anthropologia

I think it’s fair to say that the discipline of anthropology feels…quiet these days. I’m mostly talking about anthropology online. Much of this is likely because the discipline and what it stands for is basically under attack in the current political moment. It also did not help that one of our main channels of public communication was bought, gutted, and destroyed over the course of the last several years.

So here we are. A while back I wrote a post on Anthrodendum, before it was closed down, about “Salvaging what is good.” That post was inspired by my friend Colleen Morgan, who posted about “sowing seeds in ruins” and people banding together and tying to salvage what is good (hence the title of the post). Here’s what I wrote then:

In the spirit of Colleen’s post, I have retreated to one of the few spaces that we do still have: this old website. It’s not what it once was, but it’s still here and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So it’s a good place to leave some trail markers, so to speak. Again, my goal here is practical: Let’s use this space to share what we’re all thinking and were we’re going for some rest, repair, and reconciliation.

Unfortunately, Anthrodendum closed down soon after. It’s a long story. A lot has happened in the US and around the world since then, obviously. Matters are worse. But we can still pick up the trail, so to speak. We can rebuild some pathways. We can regroup. So let’s get started. Here’s a bit of gathering:

1. John Hawks left a comment on that Anthrodendum post that I just read through again: “What we badly need is actual professional venues where meaningful exchanges of views happen. When the field was smaller, those happened at conferences and newsletters. We have expanded the field, and recognize that expansion requires us to have better solutions for interaction than expensive destinations. Social media provides some potential for exchange but actually has been very negative, impeding exchanges because of the dynamic of pile-ons and viral dunks. The AAA “Communities” shows just how awful centrally organized forums can be.” I agree about the need for these kinds of professional venues. We need something. I think there’s a need for this even more here in 2025. But what would this look like? Conferences and newsletters used to work in the early days of the field. Social media has potential…but what happened with Twitter is a good example of what can go wrong when communities use a private platform as if it’s a public space. What other options are out there?
2. John gets two mentions here! It’s 2025, which means that the infamous Scopes Trial was 100 years ago. I have read about that trial and its legacy all through my career in anthropology. John has a new piece about the trial here. I was first introduced to that story via the essays of the late Stephen Jay Gould. Hawks provides us with some new perspectives about that trial from his vantage point in 2025 as an anthropologist: “As someone who teaches and researches human evolution, I’m asked about American creationism almost more than any other social issue. People in other countries find it puzzling why the United States has so much controversy about teaching evolution.” One of his points in this essay is that this whole controversy is a uniquely American thing. I first read about this case back around 2002. If you told me then that the underlying currents that drove that case would be back in full force a quarter of a century later, I don’t think I would have believed you. But then, that would be a matter of my own ignorance of some of the larger forces and histories that have shaped US society for a long, long time. John’s essay provides some insight into the ‘why’ of that long arc.
3. We need anthropologists out there doing the work of science communication. Kristina Killgrove has been doing just that for a long time now. These days, she’s writing for Live Science. One of her latest pieces is about Ötzi the Iceman. Ötzi has been in the news for decades. One of my favorite pieces of public-oriented science about Ötzi is the 2016 PBS Nova epsiode ‘Iceman Reborn’ about using 3D printing for preservation. Check that out here (the site says it’s no longer streaming but it’s working for me). But it’s always fascinating to hear new insights about supposedly well-known and old things. This is actually how science works! Killgrove brings us some new goods. From the intro: “A new analysis of ancient DNA from 15 people who lived in the Italian Alps around the same time as Ötzi the Iceman shows that Ötzi’s ancestry was decidedly different from his neighbors’.”
4. Agustin Fuentes has a new book out called “Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary.” It’s an understatement to say that this is a timely book. Fuentes takes on one of the key issues that has been politicized in the last several years and I’m glad he’s doing this work. We need more of it. As part of the book launch, Fuentes has been out and about doing lots of public lectures and events. Earlier this year he was on KQED Forum with Alexis Madrigal. I’m in the Bay Area, and I shared this with my students in two different classes. A lot of them were grateful for the discussion and insights…and just for someone who was talking about a complex and politically fraught issue with both empathy and solid science. Give it a listen.
5. When it comes to the world of publishing, Marcel LaFlamme is always up to something good. He’s also often thinking about and trying to tackle things that I’m just barely learning about. The latest thing he’s on is the whole problem of AI use and disclosure in academic publishing. I mean, I know this is an issue and a huge problem, but honestly since about 2022 I’ve just been trying to figure out to handle AI and LLMs like chatGPT in the classroom. Marcel has a new preprint, written with Natalie Myers, on authors and AI disclosure statements. Here’s a teaser: “Our own view is that disclosure statements can be complemented by the sharing of actual author interactions with AI tools, such as transcripts of prompt output, as static files in a trusted repository and/or resolvable URLs. This practice, like the sharing of data, code, and protocols already expected by many scientific publications, can also be linked to a trend toward sharing processes more openly in humanities and social science fields like anthropology.” Download the article here.
6. This isn’t new, but it’s new to me: Robin Nagle of NYU was on the ologies podcast with Alie Ward back in 2022 to talk about discard anthropology. I have been fascinated with the anthropology of garbage ever since I first read about Willam Rathje’s work years and years ago. Here’s Ward’s overview of the episode: “We cover what you can and can’t actually recycle, sticky mustard bottles, drugs in the trash, Swedish Death Cleaning, mobsters and landfills, Bitcoin in the dump, the future of garbage and exactly how screwed we are. Enjoy.” Check it out.
7. James Greenberg has a new post on this administration’s detention centers and what, exactly, this whole thing is actually about (hint: it’s not just about deportation). Greenberg writes: “Trump has promised to deport millions. To make that seem plausible, he’s ordering new facilities, converting military bases, and expanding enforcement budgets. But the numbers defy the narrative. With roughly 11 million undocumented residents in the U.S., even deporting a million people a year—a pace no administration has achieved—would take over a decade, assuming no new arrivals and no legal setbacks. This isn’t policy. It’s theater.” Read the rest.
8. Sarah Kendzior is an anthropologist turned journalist whose work I have now been following for a long time. To say that Sarah was right about many, many things does not come close to giving her enough credit for the work she has done and continues to do. If you haven’t read her work, I recommend it. She has a new post where she shares six older essays alongside six newer ones from 2025. One, from way back in 2016, includes a warning for what was coming…and this quote: “Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave — and it is often hard to be brave — be kind.” Read that essay here.

That’s what I have for now. I am going to try to keep this anthro gathering going as often as possible. If you have stuff to share, please send it my way. Tell me where you’re at, what you’re doing, and what you’re thinking about the current moment. Let’s work on sewing seeds from ruins. Post any comments below. Until next time…