Post‐truth anthropology

Countless commentators have announced the advent of the post‐truth era, but while everyone seems to be talking about it, there is little agreement about what it really means. This article argues that anthropology can make an important and distinctive contribution to understanding post‐truth by treating it ethnographically. Commonly proposed explanations for post‐truth include changes in political culture, in the structure of information in the digital age and universal cognitive weaknesses that limit people's capacity for critical thought. While all these are likely important factors, they do not account for the role of culture in creating and sustaining post‐truth. In fact, it is likely that culture, especially in the form of metacognition, or thought about thought, plays an important role by providing knowledge practices, techniques for allocating attention, and especially competing theories of truth. Ethnographic methods provide anthropologists with a distinctive window on post‐truth cultures of metacognition.     

Kingdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields

The three volumes considered here offer significant contributions to studies of African kingship and contribute to an emergent political anthropology of the Grassfields. Each adopts an approach on a sliding scale of emphasis on evidence and interpretation. Fardon takes a strongly evidence-based approach, reflecting recent methodological concerns in anthropology, which invites challenge and dialogue. Warnier presents an innovative methodological paradigm which emphasizes interpretation through observation of human action in engagement with material culture. Argenti takes the view that slave raiding underpins state formation and masquerades, and presents his own interpretations in that light. His approach resonates strongly with contemporary moral concerns about the Atlantic slave trade but lacks historical evidence.     

Sailing up the Map: A re-examination of constructs of Javaneseness in the light of new evidence

While Java's culture has extended to other parts of Indonesia and mainland Southeast Asian countries (on Angkor under Jayavarman II, for example, and on the Chams) it exerted even stronger influence on a more distant country, Japan. The encounter pre-dated Indianisation and was between the Jomon population of Japan – a decentralised population living by hunting, fishing, and gathering – and wet-rice growing Javanese immigrants who had an advanced and much more centralised political organisation and sophisticated technology, art and culture. We need thus to adjust our ideas about the antiquity of Javaneseness and the length of time this civilisation has been in contact with other cultures.     

Apartheid cartography: the political anthropology and spatial effects of international diplomacy in Bosnia

International diplomacy has been one of a number of practices which have performatively constituted “Bosnia” as a particular place with specific people, so that it could be rendered as a problem requiring a particular solution. Even when, as in the case of the Dayton accords, negotiators claim they have desired the reintegration of Bosnia, their reliance on a powerful set of assumptions about identity, territoriality and politics—a particular political anthropology—has meant the ethnic partition of a complex and heterogeneous society is the common product of the international community's efforts. Paying attention to the role of cartography, this paper explores the apartheid-like logic of international diplomacy's political anthropology, the way this logic overrode non-nationalist options and legitimised exclusivist projects during the war, and considers the conundrum this bequeaths Bosnia in the post-Dayton period as a number of significant local forces seek to overcome division.This article is accompanied by a web-site which presents the relevant maps from the periods of international diplomacy discussed here, along with a further commentary. Referred to in the article as Campbell (1999), this web-site can be accessed at http://www.newcastle.ac.uk/~npol/maps/bosnia     

Culture as a variable in comparative politics: A review of some recent literature

Bringing culture into the analysis remains a problem for comparative political science. The notion is too vague and elusive — we are reluctant to evoke that amorphous mass of beliefs, institutions and actions which comprise the political culture of any nation when trying to compare policy processes. Only when the interplay of familiar political variables fails to correlate is culture introduced as an explanation of last resort

Recent work seeks more rigour for a cultural variable. Drawing on the anthropology of Mary Douglas and the public policy of Aaron Wildav‐sky, ‘cultural theory’ argues that groups fashion their world in limited and predictable ways. Regime, belief and economy are subsumed by more fundamental choices about the organisation of collective life. Culture is people sharing values which justify social relations.

This paper sketches the premises and findings of cultural theory. It suggests some possibilities for comparative research — and the problems of testing this ambitious reformulation of political culture.     

KOSELLECK,ARENDT, AND THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE

This essay is the first attempt to compare Reinhart Koselleck's Historik with Hannah Arendt's political anthropology and her critique of the modern concept of history. Koselleck is well‐known for his work on conceptual history as well as for his theory of historical time(s). It is my contention that these different projects are bound together by Koselleck's Historik, that is, his theory of possible histories. This can be shown through an examination of his writings from Critique and Crisis to his final essays on historical anthropology, most of which have not yet been translated into English. Conversely, Arendt's political theory has in recent years been the subject of numerous interpretations that do not take into account her views about history. By comparing the anthropological categories found in Koselleck's Historik with Arendt's political anthropology, I identify similar intellectual lineages in them (Heidegger, Löwith, Schmitt) as well as shared political sentiments, in particular the anti‐totalitarian impulse of the postwar era. More importantly, Koselleck's theory of the preconditions of possible histories and Arendt's theory of the preconditions of the political, I argue, transcend these lineages and sentiments by providing essential categories for the analysis of historical experience.     

Anthropology in the news? (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

It is part of our informal culture of anthropology to complain about the way the media portray us, and yet there has been little systematic analysis of media representations of anthropology. I look at stories about anthropologists, stories that quote anthropologists and opinion pieces by anthropologists over a six‐month period in The New York Times. I conclude that biological anthropology and archaeology are over‐represented in these stories, and that the media portrays anthropologists primarily as authorities on exotic others abroad, or ritual behaviour at home. Anthropologists who write about neoliberalism and militarism have had difficulty getting into the high‐end mainstream media, where it is economists rather than anthropologists who are seen as experts on general human nature.     

Sport in Transition: Emerging Trends on Culture Change in the Anthropology of Sport

Historically, within anthropology, sport has been perceived as an inconsequential form of entertainment spectacle, seemingly at variance with, and secondary to, broader political and social discourses. An analysis of these four works, however, provides an opportunity to explore shifting representations surrounding issues of culture change and identity production within the anthropology of sport, with an emphasis on three inter-related themes:

1. theories and methodologies for representing the intersections between culture change and sport;

2. historical shifts in modes of representation and writing within anthropological sports studies, and

3. representations of identities within sport.

     

Anthropology at the End of the World

At this critical juncture in human history, when technological, political, demographic, and climatological forces promise to reshape the world in fundamental ways, anthropology stands in a uniquely privileged position to understand and perhaps cope with these forces and the resulting changes. By virtue of three key features—holism, scalability, and a tradition of political engagement—anthropology has an important role to play in the 21st century.     

浅析日本的公共外交及其局限

二战后,由于日本政治、军事外交的开展受到诸多因素的制约,公共外交就成为日本摆脱美军占领体制、发展与邻国关系以及谋求政治大国地位的重要途径。通过人员及文化的相互交流、加强对外宣传、推行外向型的文化教育、经济与文化援助以及动漫外交等手段,日本的公共外交取得了很大的成就。但受自身独特政治文化及国内右倾化思潮的影响,加之其受日美基轴及相关政策的掣肘,日本战后以来的公共外交并没有达到预期的效果。     

琉球古国华裔儒学大师程顺则

古代琉球是位于中国东南太平洋中的一个岛国 ,自明洪武五年 (1 3 72年 )中琉建立正式的藩属关系起 ,到清光绪五年 (1 879年 )琉球为日本吞并止 ,中琉双方友好交往五百余年。此间 ,中国儒家思想和文化传入琉球 ,对琉球政治制度、思想文化乃至社会生活都产生了深刻影响。华裔儒学大师程顺则一生致力于儒家思想与文化在琉球的传播。此外 ,他对促进中琉间政治、经济、文化及航海交通方面的交流 ,也做出了卓越的贡献。     

魂兮归来谷物盈仓——论吴晋越窑谷仓文化功能及其消失

三国东吴时期,以江浙一带为中心流行一种丧葬器皿——谷仓,对于其名称、功能和消失原因等诸多问题都产生过争议。笔者介入神话、文化人类学以及文字考证等方法,从民间宗教起源、地域文化等多种角度,对谷仓的文化功能、消失以及与佛教的关系等诸方面的问题进行深入的分析和论述。     

The future of the enthnographic museum (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This essay discusses the recent past of ethnographic museums and raises questions about their future. In the last thirty years or so, ethnographic museums have faced many challenges arising both from within and beyond anthropology to the extent that in the post‐colonial and post‐modern era they could be said to have suffered an identity crisis. Many have been renamed, remodelled or rehoused in spectacular new premises (such as the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris). Only a few have remained largely unaltered, as at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford where the authors of this essay are employed. Drawing on the theoretical literature in museum anthropology and material culture, many years of ‘hands on’ curatorial experience and the insights gained from a five year collaborative research project involving ten major ethnographic museums in Europe, the authors investigate how ethnographic museums might engage with new audiences and new intellectual regimes in the future.     

The Atlantic Challenge: How Political Science Understands Canada’s Smallest Region

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how Canadian political science portrays Atlantic Canada, along with some of the consequences of persistent misrepresentations. I first explore traditional portrayals of Atlantic Canada as well as arguments challenging those conceptions, demonstrating that it is no longer appropriate to treat Atlantic Canada as primarily defined by either economic processes or common political culture. I then survey the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Public Administration and Canadian Public Policy to determine the extent to which discussions of Atlantic Canada still, (a) emphasize economic phenomena, and (b) assume a common Atlantic political culture. I find that, while political scientists are now less likely to study the region in terms of economic phenomena, they still perpetuate outdated depictions of Atlantic political culture. This tendency results in a certain degree of methodological imprecision and reinforces problematic assumptions about Atlantic political life.     

拷贝与借鉴--论渤海国与唐廷和日本的文化交流

渤海国从建国伊始,便积极从事对外,特别是与唐廷和日本的文化交流促进了其政治体制的成熟和经济的发展,本文认为渤海国热心于对外文化交流的动因,最初是出于藩国本身政治和军事的需要,并从意识形态,生活方式,文学艺术三个方面,分析了其在对外文化交流过程中,对唐廷和日本文化的不同摄取方式,渤海国对盛唐文化全盘吸收,使用的是拷贝式的摄取方式,而与日本的文化交流,则是同一文化圈内各子文化系统之间的借鉴式交流,文章还就渤海国在政治实体消亡后,灿烂辉煌的渤海文化几乎顷刻淹灭的文化发展史之迷,作了尝试性回答。     

从国家间到多尺度的政治地理学：日本的历程与启示

二战后日本政治地理学经历了盛极而衰之后再起步的曲折历程，政治地理学一度成为日本地理学中最不活跃的分支学科，也少有学者出席相关的学术活动。但是，20世纪90年代以后，这种状况发生了转变，政治地理学在日本再度兴起。本文通过分析在日本政治地理学相关出版物的变化，考察了二战结束以来政治地理学在日本复兴并被重新建构的过程。研究发现，与地缘政治和领土相关的出版物在日本比较多，经历了两个高峰，而最近又处于增长趋势。政治地理学在此期间经历了由国家间地缘政治向多尺度的政治地理学的转变。基于日本政治地理学的发展历程，本文认为，未来包括中日韩在内的东亚政治地理学的发展尤其要重视以下三点：一是要注重东方国家政治地理学的独特性；二是要警惕回归到作为治国方略的古典地缘政治学的危险性；三是要充分认识多尺度视角的重要意义。本文认为，这三方面的努力，将有可能使东亚政治地理学为当代世界政治地图的领域性和复杂性理解做出独有的贡献。     

日本人群的种族起源和演化

日本弥生时代人群的体质特征和比其早的绳文时代人群有很大的不同,他们之间可能不具有继承关系。本文主要根据体质人类学、遗传学和考古学的研究成果,阐述了日本不同时期人群的起源和演化。此外,还从中国考古遗址出土的古代人骨材料的研究,探讨了日本弥生时代人群的源乡。虽然现代日本人起源的“移民说”基本得到认可,但因古代人骨材料涉及的出土地点和时代有限,而且可能与日本弥生时代人起源有关的古代人骨DNA的研究结果也非常少;因此,从目前对中国大陆和日本弥生时代遗址出土人骨的对比分析结果看,关于弥生人源乡在哪里还无法得出一个明确的认识,还不能肯定地说出中国大陆的哪些古代人群对现代日本人种族形成有过重要的基因贡献。     

九一八事变后的《国民外交杂志》

1931年九一八事变后,国难日亟,抗日救亡成为时代的中心议题。1932年3月,以南京国民政府一些立法委员、监察委员牵头发起成立了"国民外交协会",9月份创刊《国民外交杂志》,以宣传他们的抗日救国主张。这是一批有一定社会地位和政治地位,跻身于统治阶层而又不是决策者的人物。他们的言论,反映了在大敌当前的形势下这一社会群体的态度和立场。他们对抗日救亡的积极呼吁、对当局不抵抗政策的严厉批评,对统治者阶层、对当权者的影响和触动,可能更直接,更起作用,也反映出对日抵抗确已成为当时举国一致的要求,成为中华民族绝大多数人共同的呼声。     

日本池田内阁“一中一台”政策的出笼和破产

为解决经济高速增长导致的市场压力和国内政治稳定及安全保障等问题,20世纪60年代初日本池田勇人内阁组成后,以美国肯尼迪政权调整对华政策为契机,拟定了在使台湾分离于中国主权之外的同时和大陆发展政治关系以至复交的一中一台政策。但因美国的反对和阻挠,池田内阁以特殊方式施行该政策的尝试无果而终。