Human Terrain & Anthropology (merged thread)

[marct]

My vote is for "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane, 1967

[Steve Blair]

My vote is for "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane, 1967

I tend to prefer the Sanctuary remake of the same song, but that is a good choice. "Paint it Black" might also be worth consideration.

[Stan]

My vote is for "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane, 1967

Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head
Feed your head
Feed your head"

Will the monkey fit in

[marct]

Will the monkey fit in

Hey, backup singers are important !

[wm]

My vote is for "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane, 1967

If you choose to go with JA, then I suggest "Lather" from the 1968 "Crown of Creation" album The following lyrics are particularly apropos I think.

"Lather was 30 years old today,
They took away all of his toys.
His mother sent newspaper clippings to him
About his old friends who'd stopped being boys."

[marct]

If you choose to go with JA, then I suggest "Lather" from the 1968 "Crown of Creation" album The following lyrics are particularly apropos I think.

That's certainly a valid comment on the lyrics WM. Then again, White Rabbit truly does capture the postmodernist existential angst of performing theoretical praxis in the current regressive, militaristic environment (I can't believe I typed that with a straight face ).

[sgmgrumpy]

Hey Marct,

Can you help decode this Phd language?

Now I think that the militarisation of everyday life is all about technology and security but it isn't Bentham's panopticon, Foucault's docile bodies or even the disciplinary power manifest in CCTV and consumer RFID that I'm talking about. It's the research, development and deployment of biopolitics and network technologies of terror, control and bare life that are actively re-shaping our very understandings of what it means to be together-in-the-world. It's how people with real power are constructing--in procedure, policy and law--what it means to be human, what it means to be social, and even what we should be able to expect from each other.

One of my favourite anthropology students used to love winding me up by threatening to go work for the military. (Sociology students seeking the same threaten to work for Stats Can.) And although he tried to persuade me along the lines of "it's better me than someone else, right?" I never bought it, even when he reminded me that I teach students to always keep an open mind. I'll also admit that these discussions of ours most often ended with me blurting out something intellectually rich like "But, but, but... It's just WRONG to help them!" and him sitting back with a smug smile. (So much for rational argument or ethics, I was clearly signing up for a simpler moral judgment.)

Space and Culture is a cross-disciplinary journal of cultural studies that fosters the publication of reflections on a wide range of socio-spatial arenas.

SPACE AND CULTURE

[marct]

Hey Marct,

Can you help decode this Phd language?

Sure, although since Anne (the author) is a colleague of mine I'll have to be careful .

Now I think that the militarisation of everyday life is all about technology and security but it isn't Bentham's panopticon, Foucault's docile bodies or even the disciplinary power manifest in CCTV and consumer RFID that I'm talking about. It's the research, development and deployment of biopolitics and network technologies of terror, control and bare life that are actively re-shaping our very understandings of what it means to be together-in-the-world. It's how people with real power are constructing--in procedure, policy and law--what it means to be human, what it means to be social, and even what we should be able to expect from each other.

What she is saying here is that "the militarisation of everyday life" (used as a term for a process) is not about internalizing guilt or fear that someone is being watched (that's the panopticon reference) or monitored by technologies (RFID, CCTV, etc - think of it as a Big Brother, 1984 allusion). She appears to be saying that she views "the militarisation of everyday life" as an example of changing how we perceive society and social relations from a broadly "friendly" approach (assuming everyone isn't out to get you) to a broadly antagonistic approach (everyone IS out to get you).

One of my favourite anthropology students used to love winding me up by threatening to go work for the military. (Sociology students seeking the same threaten to work for Stats Can.) And although he tried to persuade me along the lines of "it's better me than someone else, right?" I never bought it, even when he reminded me that I teach students to always keep an open mind. I'll also admit that these discussions of ours most often ended with me blurting out something intellectually rich like "But, but, but... It's just WRONG to help them!" and him sitting back with a smug smile. (So much for rational argument or ethics, I was clearly signing up for a simpler moral judgment.)

And I know who that student is, too (or at least I'm pretty sure I do). If it's who I think it is, they are a frequent visitor, but not poster, here at the SWC.

Space and Culture is a cross-disciplinary journal of cultural studies that fosters the publication of reflections on a wide range of socio-spatial arenas.

Got time for a few beers ? Actually, the journal was started by a friend of mine and they do publish some really good work in the area. At it's simplest, it just means that the journal looks at issues about how spatial arrangements influence human action. As an example, think about the different type of "feel" (and culture) in an office where everyone has offices vs. everyone having desks in the open. Another example would be looking at how and why the Lincoln Memorial in DC affects so many people who see it. I've used some of the ideas they play with in some of my own research, and they do have a lot of explanatory power in some areas.

Marc

[wm]

Hey Marct,

Can you help decode this Phd language?

SGM,

While you doidn't ask me, I wanted to take a crack at translating English into English too.

[Begin Translation]we are witnessing a change in our perceptions of the "friendliness" of the world. We now have to fear that we might at any moment fall victim to the depradations of terrrorists or other forms of violence from other people. This has caused us to become more pugnacious in our dealings with others in the world around us.[End Translation]

What she does not go on to consider in this excerpt is whether this is an appropriate way for us to view where we are in the world. I for one tend to view this as a form of Chicken Little reaction to a few relatively isolated incidents of acorns dropping.

BTW while considering journals, I suggest a look at Armed Forces and Society. The last issue included papers like "Reassessing Victory in Warfare," "The Dilemma behind the Classical Dilemma of Civil-Military Relations," anf "The Effectiveness of Military Governments during War."