By
Aaron Ben-Ze’ev
Cambridge University Press
2004
Reading academic literature for fun is something that I only really understood once the M was out of the way.
I came across this book in my beginning stages of research for an online dating article that I’m thinking of doing and found that this book is so much more than just ‘research’.
Ben-Ze’ve talks about the complex nature of the Internet, identity and love in a way that is informative and entertaining. I find that academic writers who can say things in a simple manner rather than opting for the opulence of big words, are more appealing that those who try and confuse people.
This book, made me see the Internet differently. And an academic book that actually changes your opinion on something, rather than just being used to fill your literature review, is defiantly worth reading!
Check your library anthropologists, and if they don’t have it...get it.
You won't be sorry.
T2E
UJ
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Getting to know me...Part II
Hello!
My name is Innocentia, I am 22 and will be registering for my masters in anthropology this year. I will be focusing on medical issues (Medical anthropology) and hopefully work with children.
My name is Innocentia, I am 22 and will be registering for my masters in anthropology this year. I will be focusing on medical issues (Medical anthropology) and hopefully work with children.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Result of Questioning Gender
Gender in Anthro has always been something that I have been fascinated by.
One day I was watching the movie, ‘It’s a Boy Girl thing’ with her, and Elizabeth our domestic worker walked pass the TV and become interested and watched for few minutes. Then she asked what was going on…we then explained that it was a movie about a boy and girl, whose souls are switched into each others bodies by an ancient totem. She then replied, ‘Oh, it’s a Caster’.
This reference is of Caster Semenya. Her gender debacle that was front page news, has changed the way South Africans saw inter-sex people, and brought about I think, much needed clarity on this topic for the general population. As we as anthropologists know that gender is a highly complex issue, the repercussions of such a topic is really interesting.
So basically I would like to know, after Caster Semenya’s case, what was the reaction of people to other female athletes. Are they now being branded as being ‘a Caster’? Has their gender been up for debate or question, buy their families, friends or fans? And as a result, has their sexuality, now become a topic of interest?
Anyone who knows of such research going on…please let me know
Tasnim
Anthro Masters
UJ
One day I was watching the movie, ‘It’s a Boy Girl thing’ with her, and Elizabeth our domestic worker walked pass the TV and become interested and watched for few minutes. Then she asked what was going on…we then explained that it was a movie about a boy and girl, whose souls are switched into each others bodies by an ancient totem. She then replied, ‘Oh, it’s a Caster’.
This reference is of Caster Semenya. Her gender debacle that was front page news, has changed the way South Africans saw inter-sex people, and brought about I think, much needed clarity on this topic for the general population. As we as anthropologists know that gender is a highly complex issue, the repercussions of such a topic is really interesting.
So basically I would like to know, after Caster Semenya’s case, what was the reaction of people to other female athletes. Are they now being branded as being ‘a Caster’? Has their gender been up for debate or question, buy their families, friends or fans? And as a result, has their sexuality, now become a topic of interest?
Anyone who knows of such research going on…please let me know
Tasnim
Anthro Masters
UJ
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Get to know me...
My name is Jenna, I'm 25 years old, and I recently completed my third year of Anthropology at the University of Johannesburg. Hopefully, next year (2011), I will be doing Honours in Paleoanthropology. I eventually want to get into Forensic Anthropology and would love to go to the University of Tennessee in the US - because they have a body farm!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
How to Identify Scholarship Scams ! Tips from Scholarship-Positions.com
1. Application Fee: Scholarship scams are used by organizations that charge fees for availing procedures or application submissions that can be undertaken free of cost. Never pay for scholarship application fees.
2. Guaranteed Scholarship Award: Scams that guarantee an award- Now this trap can be tempting to an aspiring student. Nobody can guarantee a scholarship. If you are worthy and your concerns are true you will certainly get it. Don't get into the trap called 'Scholarship guarantee'. No such thing exists.
3. You "Win" a Scholarship that You Never Applied: Scholarships scams will contact college students informing them that they have won full college scholarship. You cannot win a scholarship if you have never for applied for it.
4. Free Scholarship Scams: Nothing in life comes easily. There is no such thing like Free Scholarship. Scholarship is generally given to students with high quality academic record. Simply money does not grow on three.
5. Request for Personal Information: Some scams ask for your personal details, such as bank statement, date of birth, passwords, account numbers, social security number etc. Never share your personal information with anyone online. Your identity might get cloned.
2. Guaranteed Scholarship Award: Scams that guarantee an award- Now this trap can be tempting to an aspiring student. Nobody can guarantee a scholarship. If you are worthy and your concerns are true you will certainly get it. Don't get into the trap called 'Scholarship guarantee'. No such thing exists.
3. You "Win" a Scholarship that You Never Applied: Scholarships scams will contact college students informing them that they have won full college scholarship. You cannot win a scholarship if you have never for applied for it.
4. Free Scholarship Scams: Nothing in life comes easily. There is no such thing like Free Scholarship. Scholarship is generally given to students with high quality academic record. Simply money does not grow on three.
5. Request for Personal Information: Some scams ask for your personal details, such as bank statement, date of birth, passwords, account numbers, social security number etc. Never share your personal information with anyone online. Your identity might get cloned.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Where have all the Academics gone?
The life of an academic is often a tough one. The lack of money, the constant internal conflict of ‘Should I rather not take a job as a PA so my parents can at least brag that I went to University and now I have a good job in corporate?’ The constant questions of ‘so what are you doing?’ and the immediate frown and questioning look when you tell people that you are doing your masters in Anthropology. ‘Yes, I’m 25 and still a student deal with it!’ Is what I want to scream at them, but I plaster a smile on my face and explain for the hundredth time what anthropology is.
In the past academics and scholars were revered and respected. Their thoughts and ideas are remembered for centenaries and made the world what it is today. Whether it is a good or bad thing is debatable, but the point is that their work was worth it. From what I see, ‘The academic’ has become a figure of the past, being pushed into the libraries with other artifacts such as paper. I asked myself, ‘Is all this really worth it?’
Surfing the internet I found that anyone from any country in the world can now argue about social issues, religion or politics. They have come to replace the academic in society. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it is a bad thing; it is good that people are starting to get involved in the world. The problem is how they do it. They give their opinion without justifying their arguments and sometimes even say things that have no basis in reality. It took me 7 years to master the art of the argument, and my Supervisor would probably say that I’m still not there. Yet, here are people going about there very well paying jobs, saying things that have the potential to leave a mark on the world. But the problem is that, their mark is not always positive. Some people know that not everything on the internet is true; others don’t.
These opinions have actually caused conflict, and full blown fights can be found on some people’s blogs or Facebook statuses. All it really does is creates more segregation and prejudices. What in essence was a way for people to come together, and learn from each other, has become a screaming match of who knows more about what; the housewife or the accountant? All of which were not trained to express themselves appropriately. Can you imagine what it would be like if an Anthropologist gave their opinion on accounting practices? I seriously think that people from all disciplines (even housewives) need to do some social science to teach them how to argue. They need to learn it’s a skill not a competition. Before one mad mans opinion is taken as fact, and a mark is left on the world that is catastrophic.
Let’s take the academic out of the library and put them in front of a computer. It just maybe the way we can leave our mark on the world.
Tasnim Alli
Masters Student
Univeristy of Johannesburg
In the past academics and scholars were revered and respected. Their thoughts and ideas are remembered for centenaries and made the world what it is today. Whether it is a good or bad thing is debatable, but the point is that their work was worth it. From what I see, ‘The academic’ has become a figure of the past, being pushed into the libraries with other artifacts such as paper. I asked myself, ‘Is all this really worth it?’
Surfing the internet I found that anyone from any country in the world can now argue about social issues, religion or politics. They have come to replace the academic in society. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it is a bad thing; it is good that people are starting to get involved in the world. The problem is how they do it. They give their opinion without justifying their arguments and sometimes even say things that have no basis in reality. It took me 7 years to master the art of the argument, and my Supervisor would probably say that I’m still not there. Yet, here are people going about there very well paying jobs, saying things that have the potential to leave a mark on the world. But the problem is that, their mark is not always positive. Some people know that not everything on the internet is true; others don’t.
These opinions have actually caused conflict, and full blown fights can be found on some people’s blogs or Facebook statuses. All it really does is creates more segregation and prejudices. What in essence was a way for people to come together, and learn from each other, has become a screaming match of who knows more about what; the housewife or the accountant? All of which were not trained to express themselves appropriately. Can you imagine what it would be like if an Anthropologist gave their opinion on accounting practices? I seriously think that people from all disciplines (even housewives) need to do some social science to teach them how to argue. They need to learn it’s a skill not a competition. Before one mad mans opinion is taken as fact, and a mark is left on the world that is catastrophic.
Let’s take the academic out of the library and put them in front of a computer. It just maybe the way we can leave our mark on the world.
Tasnim Alli
Masters Student
Univeristy of Johannesburg
Welcome!!!
My name is Leigh Musgrave and I am one of the members of the ASnA Student Representative Committee, currently doing my Masters at UJ. I am excited about the potential of this blog to inspire a healthy communication between students in this country so that we don’t all feel so alone in the wilderness that is Anthropology. As anyone who really has absorbed the identity of an anthropologist would know, it often comes with its own difficulties. I am currently going through the torturous task of finding employment that recognises the value and potential of the anthropological approach, but this is only one of the varying issues each of us may face. I hope that this blog will allow us to share our trials and tribulations, enquiries, interests, joyful moments and lows. But more than anything else, we hope to establish a community of like-minded individuals. This does not mean any heavy commitment on your part; just a presence and occasional contribution would be great. Thanks to Tasnim for putting such a cool site together, I for one can’t wait to log in every once in a while with a cup of tea and a few minutes to spare!
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