Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe examines the effect of colonialism on the Igbo community Umuofia in Nigeria. Through the protagonist, the Igbo warrior Okonkwo, the reader gains insight on precolonial Africa and how missionaries affect the overall culture of the community. Things Fall Apart is Achebe’s first novel, and one of his main purposes…
The Scoop on Cultural Appropriation
There’s an old proverb that says imitation is the highest form of flattery. But is it really? Emulating styles, traditions, clothing, and even hairstyles from other cultures has become popularized in modern times. However, this imitation can cross some serious lines. This is where the term cultural appropriation comes into play. What is cultural appropriation?…
Anthropology Through Film
Movies and Documentaries are excellent vehicles for studying anthropology, and the use of film to study humanity has greatly increased with the rise in technology. By helping people visualize events, films can provide new perspectives on the culture and lifestyle of people. Contrary to written publications, films tend to be more captivating towards audiences and…
The Dark Side of Chocolate
Like most people, I love the sweet, earthy taste of good chocolate. From chocolate chip pancakes to brownies, I consume chocolate quite often. However, I never considered the sourcing of my chocolate until recently. I always took the nestle semisweet chocolate chip bags on the grocery store shelf for granted and did not think about…
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman.
In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anthropologist Anne Fadiman studies a refugee family from Laos and their experience in California hospitals. Fadiman examines the cross-cultural conflicts and lack of cultural relativism in the medical field. She chose to focus her research on the Hmong population in Merced, California, particularly the Lee family.…
Digital Ethnography
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, anthropologists face immediate limitations on their research. The Covid-19 restrictions mean ethnography is no longer an ethically appropriate research strategy. Furthermore, anthropologists, as social scientists, must remain cognizant of the wellbeing of the groups they are striving to understand. Although ethnographers are used to instability and disruptions in their fieldwork, recent…
The Henna Artist By Alka Joshi
This poignant book captures the life of protagonist Lakshmi in Jaipur, India and beautifully depicts cultural elements of India during the 1950s. The reader is brought along the journey of Lakshmi as she tries to escape an abusive marriage and finds herself in a new city with nothing to her name. She eventually, finds her…
Anthropossibilities 