Anthropology Today最新文献

In this autobiographical narrative, Nigel Rapport recounts how his time as a volunteer at Kibbutz Yas'ur in Israel in 1975 profoundly affected his identity and sparked a deep emotional connection to the country. Despite initial reluctance to visit Israel and engage with his Jewish heritage, Rapport's experiences living and working on the kibbutz - including labouring in the citrus groves, bonding with the kibbutz youth and being embraced by the community - instilled in him a strong sense of belonging, pride, and loyalty to Israel. The essay conveys Rapport's newfound understanding of the precariousness and preciousness of life in Israel, constantly under threat of war and violence. It also expresses his anxiety and protective concern for the country's survival against what he perceives as the hatred and prejudice of its enemies. Rapport's connection to Israel is further cemented by the normalcy of Jewish life there, a stark contrast to the marginalization he felt growing up in Britain. The recent Hamas attacks in 2023, with their devastating loss of life, underscore the enduring ‘hurt geography’ of Rapport's relationship with Israel. The essay ultimately presents a highly personal account of the author's transformative encounter with Israel and Zionism and the complex emotions and loyalties it engendered.

Working with US-based psychoanalysts who instruct Chinese psychoanalytic trainees, some reject any discussion of ‘culture’ as a means by which patients avoid difficult material, whilst others draw a sharp contrast between ‘the Chinese mind’ and ‘the Western mind’. My discussion with Chinese psychoanalytic trainees suggests that although they often use a ‘China/West’ dichotomy to understand clinical work, they are more likely than their predominantly Euro-American analytic trainers to look at this distinction in fluid terms affected by other differences. They often draw attention to the ‘type’ of person who is the typical client of psychoanalytic therapy in contemporary China: young, urban, cosmopolitan and financially solvent. This article investigates how Chinese psychoanalytic trainees’ perceptions of relevant differences in their practice vary depending on the conversational context, challenging both the universalist claims of traditional psychoanalytic theory and the recent emphasis on cultural differences in the field.

The issue of compensation for harm to Indigenous culture is increasingly prominent in Australian society, given the High Court's landmark decision in Northern Territory v Griffiths (2019). The High Court sought to assess the meaning of cultural loss from Indigenous testimony and ‘translate the spiritual hurt from the compensable acts into compensation’. The destruction of Juukan Gorge in Western Australia's Pilbara region in 2020 also prompted efforts to assess, evaluate and remedy the harm Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples suffered. Parallel debates about treaties have also raised the possibility of reparations for colonization. This article considers the challenges these legal and political developments pose for anthropology in Australia, where scholars have avoided discussing the concept of cultural loss for a generation.

Across the world, economically marginalized people employ inventive strategies to encourage pedestrians to part with small sums of money by offering goods or services rather than directly requesting cash. People who use drugs wander urban streets selling magazines that some will buy but few will read. The homeless clean car windows that need no cleaning or provide token items instead of requesting donations because asking for money is contentious to the extent that selling stuff is not. Surveying existing ethnographic research, this article explores why. I analyse how informal income-generating practices adapt to the cultural assumptions of majority populations, including the notion that adults should become valuable through gainful employment and the idea that the unreturned gift humiliates givers and receivers.

This article critiques the expanding influence of research ethics committees (RECs) on social research, emphasizing their adverse effects on ethnographic methodologies. It argues that the bureaucratization of ethics, emphasizing compliance over contextual understanding, fundamentally misunderstands and impedes the nuanced nature of ethnographic work. Drawing on personal experiences and broader critiques, the article proposes the need for an alternative system that better accommodates the ethical complexities of social research, advocating for a more tailored approach that respects disciplinary methodologies and fosters genuine ethical engagement.