The clash of sovereignties: The Latvian subject and its Russian imperialism
The clash of sovereignties: The Latvian subject and its Russian imperialism Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is occupying the minds of pundits, scholars, and politicians worldwide and across the political spectrum.…
Towards a critical ethnography of political concepts
Towards a critical ethnography of political concepts This special section approaches “politics” from a specifically ethnographic point of view. It does this by privileging ethnographically derived political concepts rather than…
The utility of ethnography for understanding (the Russo-Ukrainian) war
The utility of ethnography for understanding (the Russo-Ukrainian) war The Russo-Ukrainian war raises the question about the utility of ethnography in understanding interstate war. As anthropology and sociology have historically…
Imperialist ideology or depoliticization? Why Russian citizens support the invasion of Ukraine
Imperialist ideology or depoliticization? Why Russian citizens support the invasion of Ukraine What explains the wide support for the invasion of Ukraine in Russia in the first months after it…
Losing the plot: On method and meaning in traumatizing ethnographic work
Losing the plot: On method and meaning in traumatizing ethnographic work This article takes up the question of “Russia’s influence in the world” by focusing on the impact of Russian…
Surreal events, “TV zombies,” and social media in postsocialist Kazakhstan: Reflecting on violence in Russia’s sphere of influence
Surreal events, “TV zombies,” and social media in postsocialist Kazakhstan: Reflecting on violence in Russia’s sphere of influence Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which came on the heels of violent domestic…
Sovereignty triangles: Emotions and transactions in Central African relations with Russia
Sovereignty triangles: Emotions and transactions in Central African relations with Russia Increasingly over the past five years, the Russian government has been expanding its spheres of influence in Africa, chiefly…
The re-starting of history: Life in changing Russian spheres of influence
The re-starting of history: Life in changing Russian spheres of influence The essays in this collection look into daily life in changing Russian spheres of influence, including Ukraine, Latvia, Kazakhstan,…
A treasury of ideas
A treasury of ideas Go to Source
The nonanimistic worldview of Fritz Krause
The nonanimistic worldview of Fritz Krause In the acknowledgments to the English translation of “Cosmological deixis and Amerindian perspectivism,” Eduardo Vivieros de Castro (: 484) cryptically states that “After this…
The role of volunteers in pilgrimage studies: Autobiographic reflections on belief and the performance of multiple roles
The role of volunteers in pilgrimage studies: Autobiographic reflections on belief and the performance of multiple roles Given the predominantly secular approach towards religion by anthropologists and sociologists, we contend…
Mask and ancestral figure: The motif of the skin and the principle of form
Mask and ancestral figure: The motif of the skin and the principle of form Go to Source
A short biography of Fritz Krause
A short biography of Fritz Krause This brief biography of the German ethnologist Fritz Krause (1881–1963) sketches his life story, some of the intellectual influences that impacted his work, and…
Embodying and fashioning headship: A day in the life of a village headman in the center of Myanmar
Embodying and fashioning headship: A day in the life of a village headman in the center of Myanmar This article proposes an analysis of local politics through an ethnographic exploration…
Goddess in disguise: Transsociality and the aesthetics of living
Goddess in disguise: Transsociality and the aesthetics of living Rosie used to say that there was nobody else like her. Her idiosyncratic way of living was an aesthetic recreation of…
The social life of pathways: Walking, giving, and building in Shimshal Valley, Pakistan
The social life of pathways: Walking, giving, and building in Shimshal Valley, Pakistan Theories of the gift agree that social relations are (re)generated through gift-giving between groups and individuals. Landscape…
The historical contingency of religious normativity: Local practices in Malaysian Islamic banking
The historical contingency of religious normativity: Local practices in Malaysian Islamic banking Regional differences in religious opinions are a major issue in Islamic banking. The Islamic contract of bay’ al-‘inah…
Travel time activities: Mobility and femininities in the ladies’ compartments of the Mumbai local trains
Travel time activities: Mobility and femininities in the ladies’ compartments of the Mumbai local trains Activities undertaken during everyday commutes have often been studied to prove the inherent value of…
Virtual embodiment in physical realities: Brand buzzers and disciplined bodies in an Indonesian cyberscape
Virtual embodiment in physical realities: Brand buzzers and disciplined bodies in an Indonesian cyberscape Discussions of embodiment in the virtual world mostly focus on online games and virtual reality technologies.…
Agitation at the margins: War, reportage, and their contradiction in Iraq
Agitation at the margins: War, reportage, and their contradiction in Iraq The confusions, intimacies, and distress of war are common to the experience of journalists reporting from war zones, yet…