Tag: academia

Nothing easy about this one

Nothing easy about this one

I’m sitting in a semi-dark room, the electricity has just cut out, and there’s a slight chill in the air. I love being in MohenjoDaro (Sindh, Pakistan) in December. It’s cold at night and it’s hot during the day, unlike the summer, where there is nowhere to hide from the heat. The winter is more playful with the weather. However, living on the site isn’t play. Without being romantic about it, there’s little electricity, hardly any internet, no consistent mobile {+}

Adventures in chatGPT #3: Jack Kerouac Edition

Adventures in chatGPT #3: Jack Kerouac Edition

When I first heard about chatGPT, the main thing I was concerned about, like many others, was that students would use it instead of writing their own work. I tried to take an open approach with it all to try to head off any potential problems. Rather than trying to ban GPT, I talked about it with my class pretty extensively. I adopted a modified version of Kerim’s statement about using chatGPT and other LLMs in the classroom, which I {+}

Adventures in chatGPT #2: A conversation with Nick Seaver

Adventures in chatGPT #2: A conversation with Nick Seaver

After writing my last post about chatGPT, I got in touch with Nick Seaver to see what he had to say about some of these issues. Here’s our conversation: Ryan Anderson: So, I just signed up for chatGPT and started messing around with it, and I’m concerned. Are you concerned? “Nick Seaver”: Yes, I am concerned about chatGPT. It is a powerful tool and can be used for malicious purposes. It is important to be aware of the potential risks and {+}

Adventures in chatGPT: Meet David Wilkie, anthropologist

Adventures in chatGPT: Meet David Wilkie, anthropologist

So curiosity finally got the best of me and I started looking into this whole chatGPT thing that is poised to bring about the ruin of society. I decided to see what kind of information it would spit out about anthropological work in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, which is where I did all my doctoral work. Here’s what I asked chatGPT: “Please write a 1000 word summary of the anthropological work on Cabo Pulmo, Mexico.” And here’s what it gave me: {+}

In 2023, Question Everything

In 2023, Question Everything

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for everyone for 2023: Question everything about how we teach, do research, and select students or job applicants. – Question grades – Question letters of recommendation – Question peer review What else should we question about academia this year? (Sorry for the paywalled links, I usually try to avoid them, but couldn’t find an alternative just now.) KerimP. Kerim Friedman is a professor in the Department of Ethnic Relations and Cultures at National Dong Hwa {+}

The search for the worst anthro job ad: An interview with Dada Docot

The search for the worst anthro job ad: An interview with Dada Docot

In September 2021, Dada Docot sent out a half-serious tweet about finding the Worse Anthro Job Ad for 2021. The post got attention, and the search took off. The two threads of the search (for gathering nominations and announcement of results) registered about 173,536 impressions as of February 2022. The search received a total of $129 from 24 supporters (4 postdocs, 3 researchers, 4 asst profs, 3 assoc profs, 3 PhD students, 2 VAPs, 2 full profs, and 2 alt-ACs). {+}

On The Culture of Harassment in Archaeology: An interview with Barbara L. Voss

On The Culture of Harassment in Archaeology: An interview with Barbara L. Voss

[Content advisory: This article discusses harassment and discrimination in archaeology, including discussion of sexual assault.] On the morning of March 30, 2021, three articles on the culture of harassment within archaeology dropped. And it was epic. Across three articles, Barbara (Barb) Voss reviewed and analyzed current research about the prevalence and patterns of harassment within our discipline. Most useful was her list of proven interventions that have demonstrable results in reducing harassment. Most difficult and heart wrenching to read were {+}

I’ve Never Met Anyone Like Me, But Anthropologists (Not Me) Study People Like Me, Or: What if we trans/non-binary people weren’t just your objects of study?

I’ve Never Met Anyone Like Me, But Anthropologists (Not Me) Study People Like Me, Or: What if we trans/non-binary people weren’t just your objects of study?

cw: transphobia, mention of suicide and murder I started writing this piece in June. It was during Pride month, amidst JK Rowling’s ongoing public transphobia, and the same time as I was getting occasional news alerts about Trumpian cuts to protections around trans healthcare. It was also amidst some discussion here in Canada about Prof. Kathleen Lowery, a professor whose workload was shifted after complaints about her transphobia. Prof. Sarah Shulist covered a fair amount of the news around Prof. {+}

On Gutters and Ethnography

On Gutters and Ethnography

In a departure from more conventional communication methods in academia, I’m exploring how comics–a medium I love to read and am learning to make (thank you to my teacher in pre-pandemic times, Julian Peters!)–speak to ethnographic practice. In particular, I am wrestling with how the gutter between comics panels is something to consider in terms of ethnographic narratives. The work I refer to below is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, which is an excellent resource for comics artists and readers alike. {+}

A Call for Transformation: Ending the Myth of Neutrality

A Call for Transformation: Ending the Myth of Neutrality

Following my introductory post, I now describe the first of three parts of my call for transformation in museums and the academic-industrial complex. The first part is to: (1) end (finally) the narrative that museums and academic institutions are neutral. Museums and academic institutions are not neutral. Instead, they are often rooted in inequality: the accumulation of material, money, physical space, and knowledge, along with alliances with other institutions that include the state. As Nathan Sentance argues, institutions that receive {+}