Anthropological Perspective Research Articles

Identity Cannibalism in Narcissistic Persons: Lessons from Anthropology.

Cannibalism is a practice based on the assimilation of the enemy, characterized by different ritual phases. The cultural anthropologist Francesco Remotti provides insight into this practice, stating that the Tupinamba tribes - an ethnic group living along the Eastern Atlantic coast of Brazil - use it to demonstrate their superiority over the defeated group. After capturing a prisoner, the assimilation process begins, which prepares the prisoner for the cannibalistic act through a specific sequence of steps. Remotti's research on cannibalism is applicable to the world of narcissism. The way a narcissistic individual relates to others is a paradigmatic example of cannibalistic rituals. This study aimed to catch the structural components of the narcissistic relationship, rooted in Remotti's anthropological perspective, and to explore the associated phenomenological and psychopathological characteristics. We present a new perspective for understanding the interpersonal relationship characteristic of a narcissistic person, which we have termed "identity cannibalism."

Bodies politic: Burial and reburial in fascist Italy

ABSTRACT This article examines the ‘necro-politics' or the fascist politics of death as it unfolded from the funerals of the squadristi - the members of the fascist paramilitary squads who carried out attacks and violence throughout Italy before Benito Mussolini came to power in the autumn of 1922 - to their exhumation and reburial in ‘shrines’ during the 1930s. Adopting an anthropological perspective, it considers the funerals, exhumations and reburials of fascists as rites of passage that dynamically came to shape political meanings. As the article will show, while the funerals of the early 1920s became crucial vehicles for the revolutionary mobilization that brought fascism to power, the reburials from the early 1930s served to normalize the politics of the squadristi and obliterate the dangerously disruptive repercussions of their revolutionary origins. At the conceptual level, the article foregrounds the dynamic and shifting relationship between power and ritual that shaped fascist political culture.

The Intercultural Adaptation as an Anthropological Experiment

Intercultural adaptations focus on the cultural changes necessary in this process of adaptation, in which a source text is adapted into a film or any other medium, or even the same one, recreating a narrative. Researchers from Adaptation Studies have stated that they are the combination of familiarity and novelty (Hutcheon, 2006); so, in this paper, we argue that the analysis of an intercultural adaptation could benefit from the perspective of Interpretive Anthropology, of thinking the adapter as in the role of an anthropologist who needs to observe the otherness in the source text and make it familiar to the audience. In order to do so, we adopt as support to our thesis authors from Adaptation Studies, such as Hutcheon (2006), Interpretive Anthropology, as Geertz (1973), and Cultural Studies, as Eagleton (2000). To demonstrate our proposition, we provide an illustrative case study of Julieta (2016), a film by Almodóvar that is an adaptation of three short stories by Munro from the book Runaway (2005), also known as “Triptych Juliet”. We use a methodology proposed by Silva (2012) but incorporating the Interpretive Anthropology perspective and adding a new element of analysis: thematic crossovers. This way, we believe that studies of adaptations could avoid value judgment and comparisons of fidelity, because culture is understood as the main motivation in the process of adaptation, maintaining a dialogue between source text and adaptation, but also with all intertextual texts within the fabrication of cultural meaning. Thus, we make sense of our lives and reality through the aesthetic symbols of art, creating individual and collective identity as humanity by observing the other and ourselves in the anthropological experiment we consider to be the intercultural adaptation.

Food, culture and health: An anthropological perspective

This article explores the complex interplay among food, culture, and health. It examines how dietary habits have evolved, from hunter‐gatherer societies to the globalization of Western diets, and their profound effects on cultural traditions and human health. While global markets reshape local diets, anthropological evidence suggests nutrition programmes work best when they build on cultural food knowledge rather than replace it. Our findings point to a pressing need for public health approaches that recognize food's role beyond mere sustenance – though implementing such culturally aware interventions remains challenging in practice.

Using drones to improve care for HIV-exposed children in Conakry, Republic of Guinea: Anthropological perspectives.

In Conakry, Guinea, like many other African capitals, traffic congestion is a major obstacle to transporting blood samples from peripheral health centres to laboratories where tests are centralised. This situation complicates early HIV testing of HIV-exposed children (i.e., born to HIV-positive mothers), even though the World Health Organization recommends treating HIV-positive children before the age of two months to reduce mortality. The use of drones, which has proved effective in many countries for rapidly transporting healthcare products and reaching isolated areas, could help to resolve these difficulties and improve early detection. A pilot study was conducted from 2020-2021 to assess the feasibility, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of such a strategy. The pilot study had an anthropological component and this article presents the results on the acceptability and perception of using drones to optimise the transport of blood samples in Conakry. Interviews and observations were conducted across six health facilities in Conakry and in various national and international institutions, with 62 people: mothers living with HIV, health professionals and community workers, the local population, health authorities and development workers. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of innovation and acceptability from an anthropological perspective. The analyses focus on perceptions and conditions of acceptance of a technological innovation such as drones in the healthcare sector. The results show that perceptions of drones are generally positive, despite concerns about their potential misuse. However, this consensus is fragile, knowledge on the subject is sometimes limited and public opinion can vary depending on policy changes in the political and health contexts. Future drone programmes will need to be adapted to the priority health needs identified by local stakeholders, to meet the technical and ethical challenges of this emerging technology and to develop appropriate communication to ensure an optimum level of public support.

Hinduism to Christianity: An Anthropological Linguistics Study of Language Change in Buduk Village, Bali

How does conversion of Hinduism to Christianity affect the language use and the switch of mother tongue in Buduk village? This is the question that this research was aimed at, through investigating the dynamic conditions of speakers from an anthropological linguistics perspective. This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods with interviews, surveys, and observation, through statistical, discourse, and comparative analysis. The results showed that conversion of Hinduism to Christianity has influenced language use that ultimately leads to language change in various ways, such as the naming system, spontaneous language, and the language use in Christianity religious practices. This study contributes to the field of anthropological linguistics by providing insights on the complex interplay of religion, language, and culture in Buduk village.

National Identity Crisis of Indonesian Education in the Global Era

This study examines the national identity crisis in Indonesian education globally. This type of research is literature with a qualitative approach. Data collection by reconstructing data from books, archives, magazines, documents, journals, documentation, newspapers, etc. Using the philosophical hermeneutic analysis approach of Hans-Georg Gadamer through the stages of interpretation, holistic, and heuristic. This study shows that education is needed to strengthen national identity in the vortex of social change. Globalization is like a "three-edged sword," namely it can weaken or even eliminate a culture (transcendence), can help revive a culture (transference), and can cause a mixture of cultures (transformation) between globalization and local culture. In addition, the factors causing the national identity crisis based on a global perspective from a sociological vision are specific culture (web culture), antisocial nature, and low criticality of adolescents in facing the development of technological culture. From an anthropological perspective, namely the hegemony of global culture by international powers, the weak resilience of society in facing the onslaught of global culture, the noble values ​​of culture are starting to erode and may even disappear at some point, and modern culture is replacing old traditions. This research is limited to a narrow-scope analysis of the national identity crisis, while there is still a need for other essential aspects that need further study. Education should not only examine the intellectual side but there is a need for a balance of science and knowledge so that the output is not only intelligent in intellectual terms but also has value, one of which is national identity and love for one's products and culture.

Human Rights at the United Nations: In a Tension Between Universality and Ambivalence

This paper analyzes the tension, within the context of the United Nations, between the proclaimed universality of human rights since 1948 and the progressive destabilization of their core content, in a dramatic momentum since 1968. The paper identifies key milestones in this process. It uses a historical approach revisiting the context in human rights integrated the UN mandate and were later interpreted at major international conferences, focusing on the leadership of feminist individuals and lobbies. It relates the tension between universality and ambivalence to a conflict between two opposed anthropological perspectives, viewing the human being either as a person endowed with a given nature, or as an individual with the power to freely choose how to construct itself. Those upholding the former view may not always have reached as clear a consensus as generally assumed on the very concept of person. The way forward may be to complete the past anthropological underpinnings of universal human rights with the development of an ontology of love.

LA PERSONERÍA JURÍDICA: ¿UN TRÁMITE DONDE SE VISLUMBRAN CATEGORÍAS AHISTÓRICAS? UN ANÁLISIS DESDE LA ANTROPOLOGÍA SOCIAL

In Argentina, there are still certain views on indigenous peoples that have their origins in essentialist arguments built since the formation of the nation state in the 19th century. These are supported by the media, common sense and public policies that directly affect these groups. This paper invites us to question such notions. To do so, we will review the main historical facts and policies that have affected the indigenous populations in Argentina. In order to think about the analytical categories that are still in force about the indigenous populations of the country, at present and in relation to a specific case, the application for legal status in Argentina will be analyzed. This is a procedure to obtain state recognition as an indigenous community, which is usually necessary in order to be able to make different requests. For this purpose, the experience of collaborative work with the Mapuche Kalfulafken community of Carhué, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which applied for its legal status in 2019 and which took more than three years to be approved, will be taken up again. The approach of this research was carried out from the perspective of social anthropology and ethnography.

An Evaluation of the Gender Gap between Islamic Law and Practice from an Anthropological Perspective on Female Share in Inheritance: A Case Study from Pakistan

The people in many developing nations are unable to exercise their fundamental human rights. Most women are not allowed to enter, own, or inherit land or other property. As a result, they are unable to purchase land. They become reliant on healthy marriage and family relationships as a result of this deprivation. Everybody has the legal and highly legitimate right to inherit, and Islam has explicitly granted this right to women. Unfortunately, Pakistani tradition differs from Islamic custom in this regard. The main goal of this study is to identify the factors that prevent women from inheriting property. The quantitative research approach has been used to achieve the research's aims. Four public universities in Bahawalpur and Lahore underwent a study. The survey was employed as a research technique. Students and instructors with advanced degrees were chosen for the data collecting. This data was subsequently examined to derive the study's conclusions. The study focuses on two key areas. According to poll results, women are denied their religious right to inheritance even in the highly educated sector because of social, cultural, and economical concerns.

Culture change in the UK construction industry: an anthropological perspective

Culture change in the UK construction industry: an anthropological perspective

Ayahuasca rituals for the treatment of substance use disorders: Three narratives of former patients of a neo‐shamanic center from Uruguay

AbstractAyahuasca is a psychedelic beverage from the Amazon rainforest, used in spiritual and religious settings for medical purposes. Since the 1990s onwards, several religious and neo‐shamanic groups have been using it in Uruguay within the psychospiritual networks. Some participants go to rituals of ayahuasca looking for therapeutic alternatives to certain ailments, such as substance use disorders (SUDs). In this chapter, three cases of former patients who recovered in a neo‐shamanic center that uses ayahuasca for the treatment of SUDs are described and analyzed. The center is conducted by a psychologist trained in the Peruvian vegetalismo tradition. An ethnographic description of the ritual setting as well as the process of psychotherapeutic intervention of the center are described. In‐depth interviews were used to collect the narratives of the three patients. A medical anthropology perspective is used, focusing on different subjective trajectories: the general biographic trajectory, SUDs trajectory, spiritual trajectory, and the trajectory under the entheogenic field, ayahuasca included. As we discuss, the impact of ayahuasca rituals ceremonies should be explained not only by ayahuasca as a psychedelic compound, but as a psychotherapeutic tool immersed in a social, cultural, and spiritual setting aimed at the treatment of SUDs.

Exploring Ethnomedicine: An Anthropological Perspective on Traditional and Modern Healthcare

Ethnomedicine, the complex tradition of medical practices, has always been an important component of human societies. The purpose of this paper is to focus on ethnomedicine from an anthropological perspective, discuss its significance, and describe the interaction between tribal medicine and the modern healthcare system and the innumerable avenues and problems that arise due to their integration. These highlight the holistic nature of traditional medicine, which often contradicts the scientific basis of modern biomedicine. A comprehensive approach that embraces both systems has the potential to improve service delivery, especially in culturally diverse and resource- constrained settings. Drawing from anthropological insights and experiences documented in case studies worldwide, this paper highlights why cultural competence and ethical engagement are essential to effective health practice. The integration of these systems poses challenges but also opens powerful opportunities for enhanced solutions.

Survival and Life: A Study on Cultural Adaptation of Ethnic Minority Groups from the Perspective of Dietary Anthropology

Abstract: In the process of globalization and modernization, the diet culture of minority groups is undergoing profound changes and adjustments. Therefore, through the perspective of food culture, this paper studies the identity of ethnic minorities in cultural adaptation, cross-cultural integration and their resistance to foreign cultures. It is found that diet is not only an important carrier of cultural inheritance of ethnic minorities, but also a core way of cultural self-expression and social interaction. In the process of cultural adaptation, ethnic minorities not only maintain the uniqueness of traditional culture through the inheritance and change of eating habits, but also carry out innovation and integration under the influence of foreign cultures to ensure the continuation of culture and self-identity. At the same time, eating rituals in festivals and religious occasions have also become an important way for ethnic minorities to express their cultural identity. In addition, the commercialization of diet and the development of tourism have enabled the ethnic diet culture to spread widely in the context of globalization and brought economic benefits. Studies have shown that diet plays a key role in ethnic minorities' response to the impact of globalization, maintaining cultural identity and promoting cultural inheritance, and is an important tool and symbol in cultural adaptation.

The Complexity of Beliefs: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Religion and Culture

This paper explores the intricate relationship between religion and belief systems, emphasizing the complexity of religious phenomena as cultural constructs rather than mere expressions of faith. Through a comprehensive analysis of various anthropological perspectives, we argue that religion encompasses a diverse array of cognitive processes that shape human understanding and social interaction. By examining case studies from different cultures, we highlight the significance of supernatural beliefs and their implications for societal cohesion. This study aims to elucidate the cognitive underpinnings of religious beliefs and their role in shaping human behavior, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of religion.

Evaluating the Scope and Utility of Modernization Theory in Contemporary African Development

Modernization Theory, a prominent framework for understanding development processes, has been widely applied in African contexts. However, its effectiveness in promoting sustainable development in Africa has been subject to critique and debate. This critical paper examines the effectiveness of Modernization Theory in the African context through a comprehensive review of literature, empirical evidence, and case studies. It explores the theory’s core assumptions, including its emphasis on economic growth, industrialization, and technological advancement, and assesses its applicability to the diverse cultural, historical, and socioeconomic realities of African societies. The paper critically evaluates the successes, challenges, and failures of implementing Modernization Theory in Africa, considering factors such as colonial legacies, cultural biases, social inequalities, and environmental sustainability. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from sociology, anthropology, and political science, this analysis highlights the limitations of modernization theory in capturing the realities of contemporary African development. Sociological insights reveal the persistence of social inequalities, marginalization, and power imbalances within African societies, challenging the notion of linear progress posited by modernization theorists. Anthropological perspectives emphasize the importance of cultural diversity and local contexts in shaping development outcomes. By examining the role of culture, identity, and agency, anthropology underscores the need to contextualize development strategies within the socio-cultural fabric of African societies. Political science perspectives illuminate the role of governance, institutions, and political dynamics in influencing development processes. This abstract contends that modernization theory often overlooks the complexities of state-society relations, governance challenges, and the impact of external actors on African development. By integrating insights from sociology, anthropology, and political science, scholars can develop more nuanced frameworks that account for the complexities of contemporary African development, ultimately fostering more inclusive and sustainable approaches to development practice. Drawing on alternative development approaches, including dependency theory and the human development approach, the paper offers insights into opportunities for revising and refining Modernization Theory to better address the complexities of development in Africa. Through this analysis, the paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of the role of Modernization Theory in shaping development discourse and practice in African contexts and highlights the need for more inclusive and contextually relevant approaches to promoting sustainable development in Africa.

Poverty in Africa: History, Misunderstandings, and the Living

This article explores the historical and structural contexts that have defined and promoted poverty in Africa from the period of European colonisation to the present time. Today, poverty is experienced across the continent in various ways that make the phenomenon escapist in the efforts by statesmen, scholars, and development experts to understand and address it. This article historicises this challenge by generating insights from existing historical, economic, and anthropological perspectives on the socio-economic and political challenges of the continent. It interrogates the historical dynamics that impoverish the continent’s understanding of its poverty, leading to its compromised status as fragile partaker in the ensuing “world order.” This article maintains that these contexts are fluid and interwoven enough to warrant the description of African poverty as elastic and elusive—a reality that indicts the continent’s managers and globalisation advocates. Currently, adequate historicisation of African poverty is substantially lacking in existing literature and more so because the speed at which global development proceeds creates intense pressure on knowledge production and governance in Africa to keep pace with advancements that are hardly comprehended before new ones take over. Thus, this article provides insights into the history of poverty in Africa while examining the shape-shifting dimension of this phenomenon in the continent.

Homo Faber – Work From an Anthropological Perspective - In the Light of Research Conducted in Poland

The article informs about the conference Homo Faber - How Do We Work, How Did We Work?, which took place at the University of Warsaw in 2023. The text recalls the results of the fieldwork of Anna Zadrożyńska – an ethnologist starting anthropological research on this topic in Poland. Then, it briefly presents research projects carried out in Poland using ethnographic methods,outlining the trajectory of changing approaches. In the conclusion, which is an introduction to the thematic part of the volume, it briefly presents the post-conference articles included in this part.

The Role of Jepuro Inter-Ethnic Cemeteries in Religious Moderation: Global Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives

Interethnic cemeteries, often overlooked by historians, possess great cultural and sociological value. This study analyses the Jepuro cemeteries in Juwana, Pati, highlighting their importance in the religious moderation of the region. These cemeteries reflect the community’s ability to manage ethnic and religious diversity with little conflict. The study addresses three key questions: the influence of interethnic funerals on the community’s philosophy and notion of religious moderation, and the impact of remains in the graves. Through a qualitative approach, observations, and interviews with residents, it is concluded that the cultural diversity brought by immigrants through the port of Tanjungpuro fostered religious moderation in the region. The variety of gravestones reflects a historical understanding of moderation being restored, and the interethnic burials show that religious moderation has been transmitted over generations. Preserving these cemeteries is not just important, it is essential, as they represent the community's multicultural legacy and its commitment to religious peace. It is suggested that local authorities protect these monuments and integrate their history into educational programs.

Hobbes and Kant: Materialism and Rhetoric

This article examines the subtle nuances of Hobbes’s and Kant’s perspectives on rhetoric and materialism, contextualising them within the broader framework of political philosophy. Despite both philosophers being critics of rhetoric, their approaches exhibit notable divergences. Hobbes, who advocated for monarchy, criticized rhetoric from the perspective of a materialist anthropology influenced by Lucretius. However, he paradoxically employed rhetorical strategies in his new scientia civilis. Despite critiquing both Lucretian materialism and rhetoric, Kant incorporated certain rhetorical elements compatible with his philosophical framework, particularly in relation to Epicureanism. This study analyses their interpretations of paradiastole and the implications for the political thought. The argument is that both thinkers, in seeking a rational foundation for the political order, anchor their notions of rationality in Epicurean materialism, by reconfiguring rhetorical elements to suit their respective philosophies. The article elucidates Kant’s republican proclivities and his aspiration to maximize the citizens’ autonomy, which contrasts with Hobbes’s monarchical orientation. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the early modern political thought and its relevance to the contemporary republican and democratic theory.