Anthropology Times

Letters to My Tutor…
Reading: America Day by Day

My dearest Simone,

You write of Harlem as if it’s the same America as the rest of New York City. I wonder whether people at the time were upset about that. Even in my lifetime there was still this heavy sense that black America was America with an asterisk. It’s not so much less true nowadays as it is that many right-thinking people, as you say, have declared that being a different skin color isn’t a problem anymore as long as you’re just like white America in every other way. A lot of lip service is given to multiculturalism, but I find that most (particularly middle-class white Americans) are not comfortable with that concept in practice beyond a colorful holiday or the like; in social situations and everyday encounters, (middle-class) white people expect non-whites to act white or at the very least to acknowledge that the white way is the right way (gender roles, household makeup, family structures, rules of politeness…) In some ways the “racist” South is more geared toward accepting cultural difference than the rest of America. Among people who believe that a god made the “races” separately, there is a deeper acceptance of the idea that you have to learn to live with difference somehow; they do not as readily accept or apply the concept that homogeneity is the solution to inequality due to racism. I often heard growing up that in the North a white person can have a black person over for dinner, but they can’t be friends, while in the South, a white person can’t have a black person over for dinner, but they can be friends. After living out West for a while, I find it easy to imagine the genesis of that statement.

I appreciate the bits of history that you include. I was not familiar with the “Father of Harlem” Philip A. Payton, the black man who spearheaded the idea to rent spaces in difficult-to-fill apartment buildings to blacks. I was familiar with the “white flight” that you described, that as blacks moved into more of the apartment buildings in Harlem, whites left the area en masse. A recent article in the Washington Post makes note of a trend toward more segregated neighborhoods in Prince George’s County resulting from affluent blacks wanting to live in neighborhoods with other affluent blacks. Some of the comments may speak to the fact that despite the promises of post-racial rhetoric, it may not be so simple for blacks, even educated, affluent ones, to pass for white once skin color is discounted and further they don’t want to. I’m interested in whether the trend in Prince George’s County is present elsewhere.

I will write more on February next time.

With all my heart’s sweetness,
S.

Letters to My Tutor…
Reading: America Day by Day

My dearest Simone,

When I first started writing here I considered keeping a running illness narrative documenting my return from medicated mind fog.  For the most part I did not do this, but since it’s been a year it seems like a good time to add to the notes I did make here and there.

Reading of your arrival in New York, I see the perfect description of my return from the land of fog.  I recognize my mind again.  I recognize my thinking, but still it doesn’t feel completely real.  When you write, “All the world is in limbo. I say, ‘This is New York.’ But I don’t completely believe it,” it’s as if you have known my mind’s journey.  The mechanics, the structures, the pathways are all familiar to me again, but the flesh, the skin is missing.  It’s all a matter of exercising my faculties and rebuilding a certain level of confidence.  “Will I be able to reincarnate myself?” you ask, and this is my worry.

I admire your warm appreciation of the lies we tell in the convenience of everyday speech and their underlying truths.  You write that you are just a name bandied about among mutual friends when recounting a phone call with otherwise strangers:  “I say again, ‘I’d very much like to see you,’ It’s not even true, and they know it; it isn’t them I want to see because I don’t know them,  But the voices are almost friendly, natural.  This naturalness already comforts me, as a kind of friendship.”  As children we all struggle with this discordance as we learn language and culture.  Does anyone ever really settle into a place of prattling off these repeated and rehearsed lines without a steady dialogue that reads much like what you wrote?  Some people appear to carry out days and weeks and months and lifetimes of these exchanges without much underlying thought, notice, or discomfort.  As my mind becomes more energetic, I feel I must work harder to find the comfort in these exchanges.

Your talk of impoverished artists in America echo some of my current considerations.  “But in Europe there was nothing dishonorable about poverty: a poor artist experienced the favors and friendships of bohemian life.  By lending him money, people provided one of those services that is natural between friends.  Here, says C., no one would let you die of hunger, perhaps, but offers of dinner or a loan are alms granted grudgingly, making friendship impossible.”  I’ve been thinking that friendships with a wide range of people would be more comfortable if I made a bit more money.  I believe it true that if people here feel that your situation begs for assistance even if you do not, they feel less comfortable around you.  The services of which you speak are not natural between friends in America particularly when these friends could be said to be in different economic brackets.  At any rate, I am taking special pains to be more productive at my paid work with this very consideration in mind.

Many times I’ve heard that we are spoiled for choice in America.  A friend once marveled at the length and breath of the cereal aisle.  You write, “A thousand choices, but all equivalent,” and how this abundance of choice might create a false sense of freedom.  I’ve long believed that a false sense of choice has become a cornerstone of American democracy.  In what some have labeled a post-racial era currently, some political candidates take careful recognition of how American have grown comfortable with this false choice.  It seems several “ethnic” candidates have gone with the message that the fact that I look different is a sign a progress and increased choice and opportunity, while communicating strongly that in they ways that matter I’m the same type of candidate you’re used to.  You write, “There are a thousand possibilities, but they’re all the same.  A thousand choices but all equivalent.  In this way, the American citizen can squander his obligatory domestic freedom, without perceiving that this life itself is not free.”

And the clock ticks and tocks.  I should post before midnight.

Until next time,
S.

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

I plan to read more articles, but in the coming weeks I will write about reading America: Day by Day.  I had planned to do this when I originally mentioned reading the book, but never worked it into my update schedule.  I will likely revisit a few things from the past year before moving on.  Here’s a brief update on my state of mourning for my friend:

I do not feel as much that there is a hole in the world. I think I may have moved on to a more restorative phase of mourning. I can smile and laugh more genuinely when reminiscing as well as when suddenly reminded of him. In recent months, I’ve seen several people in passing who look a lot like my friend. I believe most of the times there has been a similarity with the nose and the shape of the face, but I suspect that if I were to stop the person the overall similarity would be less than the impression created in a fleeting glance. In addition to similarities in physical appearance, I’ve noticed people with similar mannerisms and/or speech.  Several morning ago there was something in the way a stranger greeted me in passing that gave me goosebumps. I don’t immediately recall specific stories of people talking this way during my childhood, but the stories exists and they were generally communicated in a positive fashion. I’m sure I could find several people from Mississippi who would say that these recent experiences were evidence of my friend trying to communicate with me from the beyond, and my most immediate and guttural response is in line with this thinking.  I try to take joy in the feeling rather than be dismissive of it. My friend very much believed in spirits and ghosts and having this feeling reminds me of him. The one other time I remember having this experience also involved someone who died suddenly, and it involved noticing people with similar voice and manner of speaking.  I wasn’t close friends with this person, but we had significant shared experiences and we shared close friends.  That time the experience occurred much closer to the death.

I will mix in some more updates on things from the past year over the next few posts.

Yours always,
S.

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

I’ve completed a year of self-study in anthropology.  I will likely continue with more of the same for a while.  I will have more to say about that later.  Over the past week, I came across something that I wrote in high school.  I was struck with the sense that it sounded like an angle an anthropologist might have used.  I wrote this during a timed test for which we had the option to free-style an essay in lieu of writing about whatever literature we were reading at the time.  It was popular with the natives back then and it was printed in the school paper unedited.  The quoted material is from the student handbook.  Some of what I wrote then seems useful to me now.

Much love,

S.

Budding Anthropologist?

The Demise of Antiquity: Europe and the Mediterranean in the First Millennium AD
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 18: 227-244 (Volume publication date October 1989)
Klavs Randsborg
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

This is another article that leaves me wondering what the editing process may have been like.  For instance the final section is labeled “Conclusions,” but it introduces a complex subject, symbolic representations, that hadn’t been covered earlier in the article and didn’t seem to sum up or touch on the overall themes of the article in a conclusory way.

Of more note, is the lack of clarity as to which parts of the author’s discussion were based on archaeological evidence.  In the introduction Radsborg writes that “new archaeological data … is drastically changing our picture of the period and of the world …”  I didn’t come away with any clear ideas of how this was so from the body of the review.  For example, Radsborg notes that archaeology has greatly increased the understanding of rural settlements during the first millennium, but the discussion that follows doesn’t clearly delineate which bits of information, such as the fact that the farms were quite large and as many as 20 of them could make up a single settlement, came specifically from archaeological data, were bolstered by archaeological data, or came mostly from historical sources.  A previous article I read on Norse archaeology that covered some of the same time period, made mention of specific dig sites in the body of the review.  It was nice to be able to google the names of these sites for further information on what was found there and how it added to or challenged the existing history.  Names of dig sites would have been helpful for this review.  I imagine that looking at the references would answer my questions, but it’s nice to have a bit firmer toe-holds in the body of the review.  The author does such a great job of providing toe-holds for exploring the causes of the fall of the Roman empire and factors that were important in the rise of modern Europe that I wondered whether useful toe-holds were removed during editing.

The review on Norse archaeology and this current review both emphasized the value of the knowledge gained from medieval archaeology. The Norse review noted that medieval archaeology was often thought of “as an expensive way to find out what we already know.”  Reading both reviews, I was generally left with a positive view of the types of people who do medieval archeology in that they seem to be the sorts who question whether we really know what we think we know or  whether we are missing important bits of information that we hadn’t even considered that we were missing; they also seemed to heavily promote interdisciplinary efforts that highlight differing angles. Radsborg writes that he enjoys discussions of the fall of Rome that include both internal and external causes for the fall.  He says it doesn’t matter so much whether the theories are right or wrong seeing that the discussion that comes from including multiple angles is so much richer.

It’s possible what I saw as a lack of toe-holds in parts of the review was a strategy seeing that Radsborg has written a book covering the same material … show ‘em that you got skills, but leave them wanting more …  The First Millennium AD in Europe and the Mediterranean: An Archaeological Essay.

Ever yours,
S.

Psychoanalytic Anthropology
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 18: 177-202 (Volume publication date October 1989)
Robert A Paul
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Robert Paul’s descriptions of psychoanalytic anthropologists show them as people who understand that insights into another’s culture take time and may require a certain amount of unguided observation and immersion. And I appreciate the perspective some have as far as the information that results from cross-cultural (or even within culture) interactions/studies: “… Crapanzano argues, the ethnographic interview, like the psychoanalytic process, is an ongoing act of mutual creativity in which interviewer and interviewee dialectically constitute – rather than unearth and comment on – the reality being sought.” Sometimes it seems that social “scientists” get too caught up into thinking that they are unearthing real truths about the world and it peoples, and that armed with the right theory and specific toolkit they can clearly knock out all the broad strokes of a culture in no time or some such.

I was reminded of Roy Wagner’s comments from a 2008 interview. He says that the stuff that anthropologists talk about and study isn’t really the kind of stuff we can talk about and know, but because he and others have earned a certain qualification they are recognized as being able to talk about these things. I believed that he believed this and not that it was just something cute to say which made me all the more fascinated by his continued ability to talk about that stuff with passion and excitement and interest. And yes, I understand that this talk about stuff can have practical applications within whatever framework one chooses to help give shape to and make sense of the world, but still, it can be difficult to remain attached to such a framework and understanding with passion as opposed to apathy. I suppose we all cycle back and forth between those two.

This is one of the reviews that I would like to revisit; I find the type of thinking interesting. Paul writes that “those who practice psychoanalytic anthropology assume that human life is meaningfully influenced by unconscious thoughts, affects, and motives and that anthropological understanding is deepened by investigating them.” Here’s a link to the Wikipedia article on psychoanalytic anthropology and other areas of psychological anthropology.  Read here about Robert Paul’s participation in the Robert A. Paul Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, “A Landmark Undertaking for the Convergence of Science and Spirituality,” at Emory University.

Many warm thoughts,
S.

The Relation of Morphology to Syntax
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 18: 157-175 (Volume publication date October 1989)
Susan Steele
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

I read the first few pages of this article and I was drawn in by the fact that Steele defines key, basic terminology and gives clear explanations and examples. However, the laymen-level clarity drops away after the first few pages in a way that left me wondering what the editing of this article had been like. Had an editor removed sentences and paragraphs thought to be redundant and/or unnecessary, I thought.  I also thought it might be that Steele defined the basic terms/concepts more to distinguish her membership in a specific linguistic camp rather than in an effort to make the article more generally accessible. It’s possible that my concentration fell away as the discussion became more esoteric. The Wikipedia article on syntax had definitions for and links to wider explanations of many of the relevant terms for this article – this wiki article has so many links that it seems a good jumping off point for garnering a basic familiarity.

I often wonder how linguists make it through a day of ordinary communication. Are they able to shut off the laboratory thinking once they leave the lab? Even with my limited knowledge, I have often felt overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” people communicate about themselves in the course of every day speech. (A friend mentioned that this sense of being overwhelmed might be the explanation for why a the character of linguist Henry Higgins in “Pygmalion“/“My Fair Lady” was a confirmed bachelor who avoided the standard social obligations.) I’ve casually observed how people use language differently on social media sites being that they are preparing tidbits for a wider public consumption than in the average daily conversation. Even without benefit of tone of voice and body language, I’ve found that people seem to communicate a lot more about their private lives than they consciously intend… this despite generally taking more care in how they craft their words.  I wonder how much word choices and sentence structure vary with the emotional content of the communication… can we tell a happy story by the structure of the sentences and are we less able to manipulate these variables consciously when sharing stories with others?

Midnight approaches…

Warm regards,

S.

The Archeology of the Norse North Atlantic
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 19: 331-351 (Volume publication date October 1990)
Thomas H. McGovern
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Reading this review I thought it would be great to pal around the net looking for the latest info on the research discussed.  l wanted to read more on what McGovern referred to as the controversial claims regarding settlement of the Faroe Islands: “Pioneering palynological work by Johannes Johansen claimed to have identified evidence of early cereal cultivation by pre-Norse Celtic monks ca. AD 600.” So far, I’ve come across several non-academic sites that mention the possibility of Celtic monks in AD 600, so it would seem the notion is a popular one; but not much on the more official word. I imagine that no new evidence has been found and the claim remains controversial. Maybe one day the story of new evidence will break and it will be all excitement. McGovern also mentions the controversial claims of Margret Hermanns-Audardottir that there was a pre-Viking Scandinavian colony in Iceland. A stub Wikipedia page basically repeats this information with nothing new added.

I wonder what criteria go into determining whether controversial claims are worthy of mention in a scholarly work. How big a role does merit play as opposed to the reputation of the researcher or the sponsors of the research.

I’m certain I’ve watched a couple films on Viking archaeology and at least one on Vinland and the dig site at L’Anse aux Meadows. Reading McGovern left me wanting to re-watch films on this site. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a series of pages with information on Vinland archaeology with video clips, including one that takes you inside a Viking long house, and audio clips including an excerpt from the stories of Leif Eriksson. The “next” link in the bottom right corner is a bit discreet, but click it to page through the information at the site.

It’s super late, so I will leave you with that and my warmest regards,

S.

Mining: Anthropological Perspectives
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 14: 199-217 (Volume publication date October 1985)
Ricardo Godoy
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Ricardo Godoy seems a man after my first anthropology professor’s heart. The review reads like one would expect if a mining conglomerate had hired an anthropologist to write such a thing, which is just the type of work my first anthropology professor recommended (she discouraged academia and ethnography). That’s not to say that it reads as if from an industry mouthpiece; there’s objectivity still. Godoy does a good job of presenting a variety of viewpoints; it’s just that the emphasis and de-emphasis seems somewhat more favorable to mining companies as opposed to the people or the state.

Godoy divides the review into three sections: economics, sociopolitical considerations and ideological considerations.  He writes of the financial risks involved in locating mining resources.  The search can be expensive with no guarantee of a payoff.  He points to discussions of how the harsh working conditions, company-favorable legislation, and geographic isolation and so on that come with mining have encouraged worker solidarity and political organization.  He gives a firm nod to the work of Mircea Eliade (The Forge and the Crucible) for those wanting to read more about the  miners’ belief system.  He writes that Eliade “draws the analogy between obstetrics and mining, with ore equated to embryo, mine to uterus, shaft to vagina, and miner to obstetrician.”

Even with the brief overview of issues in anthropological studies of mining, I find myself wanting to rewatch movies with mining components.  Movies like Billy Elliot, in which mining isn’t the main focus, come to mind.  The movie is set during a miners’ strike, but the main story has to do with a boy’s love of dance.  Even without further reading, I might notice more the movies’ commentary on mining towns and mining families and the mining industry.  Is there any language equating the mine to a womb or to hell? Are there any references, no matter how brief or subtle, as to how mining has impacted the area, any hint of what the town was like before mining? In a movie in which mining isn’t the main focus, the commentary is more pointed and selective which is what appeals to me at the moment with this topic.  Billy Elliot is streaming on Netflix (seems I watched it November of last year), so maybe I will give it another watch soon.

With much sweetness,
S.

Chicano Studies, 1970-1984
Annual Review of Anthropology
Vol. 14: 405-427 (Volume publication date October 1985)
R Rosaldo
In lieu of an abstract, the publisher reproduces the first page of the article. (Link)

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Renato Rosaldo summarizes Paredes’ critique of some early Chicano studies stating that ethnographic errors included “mistranslations, failing to see double meanings in speech, taking literally what people meant figuratively and taking seriously what people meant as a joke.” These types of mistakes aren’t surprising given how little time some anthropologists spend in the field with the people they are studying. I have been repeatedly taken aback by the authority and weight given to some anthropological studies that result from seemingly little time spent with the culture and with the language.

I also wonder at the lack of interest in native critiques and self-evaluations. Sometimes it seems as though anthropologists and other social scientists do not believe that the locals participate in any valuable self-examinations or examinations of the particulars of their cultures. In the previous review having to do with ritual, native critiques of a particular ritual were not readily shared with outsiders and there was an assumption that such critiques didn’t exist. It’s nice to see more participation in studies by in-group members who have advanced degrees in anthropology and an increase in attention being paid to the critiques of “regular” people — Rosaldo wrote of this happening more with studies of Chicanos.

In a section titled “The Coming Generation,” Rosaldo wrote that “writings on Chicanos will be significantly shaped by four scholars in their late 30s and early 40s.” Here are some quick links for these scholars mentioned in this review from 1985:

Jose Cuellar
San Francisco State Faculty Page
Bio at DrLoco.com
City College of San Francisco Rate My Professor
San Francisco State University Rate My Professor

Carlos Velez-Ibanez
Faculty Page at UC Riverside
Faculty Page at Arizona State University
University of Arizona Rate My Professor
UC Riverside Rate My Professor

Miriam Wells
UC Davis Faculty Page
UC Davis Rate My Professor

Jose Limon
University of Notre Dame Faculty Page

It has been a busy day and it’s now late, so I will leave you with that.

Until next time,

S.