Minutes: 17 February 2009

The second official meeting covered past topics of discussion, such as the GBAC conference (happening next Friday, the 27th, from 8:30 until 4:15), the new blog that is up-and-running, pubbing/spamming this new organization, and our role on campus.

Members will be helping set up our table at 8:00 the morning of the GBAC conference, as well as publicizing presentations that are relevant to specific courses to increase student attendance.

- Posted By Calais Weber, '11, Secretary

Tradition Takeover: The effects of Globalization on the Disney Corporation

A summer job left me interested in the ways multinational corporations like Disney and McDonald's incorporate, replace, and accommodate local traditions. Here's an article for anyone interested in the anthropology of globalization or Disney. 

HARBIN JOURNAL
A Big Wall Falls in China to Make Room for Mickey
By EDWARD WONG
Published: February 16, 2009

"Snow White has replaced snow dragons. Children wander through the frozen hallways of Aladdin’s Castle instead of a Qing dynasty palace. “It’s a Small World” plays in one corner of the park. (What better theme music for globalization?)"

read the rest at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/asia/17harbin.html?ref=world

- Posted By Ceridwen Hall '09, Treasurer

Anthropologists and War

Paula Loyd (right), Wellesley '95, was an anthropology major conducting research for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

Anthropologist's war death reverberates

By Farah Stockman Boston Globe Staff / February 12, 2009

"In a hostile corner of southern Afghanistan, an American platoon fanned out around a market, forming a protective circle around a petite woman with a notebook. Paula Loyd, a Wellesley-educated researcher, began interviewing villagers about the price of cooking fuel - a key indicator of whether insurgents had hijacked supply lines."

Read more at boston.com: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/12/anthropologists_war_death_reverberates/

Should anthropologists work alongside soldiers?

By Dan Vergano and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

"SAN FRANCISCO — The military for years has enlisted anthropologists, depending on their expertise to write up analyses of distant places and cultures.

But debate is growing among those scientists over whether it is appropriate for them to be involved in actually working alongside soldiers in combat or to contribute to the growing field of counterterrorism research."

Read more at usatoday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/ethics/2008-12-08-anthropologists-soldiers_N.htm

- Posted By Christine, '09

Devolve Me: Interactive Fun With Evolution

http://www.open.ac.uk/darwin/devolve-me.php

IN HONOR OF DARWIN'S "BIRTHDAY" LAST WEEK.

From the site:  Ready to journey back in time? Use our fun tool to see yourself as you would have looked as an early human. When you've finished, why not share the results with a friend?

Upload your photo and see yourself travel back through the evolutionary timeline... it's not an exact science but it is a lot of fun!

So it's not science, but it's a good time.  Any biological anthropologists want to comment on the results?  

I invite you, fine faithful readers, to share your devolved faces on the blog!  Email a .jpeg or .png file to anthrophilia@gmail.com, and your friendly neighborhood Anthrophiliacs will add it to the blog.

Thanks to Professor Adam van Arsdale for the link!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Thanks to follower Lizzi M for sending us her great "Before" and "After" pics.  Because of the nature of the exercise, I'm not quite sure which should be "before" and which one should be "after"... how about:

Now...

 

and way back then!

- Posted By Emily Šaras '10, President

Minutes: 10 February 2009

During the first (and successful) meeting, the Anthrophiliacs discussed their role as a new organization on the Wellesley campus. A number of problems were brought up, as well as a few ways to address them. There will be a Tuesday night film festival in April, as well as faculty lectures, and an Anthrophilia table set up at GBAC. The issue of being a relatively obscure department was discussed, and it was decided that through not only fundraisers, but hosting campus-wide events will facilitate the process of growing a core community. In a quest to further legitimize the effort, a "location" for meetings was established as the cove above the atrium.

A name for the new organization, which was a stroke of genius, was decided upon, as well as various positions:

Emily Saras - President
Ceridwen Hall - Treasurer
Calais Weber - Secretary
Christine Yang - Publicity Chair
Jessica Chia - Film Coordinator
Laura Chilson - Academic Lecture Coordinator
Teresa Le - Outreach
Constance Ohlinger - Top Chef
Film Festival Coordinator
Kris Arden - ?

Some tasks of the utmost importance are creating introductory blogs by each member, as well as starting an Anthrophilia FirstClass conference, decorating the atrium cove, and increasing student interest in Anthropology opportunities.

- Posted By Calais Weber '11, Secretary

Calling All Majors / Minors to help with GBAC!

First task of Anthrophiliacs:  

Adriana Mihal (Administrative Assistant for the Department) contacted us through Professor Kohl.  She needs us to help with the GBAC event!

Are you interested in helping out at GBAC?  Us Anthrophiliacs are going to have an information table to welcome students to GBAC.  We hope our student presence will excite other students about our new club and will gain us some attention - and networking contacts!

If you can join the Anthrophiliacs at the table for any time on Friday, please email anthrophilia@gmail.com.  Join our club while you're at it!

- Posted By Emily Saras, '10

Upcoming Departmental Event: PRESENTATIONS ON GEORGIA, March 4, 2009

GEORGIA'S CULTURAL DIVERSITY: a Privilege or a Problem?
Wednesday March 4, 2009 - 7:30 - 9:30 PM - Pendleton East 239 - Wellesley College

First Presentation by Archil Kikodze, Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgia - Diversity and Environment: reflections on the history, political geography, and cultures of a newly independent state.
Archil Kikodze is a prize-winning novelist and photographer from Tbilisi, Georgia and the Georgian Coordinator of the Wellesley Winterterm Program in the Republic of Georgia. He will discuss the environment and cultural diversity of his native land. Mr. Kikodze will give an illustrated lecture depicting the cultural and physical wealth of the Republic of Georgia and will also relate specific examples illustrating the complex history and ethnic tensions that have beset Georgia from Stalinist times to the present, including the deportation of the Meskheti Turks from southern Georgia (Djavakheti) at the end of World War II. His talk will conclude with consideration of the recent tragic events that unfolded last August, which resulted in costly and deadly conflict and led to an intensification of ethnic hostilities in the area. 

Second Presentation by Stephen Jones, Mt. Holyoke College:
Who has the Right to Independence? Lessons from Georgia.
Stephen Jones is an expert on the Caucasus with a focus on Georgia and is Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Mount Holyoke College, as well as Chair of European Studies. He has studied Georgian history and politics for over thirty years and has written extensively on all things Georgian, from history to current issues of democratization, and questions of contemporary Georgian cultural life. His most recent book was entitled Socialism in Georgian Colors: the European Road to Social Democracy 1883-1917. He is currently editing a special issue of Central Asian Survey on the impact of the August 2008 war on Georgian politics and foreign policy. His talk will consider why the August war started, focusing on why secession is seen as the only answer by the Abkhazians and South Ossetians and evaluating to what extent the Georgian government’s own response led to the success of secessionist movements on its territory.

Questions?  email anthrophilia@gmail.com or Professor Philip Kohl, at pkohl@wellesley.edu.
**Thanks to Professor Kohl for passing this information along.

- Posted By Emily Šaras '10, President

Upcoming Departmental Event: GBAC at Wellesley! February 27, 2009

Upcoming Event!  Save the Date!

The Greater Boston Anthropology Consortium : Each year, a student anthropology conference is held on one of the GBAC campuses. The Sixth Annual Student Anthropology Conference will be held Friday, February 27, 2009 at Wellesley College.

For more information, click:  http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/anthro/gbac/index.html  ** site still being updated with this year's information.

Our department is represented by ten students:  Kendall D. LaSane, Emily Šaras, Christine Yang, Teresa Le, Samantha Bellach, Jennifer Pawson, Jessica Yoo, Kelsey Hanf, Steph Tung, and Gina Lentine.  Students will be presenting posters and papers on their research both in and out of the classroom.  

I bet some Anthrophiliacs might want to post here on the blog about the topic of their presentations...  

- Posted By Emily Šaras '10, President

Welcome to Anthrophilia!!

This is the new blog run by the "Anthrophiliacs" of Wellesley College's new Student-run Anthropology Club. Our posts will be about the work we are doing in our department, upcoming Anthropology events on Campus, and our interests in the world of anthropology today.

Our club is off to a great start. Stay tuned to our posts for information about our exciting upcoming events: April Ethnographic Film Festival, Watching Bones with the Anthrophiliacs, and the Faculty Research Lecture Series.

Most importantly: GBAC will be hosted by Wellesley College this year! Mark your calendar for Friday, February 27 for an afternoon of undergraduate student research publications. More information to be posted in the upcoming weeks.

All of us will be posting this week about who we are, our interests, and what we think about the work being done today in the future of anthropology. We'll keep checking in with you, posting some of our written work from classes, our ideas about the theories we are learning about, and with reviews of ethnographies and films we have read.

TALK BACK by commenting on our posts! We're all about the dialectic.

For questions about our club, our blog, and the events we are putting together, please contact us at anthrophilia@gmail.com. Thanks!

* Image: A Trobriander. Malinowski would be proud.

- Posted By Emily Šaras '10, President