anthropology Archives

Developing our nature: When and how human aggression and other psychological traits evolved

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Dr James Walter, Emeritus Adjunctive Professor at Loyola University Chicago, USA, and PhD student Aasma Khan summarise research conducted by Professor Richard Wrangham and peers on the evolution of human aggression and other psychological traits. Two approaches are used: comparing aggression in different species, and investigating hunter-gatherer cultures. Walter and Khan outline the relationship between aggression and language evolution and […]

Capitalist utopias and financial futures of the US oil and gas industry

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Dr High examines the relationship between private equity investment and the projects envisaged by oil industry entrepreneurs.

Drawing on long-term fieldwork involving almost a decade of interviews and observations, Dr Mette High, Director of the University of St Andrews’ Centre for Energy Ethics, UK, investigates what happens when oil industry entrepreneurs with utopic projects and private equity firms looking to invest come together. In this study centring on Weld County, Colorado – with more than 22,000 active […]

How cultural institutions prevent stigma around Lake Victoria

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Professor Koen Stroeken proposes a new method of analysis for understanding cultural practices. His method extends beyond the situational analysis by intervention professionals to focus on the logics of action embedded within cultural traditions. He applies his proposed method of Cultural Analysis to describe the layered meanings within various rituals of Sukuma farmers in Tanzania. He argues against popular understandings […]

When Narratives Collide: The Fundamentals of Islamic Fundamentalism

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The destruction of heritage sites by the IS has been religiously grounded in Jihadist Salafism.

Heritage is a group’s claim to a legacy. There are, however, different ways of reading history in the process. The Western notion of World Heritage finds value in a culturally diverse past, which is already fulfilled by the present. Conversely, Islamic fundamentalism seeks to bring about conformity to its founding age, condemning any deviance from this particular foundation. Baudouin Dupret, […]