Anthropology Today最新文献

This article examines how for contemporary Danish Muslim men, growing a beard becomes a spiritual practice and a marker of visible difference. Drawing on Clifford Geertz's interpretive approach to symbolic meaning, the analysis explores how a beard can function simultaneously as an expression of religious devotion and a contested symbol in public spaces. Through ethnographic research with an offshoot of the global Sufi order referred to as Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Saifi tariqa, the article analyzes how Danish Muslim men navigate between what is termed ‘mundane otherness’ – the everyday experience of being visibly Muslim in a secular society – and ‘transcendent Otherness’ – the spiritual goal of emulating the Prophet Muhammad. The analysis reveals how visible markers of faith, rather than simply acting as signs of difference, can serve as active means of spiritual transformation, even as they subject practitioners to various forms of discrimination and contestation.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Las Pajas between 2013 and 2023, this article examines how Dominican bateyes – settlements within sugar plantations – have transformed colonial-era labour camps into paradoxical sanctuaries for Haitian migrants and their descendants. An analysis of sugar industry privatization and recent citizenship policies demonstrates how these spaces continue to mediate between labour exploitation and social exclusion while serving as sites of relative protection from deportation. As the 2024 Haitian crisis intensifies cross-border tensions, the case reveals how the historical legacies of colonialism intersect with contemporary legal frameworks to maintain vulnerable labour pools through bureaucratic rather than physical segregation.

Field Station Berlin – a National Security Agency/US Army listening post atop Berlin's rubble-built Teufelsberg (‘Devil's Mountain’) – shows how societies transform surveillance infrastructure into spaces of memory. Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork and his experience as a former US Army intelligence operative at the site, the author reveals how visitors make sense of this Cold War ruin. Through Alison Landsberg's concept of ‘prosthetic memory’, the analysis shows how tourists piece together meaning from accumulated cultural references, while classified aspects of the station's operations remain beyond reach. As Teufelsberg has transformed from spy station to tourist site, it illustrates how cities grapple with their military past. Tourists now explore what was once Berlin's most secret spy station, while protesters turn its walls into canvases for anti-war art.

Futures-thinking methods offer transformative potential for anthropological research yet need to be more utilized in our field. Collaborative Futures Scenario Thinking (CFST) combined with the Qualitative Delphi (QD) method provides an accessible and dynamic approach to understanding how communities imagine and shape their futures. Anthropologists have long been sceptical of these methods because corporations have co-opted them. Yet their fundamental purpose fits naturally with anthropology's efforts to decolonize the field. By breaking down the barriers between researchers and participants, these approaches create opportunities for more diverse voices in knowledge creation. Through two ethnographic examples – a housing project in Indonesia and a healthcare study – this article demonstrates how these methods create spaces for marginalized voices and collective action. However, successful implementation requires careful attention to power dynamics and sustained commitment to participatory principles. This methodological innovation suggests promising pathways for anthropology's engagement with future-making practices.