Afghan Killing Bares a Karzai Family Feud - NYTimes.com
“In Islam, I have the right to kill him....” In fact, customary law is often described by clan members and tribesmen as rooted in religion, but feudal vengeance is in fact rooted in traditional law not in shari'a.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
End of semester anonymous poll on political anthropology texts
27 of 30 students returned a questionnaire on course texts. The students were asked to vote thumbs up or down and vote yes or no on using the text next year. Here are the results:
Anderson, Imagined Communities--three thumbs down
Barth, essay on ethnicity--nine thumbs down
Abner Cohen, Two Dimensional Man--six thumbs down and one person could not make up her mind
Lewellen, Political Anthropology--seven thumbs down.
Gledhill, Power and its Disguises--five thumbs down
Mahdavi, Passionate Revolution--three thumbs down, but six people would not use the book again
Norton, Hezbollah--no thumbs down
Venkatesh, Gang Leader for a Day--one thumb down
Vincent, Political Anthropology reader (only read by grad students)--two thumbs down from a total of six grad students
Initial thoughts on the votes:
The Barth essay is difficult (but important) and it probably needs to be taught differently. Lewellen should be switched to a recommended text (some students find it a useful primer). Mahdavi was disappointing and it will not be used again. One student recommended an alternative to Mahdavi, which I will explore. Vincent probably should be replaced by individual reading selections.
Anderson, Imagined Communities--three thumbs down
Barth, essay on ethnicity--nine thumbs down
Abner Cohen, Two Dimensional Man--six thumbs down and one person could not make up her mind
Lewellen, Political Anthropology--seven thumbs down.
Gledhill, Power and its Disguises--five thumbs down
Mahdavi, Passionate Revolution--three thumbs down, but six people would not use the book again
Norton, Hezbollah--no thumbs down
Venkatesh, Gang Leader for a Day--one thumb down
Vincent, Political Anthropology reader (only read by grad students)--two thumbs down from a total of six grad students
Initial thoughts on the votes:
The Barth essay is difficult (but important) and it probably needs to be taught differently. Lewellen should be switched to a recommended text (some students find it a useful primer). Mahdavi was disappointing and it will not be used again. One student recommended an alternative to Mahdavi, which I will explore. Vincent probably should be replaced by individual reading selections.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Black Iraqis In Basra Face Racism : NPR
Black Iraqis In Basra Face Racism : NPR: "The election of Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency was celebrated with special fervor by Iraqis of African descent in the southern port city of Basra.
Although they have lived in Iraq for more than 1,000 years, the black Basrawis say they are still discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and they see Obama as a role model. Long relegated to menial jobs or work as musicians and dancers, some of them have recently formed a group to advance their civil rights."
Although they have lived in Iraq for more than 1,000 years, the black Basrawis say they are still discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and they see Obama as a role model. Long relegated to menial jobs or work as musicians and dancers, some of them have recently formed a group to advance their civil rights."
Next, reinstate black and white TV in Iran.
Iran bans makeup for women on state-run television - The Boston Globe: "Local Search Site Search"
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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