The Long Life of the Nacirema
An article that turned an exoticizing anthropological lens on US citizens in 1956 began as an academic in-joke but turned into an indictment of the discipline.
For James McCune Smith, Racism Was All Over Anthropology
What if the creation story of anthropology isn't exclusively about white men classifying people as primitive?
The Life and Times of Franz Boas
The founder of cultural anthropology, Franz Boas challenged the reigning notions of race and culture.
What We Lose When We Lose Indigenous Knowledge
By mistaking a culture's history for fantasy, or by disrespecting the wealth of indigenous knowledge, we're keeping up a Columbian, colonial tradition.
When Hortense Powdermaker Studied Hollywood
This anthropologist's research on contemporary American society probes the tensions between business and art in the film world.
Anthropologists Hid African Same-Sex Relationships
Sex between people of the same gender has existed for millennia. But anthropologists in sub-Saharan Africa often ignored or distorted those relationships.
Who Were the Beothuk, the Lost People of Newfoundland?
The remains of two of the very last of the Beothuk are finally being repatriated to Canada. Why has it taken almost 200 years?
The Anthropology of the Office Email
Researchers learn a lot from studying office workers' email. But the question remains: do they learn more about the people, or about the medium itself?
Megafauna Memories?
Some folklorists have hypothesized that the mythical beasts and monsters of legend were actually inspired by shadowy collective memories of megafauna.