Comments on: Pacific Jews http://savageminds.org/2006/04/17/pacific-jews/ Notes and Queries in Anthropology — A Group Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:52:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: anthro grad student guy http://savageminds.org/2006/04/17/pacific-jews/comment-page-1/#comment-5179 anthro grad student guy Tue, 18 Apr 2006 03:10:05 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=453#comment-5179 I thought it was a great column but I was annoyed by the response of one the posters who stated: "What does it mean that one can receive a PhD in anthropology (from an excellent institution) and not expect to have cultural differences in the classroom in different places?" I guess the story didn't strike me as particularly odd because the "I've had my assumptions challenged" story has become a sort of stock anthropological form of writing. Perhaps to an outside observer unfamiliar with anthropology, it would seem odd that anthropologists have ingrained assumptions about culture and that pure objectivity is responsible. The poster who responded seems to be implicitly saying that anthropologists need to be able to anticipate any possible cultural difference that they may encounter. Rex, you on the other hand (I think)seem to be using the piece to try to educate other academics about cultural differences that one may encounter in the class room. What annoys me is that the poster seems to be ignoring this part of the message and in essence focusing on slagging anthropology (or maybe I'm reading too much into the response). I thought it was a great column but I was annoyed by the response of one the posters who stated:
“What does it mean that one can receive a PhD in anthropology (from an excellent institution) and not expect to have cultural differences in the classroom in different places?” I guess the story didn’t strike me as particularly odd because the “I’ve had my assumptions challenged” story has become a sort of stock anthropological form of writing. Perhaps to an outside observer unfamiliar with anthropology, it would seem odd that anthropologists have ingrained assumptions about culture and that pure objectivity is responsible. The poster who responded seems to be implicitly saying that anthropologists need to be able to anticipate any possible cultural difference that they may encounter. Rex, you on the other hand (I think)seem to be using the piece to try to educate other academics about cultural differences that one may encounter in the class room. What annoys me is that the poster seems to be ignoring this part of the message and in essence focusing on slagging anthropology (or maybe I’m reading too much into the response).

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]]> By: Rex http://savageminds.org/2006/04/17/pacific-jews/comment-page-1/#comment-5162 Rex Tue, 18 Apr 2006 02:32:30 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=453#comment-5162 I was thinking about posting about that op-ed here, but I figured that SM was not my personal vanity blog so I begged off. My "personal blog":http://alex.golub.name/log/ keeps track of all my publications, academic and otherwise and so people can keep track of the op-ed pieces (as well as the Jedi fan fiction) there. I was thinking about posting about that op-ed here, but I figured that SM was not my personal vanity blog so I begged off. My “personal blog”:http://alex.golub.name/log/ keeps track of all my publications, academic and otherwise and so people can keep track of the op-ed pieces (as well as the Jedi fan fiction) there.

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