C L O S E R

An anthropology of Muslims in Europe - A modest attempt by Martijn

Category: anthropology

Diyanet in Turkey and the Netherlands – Transnational politics and politicization of research 1

anthropology / Headline / Multiculti Issues / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Diyanet in Turkey and the Netherlands – Transnational politics and politicization of research

The time that researchers could pretend to work in an academic bubble is definitively over, if it ever existed. Research plays a role in political processes and they are always part of specific power configuration. This is particularly clear in case of the research on Islam and Muslims in Europe. Doing research in the post 9/11 political climate about issues such as the place of Islam in European societies is caught up in a complex political and social web of opposing requirements and assumptions. In this article Thijl Sunier reflects upon his research on the Turkish Diyanet and its relation with the Netherlands understood against the background of fundamental changes in Turkish society.

Doing Anthropology 0

anthropology

Doing Anthropology

Anthropologists have to analyze, reveal and understand people’s view of reality and how their practices are related to that. But what does that actually mean? What is it that anthropologists do? What is their research about? In a video, three members of MIT’s Anthropology Department, Stefan Helmreich, Erica James, and Heather Paxson, talk about their current work and the process of doing fieldwork.

"Now, it's gonna be a long one" – some first conclusions from the Egyptian revolution 3

anthropology / Guest authors / Headline / Society & Politics in the Middle East

"Now, it's gonna be a long one" – some first conclusions from the Egyptian revolution

Anthropologist Samuli Schielke was present at the protest on Tahrir Square and maintained a diary. In this blogpost he offers some pre-liminary conclusions based upon his experiences, observations and talks. Schielke makes clear that the protests have a strikingly festive aspect. It is not just a protest against an oppressive regime and a demand for freedom. In itself, it is freedom. It is a real, actual, lived moment of the freedom and dignity that the pro-democracy movement demand. A revolution however also requires persistence.

Closing the week 5 – Featuring the Tunisia & Egypt Uprising 4

anthropology / Blogosphere / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Closing the week 5 – Featuring the Tunisia & Egypt Uprising

A weekly round up of writings on the Internet, some relevant for my research, some political, some funny but all of them interesting (Dutch/English). (As usual to a large extent based upon suggestions from Dutch, other European, American and Middle Eastern readers. Thank you all.) This week all about the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Closing the years 2009-2010 3

anthropology / Headline / ISIM/RU Research / My Research

Closing the years 2009-2010

Because I don’t exactly know anymore when I started my own website, both the years 2009 and 2010 have been labelled as celebrating 10 years of blogging. In the last two years I tried to re-direct this site into more like a public anthropology website. A process that started in 2009 with the post Public Anthropology – 10 years from Researchpages to Closer (1999/2000-2009/2010). In this post I review the last two years and give an update on the recent publications.

Wikileaks: Wikivism, Anarchism and the State 1

anthropology / Blogosphere

Wikileaks: Wikivism, Anarchism and the State

What Wikileaks does is to break the secrets of states so they become open for public deliberation. This action and the counter-reaction of states therefore tell us something about the the limits and extent of state power with regard to Internet activism. Although in general the revolutionairy potential of the Internet appears to be rather limited, in this case the Internet can be a substitute for directed organization certainly in the wake of ‘counter-overreaction’ by the states. In that way the ‘counter-overreaction’ does not only validate the leaks but also directly provokes and feeds the activism against the states’ responses to Wikileaks.

Closing the Week 48 – Featuring Morocco and Western Sahara 0

anthropology / Blogosphere

Closing the Week 48 – Featuring Morocco and Western Sahara

A weekly round up of writings on the Internet, some relevant for my research, some political, some funny but all of them interesting (Dutch/English). (As usual to a large extent based upon suggestions from Dutch, other European, American and Middle Eastern readers. Thank you all.) This week featuring the dispute over the Western Sahara.

Award for anthropologist Jan Blommaert: Language, Asylum and the National Order 2

[Online] Publications / anthropology / Multiculti Issues

Award for anthropologist Jan Blommaert: Language, Asylum and the National Order

Jan Blommaert has been awarded with the first Barbara Metzger Prize for his article Language, Asylum, and the National Order published in the journal Current Anthropology in August 2009 (vol. 50, no. 4). Jan Blommaert is professor of language, culture and globalization at Tilburg University, the Netherlands and professor in African linguistics and sociolinguistics at Ghent University in Belgium. In his article Blommaert probes the way in which officials try to ascertain the authenticity of those seeking asylum in Western Europe. He shows that officials sometimes rely on assumptions about linguistic competence of asylum seekers that may be inaccurate when applied to citizens of often multi-lingual communities.