The Fieldnote
Small places, large issues. Politics, society and culture understood through the notes of anthropologists.
Of Closing Doors and Dead Ends. Why Extremism will not Disappear if we Ignore it
Populism and extremism of any kind are on the rise in many parts of the world – and Germany is no exception. Wouldn’t it be just the perfect time for the German government to decide on massive budget cuts for political education? What seems like nothing else than bitter irony, affects not only engaged activists and social workers, but also the research being done in this area. A call for research to go where it hurts.
Brexit: Scotland stays?
On June 23rd, 51.9% of voters in the UK voted to leave the EU. In Scotland, 62% voted to remain. The result has sparked political, economic, social and constitutional turmoil in the UK. In Scotland, there has been a strong political and public reaction both against the result and the tone of the campaign. And now, the question of Scottish independence has again been raised.
Enduring Uncertainty: Deportation, Punishment and Everyday Life
Being deportable but not yet deported: what happens when the state is seeking to remove unwanted foreign nationals but is not yet able to do so?
The digital prophets of Israel
An Israeli web series featuring monologues of activists sparks debate beyond the Jewish-Palestinian binary. It shows the power of new media for effective anthropological interventions, but also the intensity of the controversies such visibility often entails.
What does poverty look like on social media?
This blog post is part of a much larger theme of the impact of social media on low income populations. This is most debated among social media theorists and activists and is also one of the research objectives of the Global Social Media Impact Study. I will give just a few insights on this issue from the Italian field site.
From thieves to customers
The story of a market woman who wouldn’t stop serving food to armed rebels despite their reluctance to pay.
