{"title":"Killing the impulse to save Marius: Disney nature and the ethics of fascination in multispecies relations","authors":"Eimear Mc Loughlin","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12938","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12938","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The euthanasia of Marius, an 18-month-old giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo in 2014, triggered intense global debate about zoo management practices. This article examines how the zoo's explicit display of clinical detachment through public dissection reveals the complex dynamics of human-animal relations in contemporary conservation institutions. Drawing on 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork, I demonstrate how zoos cultivate ‘fascination’ as a carefully managed form of attachment that enables rather than prevents detachment from animals. Through analysis of the Marius case, I show how fascination operates as more than simple enchantment − it disciplines public understanding of nature and produces specific forms of ethical responsibility. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) policy of culling healthy animals reflects a clinical logic that starkly contrasts with impassioned public responses, illuminating how engagement and detachment co-constitute each other in zoo spaces. This co-constitution enables certain kinds of response-ability while disabling others, revealing how conservation institutions shape possibilities for multispecies relations.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"41 1","pages":"11-14"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12938","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121377","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":"The subaltern speak: Indigenous women's judicial activism in Brazil","authors":"JANET CHERNELA","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12936","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12936","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To answer Gayatri Spivak's question, ‘Can the subaltern speak?’ this article examines a historic case in which Indigenous women from Brazil filed a claim of illegal trafficking before the Russell Tribunal on human rights. By means of the ‘soft’ litigation of international human rights mechanisms, the tribunal provided a platform for marginalized victims and witnesses to provide testimony before a global audience. The case opened new legal pathways and influenced the growth of Indigenous women's associations throughout the country, including the creation of AMARN, founded by the plaintiffs, and now Brazil's oldest Indigenous association. The example demonstrates that the capacities of the speaker alone are inadequate to answer Spivak's question. A listening audience<b>,</b> and the historical conditions in which the speech interaction takes place, are of equal, if not greater, importance. For the vulnerable to speak, there must be an arena in which they can do so and be heard.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"41 1","pages":"3-6"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12936","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121382","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":"Algorithmic policing: Tech startups, venture capital and law enforcement in America (Part 2)","authors":"Roberto J. González","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12940","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12940","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Building on Part 1, Part 2 of this article extends the analysis of algorithmic policing to include acoustic gunshot detection systems and explores the broader political economy of policing in America. It examines the development and deployment of ShotSpotter technology, its effectiveness, and the controversies surrounding its use. The article then synthesizes insights from the various algorithmic policing tools discussed across both parts to analyze how the imperatives of Silicon Valley venture capital and startup culture are reshaping law enforcement. It explores the historical context of American policing and how new technologies are altering police-community relations. The article concludes by discussing the global spread of algorithmic policing, potential future developments in AI-enabled law enforcement, and the role anthropology can play in critically examining and shaping the future of policing in the age of algorithms.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"41 1","pages":"20-24"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121376","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":"Front and Back Covers, Volume 40, Number 6. December 2024","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12809","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12809","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Front and back cover caption, volume 40 issue 6</p><p>BIRTH AS A GAMBLE</p><p>The front cover shows a Japanese gachapon vending machine, a device that dispenses capsule toys at random. In Japan, the term oya-gacha (parent-gacha) has emerged as a metaphor for the arbitrary circumstances of birth, appearing even in Japan's 2023 national university entrance exam. As Jiang demonstrates in this issue, anti-natalists have adopted this metaphor to critique procreation, comparing the odds of being born to advantaged parents to the slim chance of obtaining valuable items from these machines.</p><p>The human figures visible inside the capsules represent what anti-natalists describe as the uncontrollable variables of existence: social status, genetic inheritance and geographical location. Japanese anti-natalists have specifically chosen the gacha metaphor because it symbolizes a mechanism operating purely by chance, producing both fortune and disappointment.</p><p>This interpretation reflects broader secular shifts in how procreation is understood, moving away from religious frameworks of divine planning toward views emphasizing randomness and parental responsibility.</p><p>The machine's mechanical nature illustrates contemporary anxieties about technological control over reproduction, which Jiang explores through cases like IVF (in vitro fertilization) and antenatal screening. These developments have intensified ethical debates about procreation in an era of climate crisis and growing existential risks.</p><p>Back cover caption, volume 40 issue 6</p><p>DECOLONIZING CHAGOS?</p><p>A young Chagossian girl learns the technique of coconut grating from a community leader who also grew up in exile, embodying the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge that has sustained the displaced Chagossian community. From the late 18th century onwards, coconut plantations dominated the Chagos Islands' economy, with each family processing hundreds of coconuts daily to produce copra (dried coconut kernel) and coconut oil. These skills, passed down through generations, formed the backbone of Chagossian society.</p><p>When British authorities forcibly removed the islanders between 1965 and 1973 to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia, they disrupted not just lives and livelihoods but entire systems of cultural knowledge transmission.</p><p>The October 2024 agreement between the UK and Mauritius recognizes Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, yet ensures continued US military presence on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years. For many Chagossians, particularly those from Diego Garcia, this represents an incomplete victory that may still prevent a return to their natal islands. Nevertheless, through five decades of exile, Chagossian communities in Mauritius, Seychelles, the UK and elsewhere have maintained their distinctive cultural practices and traditions.</p><p>This image captures both loss and resilience: while the coconut plantations that","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":"i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12809","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142764023","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":"Food, culture and health: An anthropological perspective","authors":"Marco Capocasa, Davide Venier","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12927","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12927","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article explores the complex interplay among food, culture, and health. It examines how dietary habits have evolved, from hunter-gatherer societies to the globalization of Western diets, and their profound effects on cultural traditions and human health. While global markets reshape local diets, anthropological evidence suggests nutrition programmes work best when they build on cultural food knowledge rather than replace it. Our findings point to a pressing need for public health approaches that recognize food's role beyond mere sustenance – though implementing such culturally aware interventions remains challenging in practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":"15-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142763925","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":"The Chagos Archipelago: A limited victory for decolonization","authors":"Laura Jeffery","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12929","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12929","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The UK's October 2024 agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius marks a turning point in Indian Ocean decolonization, though Mauritius must delegate control of Diego Garcia back to the UK for 99 years to maintain the US military base. This article traces the forced displacement of Chagossians from 1968-1973 and their current responses as their future hangs in the balance. Despite promises of resettlement in parts of the archipelago, many Chagossians remain wary of their continued exclusion from decisions about their ancestral homeland. Their experiences reveal the human costs when military strategy outweighs indigenous rights.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":"23-25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12929","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142763927","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":"New Humanism: A reply to Chris Hann 40(6)","authors":"Tim Ingold","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12931","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12931","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142764019","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":"‘Journey to the Future’: Temporal imaginaries in contemporary Dubai","authors":"Ross Cheung, Ian McGonigle","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12928","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12928","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article introduces ‘temporalized sociotechnical imaginaries’ to analyse how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) deploys technology-focused visions across timeframes to construct national identity. We examine how Dubai's Museum of the Future and the UAE Vision Pavilion at Expo 2020 project futuristic technological narratives linked to the nation's centennial in 2071. Unlike traditional museums presenting history, these exhibitions offer carefully crafted visions of the future, serving as deliberate performances of state-led nation-building. These imaginaries reinforce national cohesion and legitimize current governance by integrating technological progress with national identity across past, present and future. This study contributes to our understanding of contemporary nationalism in rapidly developing states and the role of temporal imaginations of technology in nation-building.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":"19-22"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12928","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142763926","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":"New Humanism: A reply to Tim Ingold 40(5)","authors":"Chris Hann","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12930","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1467-8322.12930","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142763928","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}