Wrap-Up Threads, December 4

• Age-Sets
• Colonialism
• Conceptions
• Diversity
• Ethnography
• Exoticism
• Fluidity
• Gender
• Globalization
• Identity
• Kinship
• Politics
• Religion
• Social Organization
• Social support systems
• Tradition
• Tribalism

Wrap-Up Threads

• Conceptions (Misconceptions, portrayals, anthropological perspectives)
  
• Choice of words, impact of word choice
• Worldviews
  
• Romanticism, Western imagination, noble savage
• Enlightenment, mechanization, industrial revolution
  
• Colonialism
• Popular culture
• Groups (Constructs, not bounded)
• Multiplicity of identities: language, rural/urban, traditional/modern
• Tribalism (Ambiguity/stereotypes, connotations, nationalism)
• Kinship
• Gender roles in social contexts

Ethnomathematics in Africa

TED | Talks | Ron Eglash: African fractals, in buildings and braids (video)

I know Brian Eno says there's not enough Africa in computers but , you know, I don't think there's enough African history in Brian Eno (13:55-14:01)

Eglash's attitude is quite representative of cultural awareness and an anthropological interest in diversity.
A math friend of mine tells me that Eglash is mostly describing recursion, and recursion is at the centre of a large body of research in cognitive sciences, these days. Fascinating that one could bridge disciplinary gaps between cultural anthropology, African studies, cognitive sciences, and mathematics.

Scholarly Material From/About Africa

Aluka - Home Page

Aluka is a not-for-profit international collaboration of educational and cultural institutions. Our mission is to build a high-quality scholarly resource of materials from and about Africa. We seek to attract contributed collections about Africa from institutions and individuals around the world.

Didn't go very far through this site but it looks fairly neutral in perspective. Could be a useful resource.

Watson on African Intelligence

Though Watson has since retracted his statement, it might be useful to look at the situation from a sociology of science perspective. Such a perspective can inform much of our thinking about Africa's cultural diversity. In other words, "scientists are people too."

World-renowned geneticist draws fire for claims that Africans are intellectually inferior: Sciam Observations

Appiah's "Golden Nugget" Theory

Kwame Anthony Appiah at Pop!Tech's Pop!Casts, discussing the "Golden Nugget" source of ideas about social politics.

Few mentions of Africa, apart from the brief discussion of Bantu languages and of Egyptian examples. But it provides an interesting context for thinking about Appiah's work in a broader frame.
The bit about philosophers and factual accuracy could work for some parts of cultural anthropology, though ethnography is much more empirical and fact-oriented than philosophy would be in such a model.

Rick Mercer on Malaria in Africa

Rick Mercer on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC

It's very simple: 10$, buys a net, saves a life.

Fair enough. Yet, is it that simple?

Segregated Internet

On the CBC's most recent Search Engine show, an interesting concept about the Afrosphere, the African-American blogosphere. What is fascinating about the concept is that it almost feels like discovering a completely new world. Things happening in the Afrosphere seem not to garner attention from mainstream media in North America unless there is a widespread momentum (in this case, demonstrations for the Jena 6). Brought to Africa, this same phenomenon becomes even more sharply delineated. What happens in Africa is rarely discussed outside of the continent. Even online, we live in different realities and it's important to look further than our common experience.

Buying/Donating OLPC Laptop

Oops!
Turns out, I was wrong. The "buy one, donate one free" program for the OLPC Project's XO laptop is in fact not a rumour, as I had said in class today:
One Laptop Per Child -- XO Giving
Doh!

As geek blog Engadget says, and contrary to what some might think, this is not such a bargain. It's also not that dissimilar to what is done with medicine sent to Africa and other parts of the world. Just a bit more of a direct relationship between donour and receiver than most similar asymmetrical relationships between "us" and "them."

ANTH326 Meeting 2

SlideShare Link

Video Clip Magic System - Ki Dit Mié

Video clips sent by a friend spending time in West Africa.

MUSIQUE AFRICA AS DJ BURKINA FASO

Video clips sent by a friend spending time in West Africa.

mareshal dj

Video clips sent by a friend spending time in West Africa.

Week 1, Presentation

Anth326 D2 Amtg1

From: Enkerli, 2 minutes ago

Week 1, Course Notes

Anth326mtg1nt

From: Enkerli, 8 minutes ago

China-Chad Relations, Chinese in Africa

Dimensions of Globalization that less people might know about.
China, Filling a Void, Drills for Riches in Chad - New York Times
Also:
The Chinese in Africa (1 Letter) - New York Times

Africa's Feelings About Wealth (Spoof)

A fake talk show segment about the relationships between Africa and the United States. Quite revealing of some real attitudes.


In The Know: Is Our Wealth Hurting Africa's Feelings?

Blogging Africa

This course will take a critical approach on the way Africa is portrayed in the media. Because of this, it makes sense to blog about different items relating to Africa.