Anthropology Times

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

I don’t know much about the College Confidential website, but while browsing the net for “physics and anthropology” I came across a posting on the site from a freshman considering anthropology and physics as majors and asking for advice. I thought the response from ABC260 was a good one and it spoke to some of my thinking on the matter.

The original poster liked that anthropology is a broad field, as do I, but felt that it wasn’t as analytically challenging as physics. ABC260 pointed out that while at the freshman level physics classes may seem more analytical and anthropology classes more descriptive, later level anthropology classes that delve more into the theoretical side of anthropology may provide the analytical challenge the poster appears to be seeking. ABC260 also cautions that undergraduate study for either major may not give the best idea of the level of thinking required for graduate level study saying, “Sadly, intro courses in math and physics belie the theoretical sophistication required for higher level studies, and most undergraduate anthro courses(not just the intro ones) do the same.”

It seems to me that too many people think that all that’s required to be a good anthropologist is being able to read and write at the college level. The need for dogged analytical skills as applied to both outer environments and the inner environment of one’s own mind is daunting. If I may out myself as a Trekkie… I love Captain Kirk as much as the next Trekkie, but I think many would mistakenly place anthropologists in a camp with Captain Kirk when really anthropologists would be more accurately placed in a camp with Spock. Or perhaps I should say that when I think about the type of anthropologist that I would want to be, I see myself as more Spock than Captain Kirk.

Back to the books,
S.

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Whatever my experiences with anthropology, good or bad, they have have been very limited. I understand that I need to find ways to engage a wider spectrum as far as the the subject matter of anthropology and anthropologists. I don’t quite feel ready to interview people, but I do want to add something more than reading articles.

I’ve listened to anthropology lectures available online here and there, but I haven’t made a regular effort of it. So, I’m in the process of cobbling together a series of lectures for my weekly dose of anthropology, and I hope to provide short reviews/commentaries on these in the coming weeks. I’ve already found some lectures that I’m excited about, but I didn’t get it together soon enough to start this week.

Until next week,

S.

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

I continue to go through an adjustment phase with being back in school. I hesitate to take the week off completely, so I will give a quick tale about growing up in the the Mississippi Delta:

In elementary school my best friend and I were teacher’s pets. We made very good grades and we scored well on standardized tests. While occasionally we were teased in connection with our pet status, what stands out in my memory is the group of students who said that if my best friend and I were unfairly favored, the blame for it lay with the teachers and not the students, and that any hard feelings should be directed toward the teachers and not us*. One friend with whom I often worked on school projects said to me that we could play normally outside of school, but while we were in school she could not be as friendly because she didn’t want to appear to support unfair favoritism.

I loved the beautiful, brilliant children with whom I went to elementary school.

(Edited to add:  Just to be clear, with a couple of the older teachers in particular there was something other than normal praise for doing well.  Sometimes the language used to say that smart, black people were important in the struggle against racism, implied sentiments about the value of people that were unfortunate and untrue.)

Gotta run,

S.

Letters to My Tutor…

My dearest Simone,

Toward the end of last year, I had a thought about my deceased friend. It flashed momentarily in my mind that “maybe it was his time to go.” I have no special connection with the meaning of those words, but they were often spoken around me growing up. I take the passing thought as some indication that I have accepted his death more fully as those words were often spoken in that light. And though I don’t necessarily feel this way on a conscious level, I wonder whether that flash of words spoke from my subconscious.

Recently, my phone was reset to a much earlier point, a point when my friend was still alive. Looking at my recent calls I was confronted with the record of our daily call routine. I was happy for the reminder. I continue to wonder how recent technologies may affect how we grieve and how we think about the dead. An acquaintance (with two young children) who lost her husband often “speaks” to him using his account on a social networking site. I wonder how children who experience adults in grieving through use of social media may come to view death and/or grieving differently. I’m reminded of the show Caprica, in which one of the characters promoted the view of heaven as a location in cyberspace.

I still feel uncomfortable with the idea of using social media as a grieving medium. Others post to my friend’s social media page on his birthday and at other times, but I feel held back from that. I did take comfort reading some of his last postings after his death though. He had thanked a bunch of people individually for their birthday greetings to him. When an acquaintance committed suicide, it was surreal to read his final and somewhat cryptic words on his social media page particularly during the moments of uncertainty when some were still hoping that things would turn out alright.

Perhaps I should interview people as to the role social media has played in their grieving process. I certainly look forward to reading the studies that I am certain will be done in this area.

Ever yours,

S.