While conducting my PhD fieldwork in west-central Nepal I found that showing respect, compassion and care for the non-human members of the communities in which I was doing research went a long way to build trust and points of connection between myself as an outside researcher and the people and social worlds that I was trying to get to know.
Read MoreQuestioning the ‘Over There’ and ‘A Long Time Ago’ of Imperialism
I am a social anthropology student who focuses on imperial memory rather than history. Often, people think I’m a history student or suggest that I talk to their colleague or friend somewhere in Africa/Asia/Latin America. This suggests to me that there’s a common conception present that imperialism was ‘a long time ago’ and ‘over there.’
Read MoreScene Analysis: The Lion King: “Be Prepared”
The Lion King is one of those spectacles you cannot help but enjoy. Whether you are watching the 1994 animated film or the 1997 Broadway musical, to quote Scar, It’s to die for. For this scene analysis I’ll be looking at Scar’s ‘villain song.’ Every Disney film has one, and “Be Prepared” might be the best, and is definitively the most political, of the lot.
Read MoreThe Powerful Language of Migration
What is this 'language of immigration'? Is there a way to talk about migration whilst avoiding any kind of direct or indirect discrimination? While it is easy to recognise the stereotypical inventory of metaphors, such as references to 'invasions', 'flows' or 'waves', commonly used to describe migration, in this article I argue that so-called politically-correct terminology can have significant negative consequences on the lives of migrants’.
Read MoreA ‘magic pill’ to treat them all!
The pharmaceuticalisation of health supports the assumption that a ‘magic pill’ can effectively treat or control any social, behavioural or bodily conditions. I explore the contribution of patients, doctors and pharmaceutical companies to such pharmaceuticalisation of health, while keeping in mind that other actors such as governments and professional institutions are also involved.
Read MoreDiagnoses for Sale
In this piece, Lillian critiques a recent NHS England policy that has led to doctors getting paid extra for diagnosing dementia in their patients. The author articulates important insights in her assessment, addressing both healthcare and social policy implications, and finishes by proposing a potential way forward.
Read MoreEveryday Acts: Blurring the Individual and the Institution
“Organic Jim” is how he’s known as in Marchmont. Jim doesn’t have a home, as most people would define it, and he spends much of his time roaming around the streets of this area of Edinburgh. I first got to know Jim when I was walking home from a friend’s place. He was sitting next to a dumpster bundled up in blankets, and I asked him what his name was.
Read MoreAll I get is that I don’t get it: Thoughts on Mobility and Sense of Place
As an academically-inclined person I am driven to understand stuff. More precisely, as an anthropologist, I want to understand why people do certain things or how their actions are interwoven and related. Attempting to make sense of the actions of one particular community has left me wondering, “Can we ever fully grasp another culture’s rationale?”
Read MoreThe cost of denying NHS staff fair pay
Energy coursed through my body during the opening address at the Royal College of Midwives Conference in November. Warwick criticised the UK government for its decision to deny NHS midwives the 1% pay increase that had been recommended for NHS staff, while increasing pay for MPs by 10%
Read More2014 in Review
Before we bid adieu to 2014 and open our hearts to the mystery of the New Year, however, we would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been and gone. As such, in what follows, the brightest and best of IANS staff contemplate what made the past year great, what it made it awful and, above all, what made it memorable.
Read MoreA Select History of Suing Oil Companies
For as long as stereotypes about the judicial system have existed, US-Americans have been infamous for suing. Indeed the USA’s fascination with litigation is enshrined in its constitution, the writers of whom made sure to include that a right to a ‘speedy trial’ was included in the documents first 10 amendments. In reality, however, our legal rights aren’t so easily executed.
Read MoreComplexity Theory in the Social Sciences: tidying things up or just creating chaos?
“We live in a complex world”. This sentence is constantly used by people around us, and occasionally we might use these words ourselves in conversation. But how complex is it? And, can we really understand its complexity? What about the social world and its complexity? In this post, I introduce the reader to Complexity Theory.
Read MoreClimate change: why bother?
Another day, another warning about climate change. Or so it feels at times. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recently published their latest scientific report, pointing to causes and effects
Read MoreDoes our indigenous media project “destroy” tribal people?
Let’s have a debate… Whilst doing anthropological fieldwork in Tsumkwe I got involved with/co-founded a project which, in my humble opinion, is pretty exciting: CEDU is a grassroot organisation which is helping the Ju/’hoansi San, one of the oldest indigenous groups in the world, claim back their public image by producing their own media.
Read MoreNo Bob Geldof, I Won’t Give You My F***ing Money
This week saw the latest incarnation of the Bob Geldof charity juggernaut that is Band Aid, with the 1984 single ’Do They Know It’s Christmas’ being updated and re-recorded by a new generation of musicians and pop stars. And Bono.
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A Most Wanted Man & Dracula Untold
A Most Wanted Man, starring the late great Phillip Seymor Hoffman in one of his last roles, is a movie that clings to your psyche long after the credits roll. **ALSO** a bonus second review of Dracula Untold!
Read MoreThe Great Flag Debate
On a cold and historic day in February 1964 the iconic red and white maple leaf flag was raised for the first time ending what would later be referred to as the “The Great Canadian Flag Debate”. Chances are you have never heard of the great flag debate, even though it was once the subject of a controversial and heated international dispute.
Read MoreThe “Traditional Family” Trope as American Religious Imperialism
This article looks at the use of so-called “pro-family” language in American politics and the fundamentalist religious notions this language represents. Additionally, it examines the exportation of these beliefs around the world, and the dangerous consequences this has.
Read MoreSelling Sex: A Matter of the Heart
Prostitution is a deeply contentious issue; an issue which, during the ‘sex wars’ of the 1980s, proved highly divisive for the feminist lobby; an issue which continues to attract impassioned debate from political commentators across the globe.
Read MoreWould an Anthropology of Ebola (help) find its ultimate cure?
The Ebola River has meandered through the Democratic Republic of Congo for eons, yet only recently has its name burst beyond its banks to flood the world. When the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 in a village close to the River’s banks it received little global attention or funding to find a treatment or cure.
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