Anthro Mini-Lecture: “West” Versus “East” and Why I Never Liked Edward Said

The ” East” and the “West ” is a rather favorite binary (or, what we’d call a heuristic in academia) in the world of post-colonial scholarship. It’s also relatively popular in general media and I’m sure one would have no trouble scouring up examples of conflict or conversation between the Western World and another category…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: “West” Versus “East” and Why I Never Liked Edward Said

Anthro Mini-Lecture: Moral Relativity versus Cultural Relativity

Recently, I was reading the comments section on an article by the Washington Post about the practice of chhaupadi in Nepal. To offer a brief bit of background, chhaupadi is the practice of sequestering menstruating women in makeshift outdoor sheds, cattle barns, or huts beyond the main courtyard in the belief that their monthly blood…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: Moral Relativity versus Cultural Relativity

Anthro Mini-Lecture: The Universal Subordination of Women

Within academic Feminist theory there lies a deeply troubling question: Why are women universally subordinated? Of course, the nature of this question in many ways presupposes the kinds of answers we should expect. However, while this does not completely devalue either the question or the analysis, we should evaluate the principal premise because it is…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: The Universal Subordination of Women

Anthro Mini-Lecture: Religion and Violence (By way of the Crusades)

The Crusades are one of the most commonly cited examples of religious conflict. Even today, the Crusades still metaphorically stand in for any number of religiously-tinged battles, conversion endeavors, or various other political fall-out (I’m looking at you CNN). They are also often held up as evidence of the latent violence existing within religion itself…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: Religion and Violence (By way of the Crusades)

Anthro Mini-Lecture: Can Religion and Science Coexist?

In his book, Faith Versus Fact (Penguin Books, 2015), evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne seeks to tackle a problem the modern Western world has been struggling with for several decades now: Can Science and Religion coexist? For those of you who don’t feel like reading all of the below, the answer is ‘yes’ but it largely…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: Can Religion and Science Coexist?

Anthro Mini-Lecture: Female Circumcision and the Role of Global Feminism

In most modern-day Feminist circles, opposing the practice of female circumcision is a given. To oppose female circumcision, or female genital mutilation (FGM) as the practice is more often called, is to oppose the very definition of gendered oppression and the restriction of female sexuality under patriarchal rule. These views tend to go against the…Continue reading Anthro Mini-Lecture: Female Circumcision and the Role of Global Feminism