{"title":"Towards a ‘transformative relationship’: Evans-Pritchard, mysticism and anthropological fieldwork","authors":"Kit Lee","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12912","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12912","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ongoing attempts to develop a ‘transformative’ relationship between anthropology and theology have exhorted anthropologists to look to theology to ‘unsettle’ existing understandings of the discipline's goals and potential. This article explores the ‘transformative’ relationship between anthropology and theology by examining E.E. Evans-Pritchard's perspective on fieldwork, influenced by his Catholic faith and mysticism. Evans-Pritchard saw both fieldwork and mysticism as rooted in shared experiential knowledge, challenging the discipline's secular foundation and reframing the relationship between anthropology and theology as grounded in a shared concern for experiential knowledge. Refiguring participant observation fieldwork in this way – as sharing a fundamental aspect with something as profoundly religious as mysticism – not only disrupts anthropology's understanding of its secular constitution but also reframes the relationship between anthropology and theology. This shift moves the relationship from one barred by a lack of shared beliefs to one potentially grounded in joint attention to and care for experiential knowledge.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Therapy in turmoil: Russian psychotherapists navigate war and ethics","authors":"Arsenii Khitrov","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12915","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 <p>This ethnographic study explores how Russian psychotherapists are navigating professional ethics and politics after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysing a conversation between an instructor and students at a psychotherapy training centre in Russia, the study examines how therapists negotiate neutrality, values and therapeutic approaches in a shifting sociopolitical landscape. The author identifies four approaches to delineating the boundaries between professional practice and political engagement and explores how the boundaries between therapeutic and political realms are constantly negotiated through social interaction. These processes highlight tensions within Russian therapeutic culture and offer insights into professional subjectivity formation amid political turmoil, revealing the complex interplay between individual subjectivity, professional identity and sociopolitical structures in contemporary societies. The research contributes to anthropological understandings of professional communities as mediators between individuals and states. The study also shows how cultural norms adapt to political pressures and illuminates the role of therapeutic practices in shaping societal responses to political events in authoritarian settings.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12915","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Hurt geography’","authors":"Four St Andrew postgraduate anthropology students","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12917","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12917","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"For a new humanism","authors":"Tim Ingold","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12910","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12910","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This guest editorial proposes a ‘new humanism’ in response to the challenges facing traditional humanist thought. Although humanism has been criticized by both left-wing postcolonial and right-wing populist viewpoints, it is argued that completely renunciating humanist ideas could have harmful effects. Instead, it proposes a revitalized humanism that disregards the previous humanism's emphasis on novelty and advancement at the price of custom and continuity. This new approach emphasizes rejuvenation rather than repudiation of the past and seeks to relearn coexistence with all planetary beings. It challenges accusations of anthropocentrism and Eurocentrism, proposing a ‘multiversal’ conversation that acknowledges human exceptionalism in speech while respecting diverse voices and regional attachments. The guest editorial concludes by calling for a praxis of study, potentially anthropology, that prioritizes the reproduction of human life and its kinship with other beings over technological advancement.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Skateboarding is not a sport’: Creativity at the margins of capitalism","authors":"John Marlovits","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12913","url":null,"abstract":"<p>One might expect skateboarders to be jubilant that the Olympics recognized theirs as an Olympic sport, but their response is ambivalent. Alexis Sablone, a women's street competition participant, does not consider skateboarding ‘a sport’. What is it if not a sport? This article argues that it is a fugitive, non-teleological, open-source practice for creating new ‘existential territories’ – new forms of personhood, public space and social relationships. Skateboarders’ resistance to centralization and their emphasis on DIY creativity suggests skateboarding involves challenging culturally specific and local norms. It rests on creative remakings of derelict and unevenly developed urban spaces and the construction of new forms of identity and social purpose. The argument is based on fieldwork with the Osaka Daggers.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Algorithmic policing: Part 1. Tech startups, venture capital and law enforcement in America","authors":"Roberto J. González","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12916","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines the rise of algorithmic policing in the United States, focusing on predictive policing platforms and facial recognition technologies. Part 1 explores how companies like PredPol, Palantir and Clearview AI have developed data-driven tools to predict and prevent crime and identify suspects. The article analyses the historical context, technological development and implementation of these systems by law enforcement agencies. It also discusses the concerns raised by critics, including issues of privacy, racial bias and the potential for reinforcing discriminatory policing practices. Through case studies and examples, the article illustrates how these technologies have impacted communities, particularly communities of colour. It examines the complex interplay between Silicon Valley startups, venture capital and law enforcement in shaping modern policing practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Victory Day in Russia: Performative patriotism and state discourse","authors":"Evgeniya Pakhomova","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12914","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 <p>Victory Day celebrations in Russia have frequently been characterized as a vehicle for state militarism, particularly in the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This article challenges the notion that the state is the sole proprietor of this national holiday. Drawing on recent ethnographies of Victory Day, the article argues that a trend towards patriotic performativity increasingly defines public celebrations. This trend has two outcomes: strengthening participants’ sense of national community while reinforcing statist discourse – even among the holiday's critics. By examining the relationship between the Russian state and Victory Day, the article illuminates the crucial distinction between a reiterated, performative victory and the realities of actual warfare. This analysis contributes to broader discussions on collective memory, state power and the role of public celebrations in shaping national identity in post-Soviet contexts.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12914","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Protesting the future: The evolution of the European farmer","authors":"Eimear Mc Loughlin","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12911","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 <p>Recent farmer protests across Europe demonstrate the complex challenges facing modern agriculture. This article examines the human story behind these protests. It explores how farmers’ roles have changed from respected innovators and providers to a group caught between environmental demands, economic pressures and shifting societal expectations. Neoliberal policies, green regulations and new workforce patterns have precipitated an identity crisis among European farmers. Their protests are not just about money but also about deep-seated anxieties concerning their place in a rapidly changing world. Farmers struggle to balance traditions with new environmental imperatives, to maintain viable livelihoods in a global market and their unease with an increasingly diverse rural workforce. European farming is at a crossroads, pointing towards possible paths for a future.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12911","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142404158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}