Public Anthropology is More Important Than Ever

The Geek Anthropologist

As The Geek Anthropologist has expanded over the past several years, the editors have had a number of discussions about our identity as an online publication. Though our project, broadly speaking, is to provide anthropological sensibility to geek culture broadly defined, that ethnographic orientation also involves a predisposition towards activism. When Marie-Pierre first began the blog back in 2012, her posts on representations of indigeneity, fake geek girls, and the political ramifications of video games were informed by the importance of radical inclusion, respect and a recognition that anthropology is a platform for social justice as much as it is a discipline for studying human difference. As our team grew and the pieces we promoted began to diversify, we’ve discussed the extent to which our politics should inform the kinds of material we want to publish. These branding conversations occurred contemporaneously with the growing vitriol and anger in sub-groups of…

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Choosing Normal

On this Veterans Day 2016 many social scientists, myself included, are asking ourselves what it means to be “American” and whether this meaning changed on 11/9. Is an anthropological perspective of understanding, compassion, and inclusion still normal?

Lived experience in any human society is shaped by a complex interplay of cultural factors, especially its norms:

• “Typical patterns of actual behavior as well as the rules about how things should be done” (Welsch and Vivanco 2016:265. Asking Questions About Cultural Anthropology).

In times of political upheaval our norms can be challenged and/or reinforced. In the course of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, some of our most fundamental norms of acceptable behavior were challenged and often flagrantly violated. To prevent these violations from becoming an emboldened “new normal,” we should vigilantly reinforce our shared values and oppose the following:

Anti-Semitism (or any religious discrimination)

Bigotry

Bullying

Discrimination

Homophobia

Misogyny

Mocking the disabled

Racism

Scientific illiteracy

Sexism

Sexual assault

Xenophobia

These behaviors were not normal in the United States of 11/8/2016 and they remain unacceptable (and largely illegal) today. Starting in January 2017, we will be led by a character who personifies the worst attributes of the American past. Yet we retain the power to shape our own cultural norms. It has never been more critical to expect the best of ourselves and work tirelessly to encourage “the better angels of our nature” in others.