Activist Anthropology Flashcards
Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)
“Coming of Age in Samoa” (1928) = supportive social networks, relaxed attitudes to sexuality, and lack of strict parental control provided smooth transition of adolescence + social permissiveness, division of labour, and relaxed cultural attitudes to sex provided flexible gender roles;
“Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies” (1935): Cultural Variations in Gender Roles: Arapesh men and women were gentle, nurturing, and cooperative = “feminine” in Western contexts; Mundugumor men and women were aggressive, assertive, and competitive = “masculine”;
Tchambuli gender roles reversed: women were dominant and managerial = responsible for managing trade and economic activities, such as the distribution of goods and the negotiation of trade deals, while men were more emotionally dependent, not hiding their feelings and often seeking comfort and reassurance from their female partners, also being concerned with aesthetics: decorating themselves with ornaments and engaging in artistic activities, spending considerable time adorning themselves with shells, feathers, and other decorative items => scholarly foundation for the sexual liberation movements of the 60s and 70s.
Early member of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), where she worked to promote cultural relativism, racial equality, educational programs for intercultural understanding, women’s rights
1951 UNESCO report discussed how “all scientific progress should contribute to the improvement of living conditions of mankind.”
Nancy Scheper Hughes (1944 -)
“Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil” (1992) Bom Jesus da Mata in Northeast Brazil => ((focusing on the high rates of infant mortality and maternal grief in the community where lack of formal mourning rituals for infants reflects the community’s resigned acceptance of high child mortality rates))
In poverty, violence, and social inequality, boundaries between individual bodies and the larger social body become blurred
Critical Medical Anthropology is more socially engaged and ethically informed approach to biomedical research/ clinical practice, taking into account lived experiences and moral frameworks of people affected
Raised awareness about human rights abuses, participating in policy discussions, and advising governmental and non-governmental organizations in areas related to organ trafficking, mental health, and public health.
“Militant anthropology” which involves taking a clear ethical stance and engaging directly in social and political activism = anthropologists should not be passive observers but active participants in the struggles of the communities they study.
David Graeber (1961 - 2020)
‘Bullshit Jobs’ (2018), ‘Dawn of Everything’ (2021) = Writings on topics such as inequality, capitalism, bureaucracy, and the nature of work have reached broad audiences and influenced public discourse on these issues, bridging the gap between academia and activism
Viewed activism not just as a means to achieve specific political goals, but as a form of social and cultural practice that shapes and is shaped by broader power dynamics =>
1) Anthropological perspective - studying activists
2) Direct anarchist action - grassroots organising, direct democracy, nonhierarchical decision-making; Occupy Wall Street research insight of strategies
3) Critique of bureaucracy/ hierarchy ; for decentralised, horizontal forms that prioritise autonomy, solidarity, and direct action
4) Politics of everyday life - refusing to comply with unjust laws or challenging oppressive social norms
5) Theory grounded in lived experience a more engaged and politically relevant anthropology
