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Influential Academicians and Anthropologists

Reading interesting stories backed by lots of research and expertise is really fun. Particularly from people who have lived and worked in the field, or have covered specific topics I am interested in.

Influential Academicians/Anthropologists:

• Paul Farmer
• Phillippe Bourgois
• Walking with the Poor, Jayakumar Christian
• Philippe Bourdieau – Sociology as a Martial Art
• Erika Caple James
• Mitch Resnick / Seymore Papert
• Rosemary Joyce Anthropology Podcast
• Helen Fisher
• Jacquelin Novegratz
• Hans Rosling
• SFAA podcast

The best overview you’ll ever get on anthropology is Rosemary Joyce’s Anthropology Podcast from UC Berkeley. Paul Farmer and Philippe Bourgois are two of the most interesting public anthropologists, and their work touches two topics of interest to me. They also both do extensive work living, studying, immersed, and active in the field. Paul Farmer is most famous for his work in Haiti, medical anthropology, and global health issues. He frames issues of structural violence and power and its relation to health and culture very well. His biography (Mountains Beyond Mountains), which I did not read until after I left Haiti, is extremely inspiring and impacting. I attended a presentation by the author of the biography, Tracy Kidder, at BSU in Boise, Idaho. Philippe Bourgois has some of the most exciting stories of working in the field, which has included Costa Rica and East Harlem. His long-term studies of structural issues and how they impact the culturally marginalized, particularly drug users and dealers, are very graphic and raw, but very insightful. I read his book about drug dealers in El Barrio right when I moved into La Carpio. Had I read his book first, I might not have had the guts to do it. I recommend In Search of Respect , and a paper he presents at the SFAA.

Erika Caple James has some interesting articles about Haiti as well, including some bold and insightful critical analyses of development. Some terms she explains that stick with you are “trauma portfolios”, “trauma brokers”, and “trauma tourism.” That would be referring to the trafficking of human suffering that goes on amongst NGOs working in Haiti. Philippe Bourdieau‘s writing is so complex it’s practically unreadable, but there’s a really fun documentary about his ideas on alternative forms of “capital” (symbolic capital, cultural capital).

There several presentations packaged as “TED” Talks (keynote presentations about Technology, Entertainment, and Design) with connections to projects I’ve been involved in. I met Mitch Resnick in Costa Rica at a conference about “Scratch”, computer programming software he helped design to teach kids to program. The educational philosophy behind “Scratch” links with Seymore Papert’s constructivist approach and Levi-Strauss’s ideas on “bricoleur” design and “engineering”. Check out Scratch, or watch his presentation at TED. Hans Rosling has some great presentations about global issues and statistics. Helen Fisher talks about love from a biological anthropologist’s perspective. And Jacqueline Novogratz presents a pretty compelling case for immersion.