Ethnography Prezi

My presentation is at this link.

External Link: Tourism Drop in Jordan

Here is a link that has to do with the anthropology of tourism as well as Ms. Cavanagh's study in Jordan of tourism.  Apparently the Jordan tourism department has reported a loss of $1 billion as a result of the political discourse in the region. 

External Link: Potosi Mine Excursion Blog + Pictures

Very cool pictures with the same tourguide from the documentary Can't Do It in Europe
here.

External Link: Life and Debt/ Haiti Relation

After seeing Life and Debt and the situation in Jamaica I became interested in the condition in other countries, and came across this document from Duke that regards this exact topic. An intersting read, here.

External Link: Domestic Ethnic & Racial Tensions and American Foreign Policy

Domestic Ethnic & Racial Tensions and American Foreign Policy

The link above outlines the problems existent in our culture as it related to racial tension in regards to foreign policy.  Called into question are the motives present within the "American Setting" that insinuate a relation between our policy and the public workforce, as it has to do with the internal domestic tension that we created as a ersult of racial diversity.  Freedom is guaranteed to every man, woman, and child in the United States and should be taken more seriously.  The alliances our country has formed and the resulting policy is called into question and the effects that reverberate into our domestic policy are clearly related.  Our status as a "multi-national state" of immigrants developed from the influx of people destined for a land of opportunity, the fabric of our country.  Until anyone can come and thrive as the American Dream promises we will simply be inferior to other countries, as diversity and unison is the driving American recipe for success.  Race needs to be put on the backburner as we try to compete with other states in the quest for excellance and unity.

Video: Can't Do It In Europe

This video was of particular interest to me as the mining methods have been unchanged for so long and it was very unique the way the mines have developed into an unlikely tourism industry where the tourists support miners.  This seemingly symbiotic relationship where the tourists purchase gifts for the miners such as coca leaves, alcohol, drinks, and dynamite is beneficial to both parties and the miners definitly benefit from such a well thought out relationship.  I felt bad for the miners as they had little options as far as work went, and the nature of the mines is dangerous enough, but when I learned that when silver was found and miners sometimes threw dynamite at each other was paritcularly disturbing.  I would like to visit these mines if I ever can get to South America, as I like exploring caves, which the mines resemble given the close spaces and underground nature.  The people of Potosi seem to lead a rough life, which seems to be the stimulus for the American and European tourism industry that permits economically stable tourists a view of a tough life, permitting a feeling of respect for all the advantages we are born with in the modern world at the cost of these miners.

“Heading Home: Women, Work, and Identity in America by Shandy and Moe

The comparison of small talk and American ideals are compared to other countries, and the class systems that exist everywhere in different capacities are discussed in this article.  Also discussed are women's role in the advancement of industry, in particular is the post World War II America that saw the strength of women as men fought, an important shift in the workplace that made the backbone of our workplace much stronger as women left the home and enetered the workplace, bolstering the productive capabilities of our country.  Also discussed is the push for women to get "back in the home," which is hard to do once they are already an important part in the workplace of America.  This gives most women a choice between homemaking or working, an important advancement in our culture that enables women to choose their path in life, an important aspect of freedom that is indifferent to sex.  Women that work the "secon-shift" in the home are the strongest workers, as after working all day they still care for their home afterwards, overworking women.  Single moms are a great example of this aspect of workers in the US, and even my own mother has earned her MBA and progressed to a great job, but she still needs to care for my home.  This busy life of work is admirable and I have the utost respect for women that can control a home while maintaining a job as I have experienced it firsthand.  I' glad that women have increased respect in the workplace today, and can only hope that the disparities between genders can become closer and women get the respect they deserve given all of their work.

Video: John Marshall and the Ju'hoansi Tribe

This documentary highlights the consequences of anthropological stuudies and how they can affect those being studies, a responsibility of the anthropologist to consider when conducting research in ethical ways.  The Ju'hoansi Tribe was exploited as a result of Marshall's work, a negative result that illustrates the ethical implications that come with anthropological studies and brings into question the pros/cons of such research depending on who comes across the data.  Marshall never intended for the tribe to be negatively impacted by his research, which resulted in the tourism and employment of the tribe, eroding the cultural advancement of this group of people by Westernization efforts and the disclosure of information that ended up with this readical transformation in the daily life of the tribe.  The hunter/gatherer ways have been abandoned by some for modernized customs, and examples of such transformations are the tribe's distrust of modern medical attention, even for youth, which results negatively for the tribe as well.  These complications must be taken into consideration by anthropologists anywhere, an important lesson that shows how important ehtics really are during research.  This inigenous population's stark shift in culture as a result makes us rethink the methods and motives of research and resulted in the untimely renaissance within "Bushmen" culture.  An interesting article I found on the topic that porvides more details of the faming initiatives and results can be found here.

“Mixed Blood” by Fish

Jeffrey Fish's dissertation of race and ehtnic identity as it relates to familial lineage is radical-seeming given my American upbringing, but I can understand how race in America could be considered a social construct engineered by the melting-pot nature of our country.  Dictionary.com defines race as "a group of persons related by common descent or heredity," but also recognizes the anthropological definition of an arbitrary classifaction of humankind based on phenotypes and common conceptions that may influence behavior or culturally induced standards within these self-formed subsections of our human race. Fish's assertion that race is a nonexistent myth is definitly a topic of discourse that can be considered controversial, but the premises of his argument are definitly possible and while they may seem unconventional to Americans I believe it's important to examine our personal beliefs and remove our ingrained preconceptions to carefully consider Fish's analysis.  I give Fish credit partly because he looks at more than just the "ethnicity" or origins or the multiple different "sects" of humans that have simply adapted to their respective geographical locations, which in today's modernized world of travel and industry have become almost seemingly obsolete as people traverse the world and spread their culture.  The American ideals are representative of this, as our country was founded on immigration and the mulitculturalism that allowed the rapid expansion of our country from colony to superpower in a few generations.  Compared to the Brazilian ideal of race as the way people look, Americans look at the lineage and history of individuals and are interested in geneology moreso than appearance.  I think the difference is notable and Fish hit the nail on the head with his assumption of our understanding of race.  The idea of someone changing their race by a flight in a plane is brought up, and interestingly enough presents the question of how race has become such a social determinism in the way culture is shared and viewed from different perspectives based upon location.

“Encounters with the Elderly in America” by Tsuji

The account of the difference in cultural treatment of the elderly as defined by a Japanese student studying in America highlights the key differences in the disparity in attention and care provided to the elderly.  Yokho Tsuji came to San Diego in 1976 after two other visits, and observed the treatment of the elderly as almost inhumane and disrespectful when compared to Japanese customs.  Perhaps this difference comes from the ideology of the "stem family" in which three generations of a family all live together, not nearly as common in the US as standard nuclear 2-generation families.  This family style of living is the reason Tsuji had spent much more time with her grandmother, as her mom worked.  This could have much effect on her perception of the elderly and how they are to be treated, which would obviously be more ingrained into a young Japanese person given the stem-family aspect. This article advocates for the mistreatment of senior citizens and demands a change in the infrastructure of industry and elder care that seems to negatively affect the most wise in our country after they can no longer defend themselves.

“Just Another Job? The Commodification of Domestic Labor” by Anderson

This article captivated my attention with the details of the rapidly expanding amount of domestic workers that was news to me.  I think its not out of place for people to profit from cleaning and doing the things described in the article. The live-in migrants was another unforeseen faction that represents what the article tries to prove.  As long as people have jobs it shouldnt matter what they may be, such is the case with this.

“Federally Sponsored Mexican Migrants” by Smith-Nonini

This article was very strange to me, as I felt like some information was missing.  There must be some explanation for why the government would allow this kind of activity, because it sees counterproductive to the American economy and unfair to the Mexican laborers.  The idea that one man dubbed "Leroy Dunn" can not only assemble an army of laborers, but get the approval from the government to import thousands of seasonal workers.  It just seems wrong, and should be stopped.

"Cell Phones, Sharing, and Social Status in an African Society” by Smith

Smith's in-depth analysis of the usage of cell phones in Nigeria is significant in the modernization of even much more impoverished countries, which I believe is progress to close the gap between such disparities within the world.  However, many Nigerians that have computers attempt to hack and steal information and money from victims in the US and have no threat of police jurisdiction.  Also interesting was the concept that text messaging was informal and dirty, which seemed funny to me given its popularity in the USA. Also the flashing bit was very funny and its intriguing because of the improvised adaptation that human ingenuity crafted to avoid credit.

Video: Life and Debt

This film was particularly interesting to me as I have been to Jamaica twice and had no idea of the weakened economy that was illustrated in the film.  When we visited we experienced many aggressive street vendors targeting women and children as well as an open air drug market environment.  These occurances seem to have been a result of the sharp decline of commercial farming in Jamaica as the people are forced to shift towards the growing tourism industry.  I thought it was sad when the farmers had to pour all their milk out due to the US powder milk, as much money and work was lost.  The Jamaican government needs to, in my opinion, find a solution to the foreign investors and "free-zones" and increase their economic security.

White Privilege

I think that the author of this article is simply trying to stir up controversy among racial tides in the United States, a sentiment that has been ever decreasing since the abolition of slavery.  The list of proposed problems the author presents seems a little misrepresented, as the points she uses make little sense as they are already possible, at least everywhere I've lived.  In a tough economic time as today noone can be guaranteed affordable housing, and the "American Dream" has become much more distorted.  Also proposed is the equal representation of race within the media, which seems counterproductive as the news simply reports what happens, and race is a non-issue in current events as anyone could make the news.  Another question I had when reading regards the author's ethos is her credibility; Peggy McIntosh (an Irish name) is an American female rights journalist, and is known for writing literature regarding white men in general and their alleged "hold" on society.  What I found out that was very interesting was the dialogue and communication that her essay has started as described in this article.  As a young white man I can firmly attest that we face much of the same issues others do daily, and Ms. McIntosh is using her emotions as an oppressed female to compare her own grievances with that of African Americans.  The logic behind this transcendence of purported blame seems less than valid, and the argument is either outdated or incorrect.

“Official Statement on Race” by AAA

I believe that the statement made by the AAA correctly sums up the historical association of skin color and ethnicity with "race", and that race is a factor of determinism forged by society to employ standardized roles that impede our progress as a species.  I believe in the equal rights and standards for all people, regardless of lineage and chance conception.  However, I think that to give certain privileges and advantages to minority races is wrong, as is discussed here.  The priority for scholarships should go to the best available contestant regardless of race or ethnicity, these are questions that shouldn't even be asked on such matters.  Racism is only a problem as long as we make it one, and giving an even keel to all youth is the best way to start such a transformation.

Readings: “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” by Abu-Lughod

I disagree with  Lila Abu-Lughod’s theory that Afghan women would rather be oppressed than to endure the hardship of war.  The mandate that forces them to wear burqas is not righteous, and I believe that they do indeed need to be saved from a culture that supports men’s superiority.  I think that women should wear and do what they want, and the only way to do this is to convince the men in charge to change the ruling.  The Taliban are resisting this transformation, so I believe that war is necessary.   The author argues that war is hurting the Afghan women more than the clothing, but the fighting is necessary to make the change.  Freedom is earned through blood and sweat, and nothing is gained without some kind of loss.  I think that Laura Bush and American feminists are righteous in their quest for the “saving” of women, as women deserve equal freedom as do men.  This stance is construed as “enthnocentric” in the reading, but I believe it’s a God-given right and must be fought for.  To justify this tyrannous rule as simply a cultural difference is simply the alleviation of our responsibility to assist other humans in their right to freedom.

Video: The Mark of Cain – Alec Lambert

This film was particularly moving, and makes me even more happy to be in America.  Although U.S. prisons can be bad, they don’t seem as barbaric as the Russian prisons depicted in the film.  Many parallels run between the two, such as improvised tattoos, “rank” of criminals based on crime and demeanor, and terrible food.  However, the Russian prisons serve seemingly inhumane food compared to the “Grade D – but approved for human consumption” food that is served in American prisons.  Tattoos carry a lot of meaning in the Russian prison system, which holds true for some American prisons, such as biker and street gangs.  Each system has their own respective “caste” system, the lowest of which are looked upon as less than human beings.  Both systems have labels for those that assist the administration: an American “snitch”is called a “goat” in the Russian prison system.  The thing that separates the two is the level of torture that is tolerated in Russian prisons, which is sickening in nature.  Tattoos for the Russian prisoners define their interests, crimes committed, and status in the criminal world.  The “theif-in-law” is the highest position, looked upon as the godfather.  Ironically, these men with the least regard for human life get Crucifixes tattood for significance.  Another prisoner innovation is the strategy to get the tattoo of Joseph Stalin or Karl Marx, as the prison guards will not shoot a prisoner to execute him with these tattoos.  Prison ingenuity provides a range of items used to communicate, as well as weapons.  These innovations are a result of adaptation to an environment, a significantly human accomplishment that really conveys the beauty of the human mind, even in such a depressive setting.  I liked the movie as it opens my mind to prison life in countries other than the United States, and instills a cautious attitude in myself if I ever find myself in Russia.

Video: Anthropology and It's Subfields

The point of this video is to convey the four aspects of contemporary ethnographic anthropology using John Marshall's film from the 1950's to explain the broadness of the topic.  Cultural, Physical, Archaeological, and Linguistic are the different components of anthropological studies, as demonstrated with the Ju/'hoansi people.  Their ways of living are studied and reported through Marshall's self-immersion into an entirely different culture, and the results of his reporting actually consequentially hurts the tribe due to globalization and greed from those seeking to exploit the naive nature of lesser educated people.  The video discusses results of globalization, such as the spread of information, education, and healthcare.  This change in cultural tides creates conflict almost always, and delineates the backbone of strong different cultures by blending them together.