After a couple years of running the anthropologies project and writing for Savage Minds, I have decided to combine my online energies. Anthropologies is moving to Savage Minds! The core idea of the project is going to stay the same, but the way it works is going to change a bit. Instead of publishing collections of essays all at once in journal-esque format, the new anthropologies here on Savage Minds will entail a series of themed, invited posts over a 1-2 month period. At the end of the series I will publish the collection in either E-pub or PDF format to make things nice and accessible. I think it’s going to work out very well.
All upcoming issues will be announced in advance to encourage as much participation as possible. If you have any comments or ideas, please feel free to email me at ethnografix at gmail dot com. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome.
The first Savage Minds/anthropologies issue will focus on the pressing, depressing, and ever-worsening subject of student debt. It’s an issue that affects far too many people, and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I wrote about student debt here on Savage Minds a while back–at the end of the post I mentioned the idea of marshaling anthropology to start finding some answers. That’s what this issue is all about: bringing anthropology to bear on a subject that hits close to home for a lot of people trying to slog their way through grad school, recent graduation, adjunct-hood, and the horrible job market. Several contributors are already lined up, and the first installment of the series will be online soon! In anticipation of the student debt issue, check out this must read article on the Chronicle of Higher Ed by Audrey Williams June (published today), which mentions the PhD Debt Survey that Karen Kelsky started just a few days ago (it already has more than a thousand anonymous responses). Also check out Rebecca Schuman’s related piece on Slate. Those two articles will be a good prep for taking on–and hopefully pushing back against–the entrenched problem of student debt.
*Upcoming themes include: The politics of global warming and environmentalism; Aging; The uses and abuses of “culture”; An anthropology of the stuff we eat. And more! This series is open to suggestions, participation, and ideas, so please feel free to post your comments here or email me (ethnografix@gmail.com).