Anthropological Research Research Articles

Notes on the Future Possibilities of Engaged Anthropological Research: Why Decolonizing Anthropology Needs Black Diasporic Feminist Theory and Methodologies

Notes on the Future Possibilities of Engaged Anthropological Research: Why Decolonizing Anthropology Needs Black Diasporic Feminist Theory and Methodologies

Park, Partnerships, and Place: Interdisciplinary Student Perspectives on Applied Anthropology Research in the City

Park, Partnerships, and Place: Interdisciplinary Student Perspectives on Applied Anthropology Research in the City

Iʿjāz of the Qurʿān for Using the Words Gold, Silver and Not Money

The production of knowledge on iʿjāz in economy is strongly influenced by the literature on scientific miracles of the Qurʿān. The interpretation of the verses of the Qurʿān pertaining to maʿāsh comes up against the binary logic aimed at constructing a scientific identity by summoning key concepts from mainstream economic thought. This article is based on philology as an art of reading well to shed light on the iʿjāz of the Qurʿān through the use of the words gold and silver and not that of money. It is structured around multidisciplinary approach and a qualitative analysis through the meanings in reference to the literature on the secrets of eloquence and evidence of the inimitability of the Qurʿān. The results showed that the iʿjāz in the use of the words gold and silver invites to live in the world of rizq, as an umwelt or 風土 fūdo. This mode of existence provides resilience against voluntary servitude to the system of monetary creation ex nihilo by the interest loan granted by commercial banks. Such particular way is a thematic interpretation of the verses relating to the means to acquit the rights of the Creator and those of the creatures. It converges like Hénon attractor as a chaotic fractal set with research in history, anthropology and numismatics which does not use the word money.

True Echoes

This article describes True Echoes, a three-year project initiated by the British Library to research its Oceanic wax cylinder collections and to reconnect digitised sound recordings with their originating communities. These collections, recorded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, comprise some of the earliest recordings of Pacific cultures and histories and represent the early use of sound recording for European anthropological research in the region. The recordings were made in Papua New Guinea,Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and the Torres Strait Islands of Australia. They, along with the British Library’s wider collection of ethnographic cylinders, were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2011.This article concentrates on some of the earliest recordings, 102 wax cylinders of the Alfred Cort Haddon 1898 Expedition (Torres Strait and British New Guinea) Cylinder Collection (C80). The collection also contains 39 cylinders recorded in Papua New Guinea, which will not be discussed here. Research methods involved historical research in partnership with Oceanic cultural institutions and participatory research with community members, which provided local knowledge and new information. The “multi-perspectivist approach” employed by the project team was important for gathering a variety of perspectives on the collections and for revealing “the complex processes involved in their production, collection and interpretation”.

PAOLO SYLOS-LABINI’S CONTRIBUTION TO AND AFFINITIES FOR INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMIC THOUGHT

The text proposes a study of Sylos-Labini’s interdisciplinary orientation and how this relates to the institutional approach. Sylos-Labini’s multi-disciplinary approach seems to stand between Old Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics. He states that an interdisciplinary approach, in which economic theory is juxtaposed with history, sociology, anthropology, and empirical research, is realistic and does not entail any limitation on the production of scientific knowledge. Thus, Sylos-Labini seems to be more interested in the old institutionalist school and sociology than new institutional economics and the theory of firms and contracts. Therefore, this paper investigates whether Sylos-Labini’s multidisciplinary approach to economics can represent a possible bridge between Old Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics.

The heritagization of cultural politics: anthropological research on Chinese cultural heritage

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, in alignment with globalization and the megatrend within the international socio-cultural sphere, China has initiated a large-scale “intangible cultural heritage (ICH) protection movement” through its proactive leadership and management of cultural heritage administration. As a significant component of Chinese cultural politics, this movement has profoundly influenced the cultural lives of Chinese society and its citizens and is poised to continue doing so. Some Chinese anthropologists have also participated in and significantly contributed to this movement in various ways. This paper comprehensively and meticulously examines these fundamental ways. Building upon this analysis, this paper further provides an overview and assessment of the research outcomes of anthropological research on Chinese cultural heritage, both domestically and internationally. The author posits that the paramount contribution of anthropologists, both domestically and internationally, to Chinese cultural heritages and the related protection endeavors lies in their academic research outcomes being predominantly based on their respective fieldwork practices. These outcomes, shaped and realized through on-the-ground fieldwork, hold exceptional value for cultural heritage administration and national cultural policies, as they effectively provide cultural criticism and dissenting perspectives.

The Integration of Ethnoscience and Technology: A Review

This literature review critically examines the integration of ethnoscience and technology, highlighting the transformative impact of this amalgamation on the field of social sciences. Ethnoscience, with its focus on understanding the diverse ways in which human communities perceive and interact with their world, and ethnography, a methodology for the immersive study of cultures and social interactions, together provide a robust framework for exploring human cognition, behavior, and societal constructs. The review delves into the key principles of ethnoscience, emphasizing the development and significance of ethnography in anthropological research and the methodological flexibility required to address contemporary challenges. This study further explores the integration of technological innovations such as wearables, digital traces, and information and communication technology (ICT) into ethnographic studies, underscoring the opportunities and challenges presented by the digital era. The paper argues that the incorporation of technology not only expands the methodological toolkit available to researchers but also enhances the depth and breadth of ethnographic insights into socio-economic, policy, and environmental factors influencing technology adoption across various sectors. Despite the methodological, socio-economic, and infrastructural hurdles, the integration offers unprecedented opportunities for understanding complex social phenomena, contributing significantly to policy-making, community development, and technological innovation. This review underscores the necessity of evolving ethnographic practices to keep pace with technological advancements, fostering a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the intricacies of human life in the digital age.

EXPLORING THE RICH TAPESTRY OF JAMBI MALAY TRADITION AND CULTURE: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF KOMPANGAN IN JAMBI SEBERANG

The purpose of this research is to explain the history of Kompangan as a musical instrument and the roles of Ulu Gendong Group in preserving the Kompangan as traditional Malay arts in Jambi Seberang. By using anthropological research, the results of this study indicate that Kompangan art is Malay Islamic culture and traditional musical of Jambi Province especially from Jambi Seberang. Kompangan have been brought by immigrants from the Middle East. Sambilan Group was founded in Kampung Tengah, Jambi, and that is where Kompangan got its start. Kompangan art has evolved in several districts one of them in Ulu Gedong. Ulu Gedong, Riyatul Jannah, Riyatul Abedin, and Al-Hidayah are the four main compangan groups that make up from Ulu Gedong. Young generation play a crucial role in the preservation of Kompang in Jambi Seberang. The goal for the next generation will value their culture more and keep their cultural legacy alive, particularly this Kompangan art.

Using Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios from Human Skeletal Muscle Tissue for Postmortem Interval (PMI) Estimation (Part 1)

Human skeletal muscle tissue was analyzed for stable nitrogen isotope analysis (δ15N) to test the applicability of changes in values (Δ15N) through the putrefaction process for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. Seasonal differences in Δ15N values of decom-posing skeletal muscle tissue were analyzed from 20 human donors at the University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility. This study revealed that change in the δ15N ratios of decomposing muscle tissue has potential as a novel method for PMI estimation. In winter months, when identifiable muscle tissue can be retained on a body for months, the data indicate that there is a systematic increase in Δ15N values with increasing temperatures when putrefaction progresses faster with values shifting as much as 3.0‰. This initial study indicates there is value in further method development of this quantitative approach to PMI estimation for recently deceased individuals, but further work is needed. While the analysis only requires a small amount of tissue, has a user- friendly collection and analysis protocol, and is less subjective than visual methods, there is still significant research to be done prior to widespread applications as a PMI estimation method. Understanding variability in δ15N across decomposing muscle tissue groups, individual variation (i.e., muscle mass, disease, body chem-istry), and an accurate approximation for a perimortem δ15N value necessary to calculate Δ15N all need to be further researched prior to generation of a reliable regression formula and error rates.

Chasing balloons as scientific practice: On transformative cocreation and epistemic ethics of care in the emerging field of youth citizen social science

How does including youth in research within a citizen social science framework challenge and transform our participatory action research practices and approaches? Through a storying journey we unravel how the training and subsequent conducting of a co-creative research process with young citizen social scientists are evolving from a cacophony of traditions, approaches and disciplines, among them youth participatory action research, action research in organizations, citizen science and social anthropology. The article is based on empirical research with a group of young people in Oslo, Norway, involved in a large collaborative citizen social science project on social inclusion of youth in Europe. We have witnessed closely how an epistemic ethics of care is integral to securing the epistemic justice of youth and argue that citizen social science can promote both epistemic justice and epistemic abundance by including youth in all parts of a rigorous research process that produces new scientific knowledge. Yet, we found that performing an ethics of care is (close to) impossible within the current conditions and structures of social sciences, as our ideals and views on what science is, delimit the practices of relational care necessary for inclusive processes. The implications of our findings call for an ethics of care framework for both citizen social science and action research practices.

Methodological Obstacles Facing the Anthropologist in the Field A Field Study on a Sample of Master's and Doctoral Students in the Department of Sociology -Tebessa

This research paper aims to delve into a systematic epistemological topic in the field of anthropological studies;since the field is an anthropological laboratory we chose the field research and the obstacles facing the field researcher as the subject of our study, with a focus on the anthropological field research methodology.

The Jimmie Barker corpus: A Muruwari man’s documentation of Aboriginal languages, history and culture between 1968 and 1972

ABSTRACT Jimmie Barker (1900–1972) was a Muruwari Elder, Cultural Knowledge Holder, linguist, historian, ethnographer, inventor and sound engineer who produced over 113 h of audio recordings using reel-to-reel tape recorders between 1968 and 1972. Jimmie was supported in his endeavours by Janet Mathews and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) (formerly, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies). The “Barker Collection” of audio recordings is now housed in the AIATSIS Collection. Jimmie initially set out to record a Muruwari-English dictionary, but this expanded into documenting Muruwari language and culture, as well as personal, family, domestic and international history. Much of the collection comprises self-elicitation, metalinguistic analyses, oral histories and reflections. It includes some of the earliest recordings and language documentation by an Aboriginal person of other Aboriginal people, observations of typological properties and language change in Aboriginal languages, and critical analyses of linguistic and anthropological research. Since 2021, Roy J. Barker, grandson of Jimmie and Muruwari Cultural Knowledge Holder, has overseen a team of linguists designing a time-aligned ELAN corpus of Jimmie’s recordings for language revival outcomes. The recordings are transcribed, annotated with metadata and coded with cultural and language tags with consideration to the FAIR and CARE Principles.

Qualitative protocol to support detection of the early presentation and diagnosis of mycetoma in Sudan

The neglected tropical disease (NTD) mycetoma is a chronic and progressively destructive infectious disease endemic in Sudan. There is a growing body of scientific research on mycetoma -causes, transmission, treatment, and impact from a clinical and biomedical perspective. However, there is further need for in-depth medical anthropology research on the disease to successfully translate biomedical advances into elimination and control programmes. Given this background the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on NTDs at Brighton and Sussex Medical School is leading multidisciplinary research on skin NTDs, including mycetoma, with a medical anthropology research component exploring how community engagement can lead to earlier presentation of mycetoma in Sudan. This protocol paper sets out the research aims and methods to generate new knowledge on mycetoma in Sudan once the political situation becomes stable and it is safe to carry out global health research once again. We continue to develop appropriate community engagement intervention strategies, while activities like training and capacity strengthening get underway remotely. In what follows we situate this study in the NIHR Research Unit on NTDs and alongside social science research on mycetoma. This study is part of the programme of research conducted by the NIHR Research Unit on NTDs at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). Phase I of the Unit was conducted from 2018–2021. Below we detail key findings from Phase I that have informed our more recent work in Phase II (2021)(2022)(2023)(2024)(2025)(2026). It also sits alongside the Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatising Skin Conditions (5-S) Foundation also at BSMS (‘NIHR 5S Foundation -BSMS’ n.d., 5). The 5-S foundation examines the cultural, social, economic, and policy contexts of podoconiosis, mycetoma, and scabies in relation to the dynamics and dimensions of stigma. This study differs from the aims of the 5S Foundation in that it specifically focuses on the role community engagement can have in the early presentation and diagnosis of mycetoma in Sudan.

The Leadership Triad: A Relational Model

Eric Berne introduced some specific ideas about leadership of groups and organizations into the field of transactional analysis. The author outlines Eric Berne’s three kinds or types of leadership as part of the group authority. This concept is subsequently linked to anthropological research, resulting in an archetype interpretation of the three kinds of leadership. On that basis, the author introduces the leadership triad as a relational model of leadership, consisting of representative, executive, and transformative leadership. The foundation of this model is a systemic interpretation with all three functions as a dynamic equilibrium or homeostatic process of cocreating cohesion. The model suggests that leadership is a cocreated, resonant group process with the whole team sharing – and not only a leader having – responsibility for the successful development of the team or the organization. Finally, implications of leadership imbalance are conceptualized and illustrated by case examples.

Negotiating Between Belief and Custom: The Encounters of Han Muslim Converts in China

ABSTRACT The conversion of Han Chinese in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to Islam is a complex and dynamic process that goes beyond the mere adoption of a new faith. Potential converts undergo a multifaceted journey involving learning about Islam, reflecting on Hui and Han ethnic cultures and customs, and understanding the historical relationship between Islam as a religion and ethnic Hui Chinese people. Through this process, Han converts gradually develop a pluralistic and multilayered identity that encompasses their Han ethnicity and Muslim faith. The article emphasizes the importance of daily inter-group interactions and the use of various strategies to resolve conflicts while adhering to Islamic beliefs. It introduces a theoretical framework consisting of discursive, local, and configurable values to analyze the nuances of everyday experiences among Han converts. This framework provides a structured approach to understanding the complexities of identity formation and enrich ongoing discussions within the Islamic anthropological research community.

Re-learning hope: On alienation, theory and the ‘death’ of universities

Informed by Irving Horowitz’s view of the Festschrift, this article adopts both a retrospective and a prospective approach to the work of the sociologist Bridget Fowler. On the one hand, it assesses some of the key characteristics and contributions of her three single-authored books: The Alienated Reader: Women and Popular Romantic Literature in the Twentieth Century (1991), Pierre Bourdieu and Cultural Theory (1997) and The Obituary as Collective Memory (2007). On the other, it takes cues from these books to develop a more forward-looking type of reflection that connects some recent sociological and anthropological research on ‘the neoliberal university’ to writing about hope and utopia. The article emphasises that Fowler is attentive not only to processes of social reproduction but also to what John Holloway terms ‘cracks in the texture of domination’, that is, to examples of freedom, resistance and the imagination of alternatives in popular culture and elsewhere. At the same time, it shows how thinking about utopia and hope can contribute to debates about ‘the alienated academic’ and the ‘death’ of universities. The article concludes that Fowler’s sociology is, alongside its many other qualities, a valuable contribution to ‘re-learning hope’, arguably one of the most important challenges facing us today.

Estimation of Stature from Head Length and Head Breadth in Undergraduate Medical Students: An Anthropometric Study

Background: Height is a significant parameter for growth and development of an individual. The aim of our study is to estimate stature from Head Length (HL) and Head Breadth (HB) in living and to derive the correlation and regression formulae between them. Methods: This is a descriptive study. A total of one hundred and ninety four medical students, presently studying at Devdaha Medical College and Research Institute, aged between eighteen and twenty four years were selected as the subjects for the present study. Two skull measurements namely head length and head breadth were taken by following standards- Anthropometric methods and technique and the Standing height was measured using a stadiometer. Results: The Regression equation for stature of males using head length is 153.02+0.75HL and using head breadth is 141.65+1.67HB. The regression equation for stature in females using head length and breadth are 100.837+3.081HL and 112.23+3.002HB respectively. Conclusion: From our study we conclude that there is a weak positive correlation between height and head length in both males and females. The data obtained may be useful in anthropological research, forensic, genetic research, as well as in medical clinical practice.

Small Island Risks: Research Reflections for Disaster Anthropologists and Climate Ethnographers

Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the role of anthropology, ethnography, and multi-sited research in exploring disaster impacts, climate crises, and public policy in island communities. It then highlights national planning and inter-regional activities to build awareness of various risk reduction efforts by island nations and multi-governmental organizations. This article concludes with discussion prompts to engage researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners studying and working in small island nations. Due to the growing interest in climate equity and justice, this paper argues that anthropologists can offer valuable methodologies and approaches to develop transdisciplinary and nuanced insights into researching disaster risk reduction efforts and climate policy networks in and across island nations.

THE ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL IDENTITY OF THE LEMKOS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEMORY POLITICS

The study examines the problem of the identity of the Lemko people, noting the superiority of ethno-confessional identity. The historical context and influence of the church on the formation of identity are considered. The unique phenomenon of the ethno-confessional identity of the Lemkos became one of the elements of the reinterpretation of the past. It is a regularity to consider this process as a structural component of memory policy. The subjects of memory policy were singled out: government institutions, the Institute of National Memory, the education system, public organisations, and public intellectuals. The key direction of this policy is the marginalisation of the Ukrainian dimension of the Lemki community and its interpretation as an ethnographic phenomenon worthy of mainly anthropological research. The result of such activities is the gradual loss of political subjectivity for the Lemkos as a community.

Quantum computing in anthropological research: An interdisciplinary approach

This paper investigates the application of quantum computing in anthropological research. By leveraging quantum algorithms and computational capabilities, we propose innovative methodologies for analyzing complex cultural datasets, modeling social interactions, and reconstructing historical evolutionary patterns. The integration of quantum computing into anthropology has the potential to revolutionize the field by providing unprecedented computational efficiency and novel analytical tools.