Teaching Anthropology

So, gentle readers....I need your advice. What do you do in lower higher education to resign from an extra-contractual position when you have come to the conclusion that you are getting hosed?I mean none of the promises that were made to you by your President have come true even...

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Its always nice to be reading along and find a reference to anthropology which not only seems to understand us but to promote the best of us.So, here I was sipping the morning coffee with my laptop open to the Sunday papers (look Ma, no ink-stained fingers) and I ran...

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No, I haven't seen it. I probably won't. I always hate it when Hollywood drives the bus--especially for two hours and forty minutes. Besides being an Avatar virgin means I don't become overly invested in my own opinions of it and I am interested in the opinions of my students...

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Tomorrow is my baby girl's twentieth birthday. In the artificial construct of American age, it is the last year I can refer to her as a baby girl. Next year, she will be an adult.There has been a lively discussion on the SACC listserv about measuring educational success. ...

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So, I saw this on the Huffington Post and it was just so way cool that I had to share.Seems that empires are like zits. First they grow, then they explode, then, eventually, they just disappear.My favorite part is in 1960 when African independence kicks in. I so...

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Interesting article at the NY Times about the legal battle brewing in the U.K. over determinations of "Jewishness" in school admission processes: "Who is a Jew?" is the central question. And the courts have tripped over the thorny issue of the inherent discrimination in the us/them reality of some...

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Well this Honors gig thing is really kicking my ass but I still feel more anthropologist than low-level abused administrator so I am back at my blog. I miss it.I still feel a bit choked up about Levi-Strauss dying. Seems so stark to type that. I suppose we should...

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I notice Chris Rock (such a bummer that the You Tube of him on Leno from a previous post was pulled--trust me it was hilarious)is releasing a documentary entitled "Good Hair" exploring the meanings and issues associated with...well..."black hair". I didn't have to go very far to read lots of...

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In my Real Life, I have been given a book proposal for a new intro to Cultural Anthropology to review. Its kind of bugging me as I make my way through the proposal because the unknown author seems to feels some compelling need to make Anthropology more "relevant" to...

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Have we all seen the recent discussion of Michelle Obama's ancestry? The New York Times has extended discussion/blog/commentary up with views of noted scholars commenting. Even one by an Anthropologist (yeah team). Its got some nice bits on race. I need to go read the others....

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While the New York Times is busy parsing out all the cultural meanings of the American versus French versus German interpretations of the Roman Polanski arrest (at least according to Americans). And The Guardian reminds us to throw class into the mix (Lovely how both papers are staying true to...

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I just read that on an exam I am trying to grade. Hmmmmm.....I wish culture was working better for us. On second thought, given these exams, I wish it would stop working and someone would put me out of my misery.Back at it....

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Don't know about you but I am scheduled to cover Evolution in my General Anthropology (ANTH 2346) come this Tuesday. Not looking forward to it. 39% of Americans don't "believe" in it.And this just in from the Daily Telegraph who is, once again, wallowing in their sense of British superiority...

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I was going to blog about the responses of our local school districts, here in the great state of Texas, to that powerful socialist force that is our President and his nefarious plan to hypnotize schoolchildren to do his bidding but it just makes me sick to my stomach.Instead, I...

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The preliminary figures are in; our enrollments are up over ten percent, which puts us over 30,000 system-wide. Two weeks have gone by that I can't recall. Here seems to be a day:8:30 arrive on Campus, pass College Democrats bulletin board on the way to office, pull down picture of...

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Whew! How many of those of us who teach anthropology are back teaching anthropology? We are packed to the gills with students. If they could have suspended them from the ceiling, I believe they would have. I think every class we have must be full. ...

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Houston lost a daughter. Austin gained a Longhorn. Mom still has the hedgehog; you saw that one coming didn't you?On the road from Austin home to Houston, I passed (again) the sign for Old Potato Road, and had the same thought: is the potato old or is it the road?Its...

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That got your attention didn't it. Do not picture your colleagues in this role. Not attractive. Nope.The pedagogy debate rages on. Those of you paying attention to the Comments section will notice that the previous "lecture" versus Web 2.0 discussion (that award winning one) has become re-activated. Thanks to Informalethnographer...

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Since we are, probably, all gearing up for another year, I thought I would share some of the useful clips I have found for Cultural classes. I think we would all agree that it takes some creativity to do an online Cultural class and I have worked rather hard at...

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I am just speechless. How many moral laws were broken when Hillary Clinton opened her mouth and had the audacity to lecture the Congo on the instances of rape and sexual violence brought about by a war which, in many respects, we began and continue to fund?...

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Hillary has made it to Congo (left Angola, not yet in Nigeria) and the main stream press paved the way. I noticed that last week (August 4) the New York Times had an article up on the phenomenon of male rape in Congo, "Symbol of Unhealed Congo: Male Rape Victims"....

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Hillary Clinton has finished up in Angola and is moving on to Nigeria. Do I have that right? Can't say I follow her every move. I just assumed that because of the oil connection. Obama to Ghana=good political move, up with democracy; Hillary to Angola=oil, Hillary...

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The Society for Anthropology in the Community College (SACC) has rolled out its new website at:http://saccweb.net/Go have a look, you will find all the usual background info, as well as a blog and under "Teaching Anthropology" some sample syllabi and a list of Archaeology Resources compiled by Guest Blogger and...

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I see Salon has an article/book review up on Cahokia citing 'Timothy Pauketat's cautious but mesmerizing new book, "Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi"'Its got all the most lurid details and a nifty title:Sacrificial virgins of the MississippiWomen don't get no respect, can't even capitalize "virgin". Guess I...

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