentimentally valuable.

Featured Series

Studies in Public and Applied Anthropology

Volume 12

Invisible Faces and Hidden Stories

Narratives of Vulnerable Populations and Their Caregivers

Edited by Cecilia Sem Obeng and Samuel Gyasi Obeng

Dealing with narratives of vulnerable populations, this book looks at how they deal with dimensions of their social life, especially in regard to health. It reflects the socio-political ecologies like public hostility and stereotyping, neglect of their unique health needs, their courage to overcome adversity, and the love of family and healthcare providers in mitigating their problems.

Photo Gallery

A U-Turn to the Future

Sustainable Urban Mobility since 1850

Edited by Martin Emanuel, Frank Schipper, and Ruth Oldenziel

From local bike-sharing initiatives to overhauls of transport infrastructure, mobility is one of the most important areas in which modern cities are trying to realize a more sustainable future. Yet even as politicians and planners look ahead, there remain critical insights to be gleaned from the history of urban mobility and the unsustainable practices that still impact our everyday lives. United by their pursuit of a “usable past,” the studies in this interdisciplinary collection consider the ecological, social, and economic aspects of urban mobility, showing how historical inquiry can make both conceptual and practical contributions to the projects of sustainability and urban renewal.

Companion Site

Recollectus: A Network of Collections and Recollections

CALL FOR PAPERS: (DE)COMMEMORATION

The toppling of the statue of slave-trader Edward Colston in Bristol, England, by activists on June 7 has spotlighted the ubiquitous presence of memorials that glorify colonial and racist legacies. In the wake of protests in 2020 against police violence and racism, calls to dismantle memorials have reverberated around the globe.