This is an edited version of an article that I wrote for the Aikido World Alliance newsletter in the Fall of 2013. As far as I know, Malala Yousafzai has never studied Aikido. Ms. Yousafzai is the Pakistani teenager who, while advocating for the education of girls in the Swat valley, was shot in […]
The Weapon as Mere Object Read More »
Starting this summer I have been developing some online classes for both International Studies and Anthropology at the University of Memphis. I’m excited by the prospect, and at the same time I am facing what I hope will become a productive tension between the technology of learning and the technology of the Internet. In this blog
The hardest part is maintaining just the right amount of tension. Too little and the yarn doesn’t maintain its shape. Too much and you can’t fit the needle through on your next pass. I don’t normally knit during meeting: I worry that the clicking of the needles will be a distraction to others. But, one
Knitting, Materialism, and Spirituality Read More »
At dusk, I was walking with friends on the farm. As we moved into the shadows behind the barn, the ground shifted. Our eyes adjusted, and we were walking in a field of stars—tiny lights in the grass. A closer look showed us firefly larvae, incapable of flight just yet, but already filled with glowing
A Light in the Dark Read More »
For those who enjoy such things, a quick calculation of my Erdős-Bacon number. One’s Erdős number is the number of links, via co-authorships in scholarly publications, it takes to reach mathmetician Paul Erdős. Similarly, the Bacon Number is the number of links to reach actor Kevin Bacon via screen appearances. The Erdős-Bacon number is the sum
FYI: My Erdős-Bacon Number: 9 Read More »
I’m coming late to the party. Sorry everyone–I brought more beer. I was in the audience for Bruno Latour’s talk on ontological pluralism at the AAA meetings in Chicago last year. I overheard several people talking about how sparks were going to fly, or how this was nothing new, or how this was an important
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DRAFT; As presented at the 2013 AAA Conference in Chicago, November 21, 2013. The Anthronaut, The Golem, and Other Tales of the Dark Edward M. Maclin Abstract In this paper I use examples from my ongoing work in academic anthropology and on my small family farm to explore the relationship between anthropology, agriculture, and Dark
The Anthronaut, The Golem, and Other Tales of the Dark Read More »
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS I am working to organize an Invited Session (Culture and Agriculture Section) for the AAA meeting in Chicago (November 20-24) The Anthronaut Farmer An increasing number of anthropologists are turning to agriculture as a means of subsistence, a way of living in their communities, and a form of embodied research. Beyond a practice of study,
The Anthronaut Farmer Read More »
Over the past few weeks several people including friends and family members have asked me about my research, or about what it is that I do, exactly. I’ve given the usual elevator speech, but after reflecting a bit I think it may be worth me writing here in more detail. Partly this is because I’m working
Ecological Anthropology (in which I try to explain what I do.) Read More »
…even though I am part of the 99%. Since the movement(s) have been around for a while, I thought I would offer some musings on Occupy Wall Street (OWS). What this post is not about is the growing economic gap between the wealthiest few and the rest of America. Others have covered that. It is also
We are not the 99%… Read More »