Diary for 26th July to 1st August 2007

Thursday 26th July - The Unhappy Hour

Today I'm going to listen again to the discussion about 'The Art of Moaning' that featured on Radio 4's Women's Hour last week. Social anthropologist, Kate Fox (author of 'Watching the English'), was part of a discussion about why British people are so renowned for complaining, inspired by a Lancashire pub that has confined all moaning to a Sunday afternoon Unhappy Hour. You can listen to the locals whinge about everything from dominoes to bus journeys, and then hear Kate Fox's assessment of it all as a social ritual. Watch out though - perhaps in an effort to make us grumble that nothing's ever easy Radio 4 have mixed up the links, and to listen to the discussion you need to click on the link next to 'Endometriosis', not 'The Art of Moaning' - you can find it here.


Friday 27th July - Food and culture

Today sees the launch of the Whitecross Street Market Food Festival, as part of the 'New Crowned Hope' season at the Barbican that has been celebrating world cultures for the past month. The Festival aims to show how culture is 'rooted' in agriculture, which is also a growing area of research in anthropology - food can by symbolically, politically and economically important in people's lives. For example, you can now study for an MA in the Anthropology of Food at SOAS, and there are several books on the subject, such as the tasty-looking read, Food and Culture. The Festival opens (in the presence of Anthony Worrall-Thompson no less) at 13.15 on Friday and lasts from 10.00-17.00 each day of the weekend, and is free except for what you choose to eat.

Saturday 28th July - Music to change the world

I'm back down at the Barbican today for some dancing to work off all that fine food I enjoyed yesterday. Another part of the New Crowned Hope season, is the 'Another World is Possible' weekend of concerts, showcasing the exciting range of music that exists within refugee communities. Highlights include Emmanual Jal, from Sudan, who raps against the use of child soldiers and on Sunday at 14.30 a group from Congo, Kasai Masai. The events - all FREE - are being run in conjunction with the Refugee Council, an organisation that campaigns for greater understanding and respect of refugees and their cultures.



Sunday 29th July - Read all about it!

Last week an anthropologist, Melissa Leach, was profiled in The Guardian for her pioneering work as the newly appointed director of a research unit aiming to understand why the gap between the world's rich and poor is growing. She is a great example of how relevant anthropology can be in movements for social change, since her findings are used to inform and often overturn government policies. Her principle aim is always to bring the voice of local people to the fore, since they are naturally well-placed to work out local solutions and address local needs. You can read another article about her work here.



Monday 30th July - Exploring the City

On Monday I'm off to the Global Cities exhibition at the Tate Modern which explores 10 cities from across the globe in terms of their size, speed, diversity, density and form through photographs, writing and film. You can watch some of the films on the website - such as this look at immigration and segregation in the bustling metropolis that is Sao Paolo, Brazil. The exhibition runs until 27th August and entrance is FREE.

Then later that night, I'll be sitting down to watch the fascinating BBC observational documentary, The Tower, which charts the 'regeneration' of an estate in South East London and what this meant for its inhabitants old and new. You can watch a trailer here. Both the exhibition and the documentary explore issues that are central to the anthropology of cities, which studies the hugely complex societies that exist within the urban landscape.


Tuesday 31st July - World culture comes to Plymouth....and the web

Today I'm going to check out the ethnography collection at the Plymouth City Museum which contains over 3700 artefacts from all over the world. These include the walking boots of one Gertrude Benham, who spent 30 years travelling the world, and in the process collected around 700 objects which are now on display. Gertrude was the first woman to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, in 1909, and interestingly she used to swap her knitting for many of the items she collected along the way. Recently, they museum have also set a website as part of an initiative which includes comments on the objects from visitors to the collection - you can view it online here. The museum is open 10.00 to 17.30 from Tuesday to Friday and admission is FREE.


Wednesday 1st August - Talking Tools at the British Museum

Come Wednesday, I'm back down at the British Museum for Jill Cook's talk, Life on the edge: the last hunter-gatherers in Britain. It is linked to the episode of the BBC2 programme, The Museum, showing on Thursday nights at 19.30, which follows what happens when some of the museum's objects go out into the community. These range from an image of the Hindu Goddess Durga, to ancient board games, to an ancient handaxe. The talk begins at 13.15 in Room 51 and admission is FREE.

Diary for 19th July - 25th July 2007

Thursday 19th July - Reading the Signs

On Thursday I want to listen in to Colin McEwan’s short lunchtime talk - ‘Life, land and water in the Andes: Deciphering Nasca Iconography’ down at the British Museum. Colin, Head of the Museum’s American Section, recently appeared on the BBC series ‘ The Museum’ talking about his work and this should be a chance to learn more about his attempts to crack the ‘silent language’ of this South American people. The Nasca Lines are in Peru, and comprise a series of enormous etchings in the ground - mainly of animals - that can only truly be seen from the air and their meaning has been the subject for academic speculation for many years. The talk is in Room 24, begins at 13.00 and entrance is FREE.






Friday 20th July - Sightseeing in Leeds

Friday is the second day of the ‘Things that move: The material worlds of tourism and travel’ conference at the Leeds Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change. Anthropologists will be among the assembled panel of experts speaking at the conference, and will be discussing how everyday objects are given meaning and gain emotional connections when they travel, or come into contact with a tourist. The organisers have decided to hold the conference because tourism is such a rapidly expanding industry and it is a good example of a subject that is at the cutting edge of anthropology. You can read more about the theory of tourism on the Centre's weblog here. For more information on attending the conference itself, which is primarily for academics, you can email ctcc@leedsmet.ac.uk.

Saturday 21st July – Living on the Edge

Today I’m heading down to the awe-inspiring Eden Project in Cornwall for a look at their summer exhibition, Towards the Edge. It forms part of a major new building at the Eden Project aiming to document how people and civilisations have reacted to climate change in the past, and what we can learn from these experiences in the present day. There are a broad range of individuals and communities featured from across the world, including a collaboration with Survival International about the Kalahari Bushmen and the Enawene Nawe of the Brazilian rainforest, as examples of tribal peoples living in places with limited resources. There is also an UN-Habitat section that showcases photographs of women entrepreneurs from the slums from Mumbai, who will also be coming to Eden in August to give a workshop on how they make their handicrafts. You can even create your own artistic impression of an ‘Earthling’ at another interactive unit. Entrance to Eden is £14, or £7 for students and Towards the Edge is running all summer.

Sunday 22nd July – Get on down to Kpanlogo

On Sunday, there’s a dance event at the Horniman Musuem in South London that sounds tempting for all budding dancing anthropologists out there. As part of the Museum’s summer season of events and activities, the Ghanaian Dance Intensive Study Day has been organised to celebrate 50 years of Ghanaian independence. Starting at 11.00 in the Education Centre you can learn Kpanlogo – traditional drum and dance from the Ga Nation - for only £6. And if you’re not just a beginner (in any form of dance), in the afternoon there’s a chance to have a go at the spiritual Sohu dance, created to energise and guide a mythical lost & exhausted huntsman. The second session starts at 13.30 – same place, same price. To book either event, contact Nzinga Dance on 020 8314 5328, e-mail nzingadance@aol.com or post to PO Box 36992, London SE6 4WH.

Monday 23rd July –Death and radicalism at Pocketvisions

Tonight is the latest in the summer series of documentaries from Pocketvisions, when Starbuck Holger Meins will be screened. The film is a biography of Holger, a young anti-Vietnam activist and campaigner against big business, who died following a hunger strike in 1974. Directed by a friend of his, it attempts to understand how and why Holger Meins was driven to become so ‘radical’. The film is showing, as usual, at 20.00 in the Roxy Bar & Screen in Borough, and entrance is FREE.

Tuesday 24th July – The Proms Uzbekistan-style

I’m back down to the Horniman tonight to enjoy a spot of traditional music from Uzbekistan, which is being put on in the gardens of the Museum. It starts at 19.30 in the bandstand and entrance is free. To whet your appetite, you can read more information about the music of Uzbekistan here. I wonder if my newly-acquired Kpanlogo dancing skills will be useful…






Wednesday 25th July – Another Documentary Festival!

The annual Britdoc film festival starts today, hosted by Keble College, part of Oxford University. It runs for 3 days and its probably out of the price range of anyone not getting paid to be there! However, the good news is that every evening there are public screenings which you are free just to pitch up and attend. Films showing on tonight have not yet been announced, so keep checking the schedules, but anthropologically-inspired ’37 Uses for a Dead Sheep’ is showing on Thursday at 20.15. To find out more about the event as a whole and the people involved, you can check here.

Diary for 12th July to 18th July 2007

THURSDAY 12TH JULY - Last chance to go to Parliament

Today is your final opportunity to apply to attend anthropologist Dr Scarlett Epstein's film screening at Portcullis House that I mentioned last week. Back to the Village is a thought-provoking look at the dangerous emphasis in parts of India on economic growth at all costs - and what that means for the rural poor who migrate to the cities in search of financial improvement. There's a discussion afterwards and to enquire about attending, you need to email Dr Epstein at scarlett@epstein.net before the end of today,detailing your interest in the event, which starts at 17.00pm on 16th July.






FRIDAY 13TH JULY - A watery home

First up today, I'm going to watch Indian director Deepa Mehta's latest 'elemental' film, Water. It tells the story of a 7-year old girl who is widowed and therefore abandoned, according to tradition, at a prison-like hostel for other women who are no longer wanted by mainstream society. The film has caused controversy in India, when the first shoot of the film was attacked by Hindu fundamentalists, for its challenging look at this custom and the injustice it inflicts upon many young women. You can watch a trailer of the film online here, and it is showing in London at the Odeon Panton Street and also at the Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford and the Harbour Lights Picturehouse in Southampton.


Then tonight there's another fascinating looking film showing at the British Museum as part of their Caribbean Film Season. No Place Like Home is the fictional account of a New Yorker who travels for work to Jamaica and the way in which she finds her life affected by the cultural difference she finds there. The film will be introduced by the late director's daughter, Justine Henzell, and touches on issues of globalisation, political corruption and interracial relationships. It is showing at 18.30 in the Stevenson Theatre and entry costs only £3.


SATURDAY 14TH JULY - Thawing out the Cold War

On Saturday I'm heading up to the Baltic in Gateshead, Newcastle again for its summer exhibition of the work of Serhiy Bratkov, the Ukrainian photographer. For the last twenty years, his work has looked to capture people caught in the transition generation between the old Soviet Union and the opening up of Eastern Europe to western-style market economies. He aims to offer many perspectives on the same subject and, similar to an anthropologist, is never happy with a single point of view. His work is showing until 2nd September and entrance to the Baltic is FREE.




SUNDAY 15TH JULY - Art on the Curry Mile

On Sunday, I'm heading over to an exhibition of sculptures at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester that I've wanted to check out for a while. Subodh Gupta has used everyday objects used by South Asian communities to create monuments reflective at once of his Indian homeland but also the famous curry mile.

It is part of the Shisha project, which aims to overcome exoticising stereotypes of Asian artists that are not true to the realities of the Asian diaspora in Britain today. Gupta's work is accompanied by a complementary photographic exhibition at the Rusholme Job Centre by Rashid Rana that celebrates local heroes and the diversity of the local area. The Whitworth is open from 14.00 until 17.00 on Sundays and entrance is FREE. Then it's time for a Chicken Jalfrezi methinks...



MONDAY 16TH JULY - How do you push yours?

A chance to watch some anthropology-of-sorts in action today. Current TV is a new factual film channel set up by Al Gore to try and foster more diverse voices on television. They recently had a launch contest and one of the runners-up was 'Pushit', a film that takes an in-depth look at the gender differences in how the residents of Cambridge push their bikes around. It features some intrepid fieldwork by the film-maker, as well as insightful analysis from a lecturer in social anthropology at Cambridge university, Dr Matei Candea. The film will be on Current's satellite channel in a few weeks time, but you can still watch it on the web at the moment. If you have any ideas for a mini-ethnography film why not try uploading your own version and spread the word about the joys of anthropology!




TUESDAY 17TH JULY - Mixing it up musically

On Tuesday I'm hoping to attend one of the concerts being put on at the Southbank Centre as part of the World London season. It is a series of collaborative music events showcasing the cultural and linguistic diversity of the capital. Tonight sees an Irish folk band, Kila, link up with Oki, from North Japan's folk scene, and they will be performing songs in a mixture of Irish, Japanese and English. The event starts at 19.45, costs £15 (50% off for students) and you can book online here.


WEDNESDAY 18TH JULY - Friendship in the Amazon

Today I'm going to listen again to Radio 4's Thinking Allowed from last week which featured Peruvian anthropologist Fernando Granero. He was talking about his new study of friendship amongst the Yanesha people from the Amazonas region in Peru. Interestingly, Dr Granero explains how friendship amongst the Yanesha is much more similar to western relationships that anthropologists have previously thought. He argues that friendships are not just formed through formal social situations such as ritual - that anthropologists frequently emphasise - but also in everyday, human situations that are often passed over.

Diary for 5th July - 11th July 2007

THURSDAY 5TH JULY - A dose of anthropology a day keeps the doctor away

Today I’m going to the hugely varied exhibition – Medicine Man - that’s just opened in Euston. It is part of The Wellcome Collection - a massive assortment of the artefacts gathered by Henry Wellcome over his lifetime. They range from diagnostic dolls to Japanese sex aids, and from Napoleon's toothbrush to George III's hair! The idea of the displays is to show the different ways the same objects are used across cultures, as well to make you rethink our own accepted understandings of health and the body. The exhibition is open every day until 18.00 except Monday and entry is FREE.





FRIDAY 6TH JULY - Love is in the air

Tonight I'm going to try something a little different, and attend one of Allure Seminars Flirting & Walking Tours - which promise the chance to spend two hours sampling London's flirting 'hotspots'. I'm not sure quite what to expect, but the tour leader, Jean Smith, says she runs the courses from the perspective of a cultural anthropologist, and is fascinated by the different ways people communicate their love. The tour takes place from 18.45, meeting just inside the foyer of the National Portrait Gallery. It costs £20 and you can book online - places are limited to ensure limited to ensure your beating heart gets enough attention. You can also view a short introductory film here.



SATURDAY 7TH JULY - Filming Brick Lane

On Saturday the plan is to check out a photography and video installation currently being held at The Atrium Café, in the Social Sciences Building at City University in London. It is part of the Celebrating Enterprise project being put on to promote and study business amongst ethnic communist in London. Incorporated in the exhibition is Ricardo Leizaola’s observational documentary filming of the Carnaval del Pueblo and Brick Lane Festivals. Ricardo has just completed his PhD on 'folkbotanical' knowledge in Venezuela and also teaches technical skills to budding anthropological film-makers on the MA in Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths University. It is open daily and entry is FREE.

SUNDAY 8TH JULY - Morris dancing with a stiff upper lip

Come Sunday, I hope to spend several hours at the British Film Institute accessing their new Mediatheque resource, where you can delve into the labyrinth of films and television programmes about anything and everything that’s just been opened. The films can be divided into categories, so for example if you’re interested in what it means to be British there is a collection of programmes that explore cultural stereotypes such as the ‘stiff upper lip’ or ‘saucy seaside postcard humour’. The Mediatheque is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 to 20.00 and it’s all FREE.

MONDAY 9TH JULY - Different stories to tell at the London Anthropology Day

Today is the long-awaited London Anthropology Day at the British Museum which offers the opportunity for A-Level students from across the country to spend a day learning about the enormous variety on offer on anthropology degree courses. Places have all been taken up for this year’s event, but there’s plenty of information on the website and you can always think about attending future university open days which I’ll try to mention on the blog, or think about getting in touch with Gem Jones, education officer at the RAI on education@rai.org.uk if you have any questions.


Then tonight is another Pocketvisions screening at the Roxy Bar and Screen. ‘Un’altra storia’, or ‘A Different Story’, follows the 2006 election campaigns of two candidates wanting to become governor of Sicily. One, Rita Borsellino, is a long-time anti-mafia activist who stood against Salvatore ‘Toto’ Cuffaro – then the governor of the island. The film headlined the first ever London International Documentary Festival (LIDF) at the British Museum last March and does what documentary film, and anthropology, does best – uses personal stories to illustrate larger themes such as power and government.


TUESDAY 10TH JULY - Land and human rights in South Africa

On Tuesday I’m going to tune into last week’s episode of Thinking Allowed on Radio 4. The topic up for discussion was land reform in South Africa, and the success the post-apartheid ANC government have had in redistributing land to the rural, black poor. Anthropologist Dr Deborah James from LSE has recently published a book - Gaining Ground?: ‘Rights’ and ‘property’ in South African Land Reform - on the subject, and the legal battles between existing farmers and new claimants that have meant not much land reform has actually occurred. It’s an interesting example of how ethnographic work can reveal the gaps behind political rhetoric


WEDNESDAY 11TH JULY - Fascinating film screening in the Houses of Parliament on development issues in India - book your free place now!

Next week on the 16th July, there is a screening of the film ‘Back to the Village’ made with eminent anthropologist Dr Scarlett Epstein. I’m mentioning it today because it’s being shown at Portcullis Houses in the Houses of Parliament and for security reasons it’s necessary to get in touch with the organiser as soon as possible if you would like to attend. The film is about the massive migration in South India from rural to urban areas, followed by a discussion on the issues raised. You can read the full synopsis as a Google Document here. The event will be chaired by Mark Goldring, Chief Executive of VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas). Dr Epstein has spent her life working in applied anthropology, offering advice to many development organisations worldwide. You can find out more about her here, and her autobiography, Swimming Upstream, is also well worth a read. To enquire about attending, you need to email Dr Epstein at scarlett@epstein.net before the 12th July,detailing your interest in the event, which starts at 17.00pm on the 16th July.

Diary for 28th June - 4th July 2007

THURSDAY 28TH JUNE - Gardening, Haiti and anthropology on TV!

Today I'm heading down to sunny Brighton for the Mass Observation event I mentioned last week, - Ordinary Lives, Everyday Speakers. Archive staff and academics will be talking about the different ways in which we narrate our lives to each other, drawing on some of the more unusual takes on everyday happenings that they have read over the years. The event is part of the archive's 70th birthday celebrations and runs from 15.30 until 19.00 in the Jubilee Library in Brighton. Topics being discussed range from stories about England's status as a 'nation of gardeners' to the importance of wedding gifts. Entrance is free and includes refreshments, but places are limited so you need to RSVP to Dr Amanda Claremont at a.l.claremont@brighton.ac.uk or on 01273 642288 to confirm you will be going.



Alternatively on Thursday, there is a talk about how anthropology can help play a role in reducing malnutrition in Haiti. It should also be a useful insight into how anthropology can have an impact in the 'real world' and the sorts of careers it can lead into. The talk is at 17.15 in the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and entrance is free. For more information, contact Jenny Stanley on 020 7958 8140 or jenny.stanley@lshtm.ac.uk. Medical anthropologists study the cross-cultural causes and consequences of illness and disease, and you can study it as part of an anthropology undergraduate degree, or even for your entire degree at the University of Kent.



Also, don't forget that the RAI Film Festival continues in Manchester, and you can still buy day passes on the door. For me, the highlight of Thursday is a fascinating free public debate in the evening about anthropology on television. It's called "Anthropology on Television - Education or Entertainment?" and is taking place from 7-9pm in the Cosmo Rodewald Theatre. The debate is open to everyone (you don't have to be registered for the festival to go). Panelists include professors of anthropology plus Sam Organ, the executive producer of the BBC Tribe series and Will Anderson, Director and Series Producer of the new Reverse Anthropology series. The debate will be chaired by newsreader Anna Ford, who once studied anthropology at Manchester. Full details are available here.



FRIDAY 29TH JUNE - Is brown really the new black?

Today I'm going to get dressed up and attend the start of a two-day conference run by the History of Dress Association, called Black and White. A series of academics and experts will be giving talks on the ways in which black and white clothing have been worn over history and what that says about different cultures and societies - from Bedouin nomads' 'cool' black robes to Queen Elisabeth I's extensive white wardrobe. The event takes place at the Courtauld Institute of Art and entrance costs £25 for the whole conference or £15 for the day. You need to download and send off the booking form if you want to attend.


The highlight of the RAI Film Festival for today is probably the award-winning 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep which is screening at 19.00 and documents the exile of the Kirghiz tribe in Eastern Turkey - it was made in close collaboration with the Kirghiz themselves who carefully re-enact events from their past.





SATURDAY 30TH JUNE - Last day of RAI Film Festival!

On Saturday I'm off to the day of special screenings of films from China at the RAI Film Festival. China Day is a showcase of 12 films chosen to represent the cultural diversity of China, ranging from remote rural locations to life in the ultra-modernised cities. The screenings run from 9.00 to 18.00 and entrance is only £5 - you can pay at the door. If you fancy discussing what you have seen over a meal, then there is a Chinese 'banquet' in the evening at the Tai Pen restaurant. The prize-winners from the festival will also be announced at this banquet which costs £17.



Today is also the start of the 'Beyond Text' conference, running in association with the Film Festival. I may try and drop in on a couple of the sessions today, which are looking at the ways in which anthropologists can use other ways of expressing themselves other than writing, for example photography, film or performance. The conference runs until the 2nd July and although places have all been taken at the moment, you can place yourself on the reserve list by emailing claudia.natteri@manchester.ac.uk




SUNDAY 1ST JULY - Dancing and entrancing at the Horniman

The Horniman Museum in South London is one of my favourite museums to visit. There's no better place to spend a Sunday than wandering around its Centenary Gallery, which has a massive range of object from almost everywhere I can think of, and plenty I've never heard of before. The collection was originally developed by Frederick Horniman who collected objects through auctions and has been added to by many anthropologists over the years. It includes items such as Buddhas from Burma and Ogoni elephant masks from Nigeria (see left).

Also on Sunday at the Horniman is a Nziga Dance Ensemble Concert, featuring dance performances from Africa and the Caribbean. It is part of a series of dance events at the Horniman over the summer, using performances to understand how dance represented a way for slaves to maintain their spiritual and social traditions. The dance ensemble will be in the garden from 15.00 and like the rest of the museum, entrance is FREE.

And if you still can't get enough of the Film Festival, there's a spin-off event today linked to the conference and an exhibition, Castaways, that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Castaways is an experimental mixed media exhibition at the Whitworth Museum and today there's a lunchtime discussion at 13.00 between the artists involved and 'acoustic anthropologist' Steven Feld.

MONDAY 2ND JULY - Monks on Merseyside

On Monday I want to visit the World Museum in Liverpool for a fascinating day of events looking at The Mandala and the lives of the Monks . Mandalas are the symbolic geometric designs used by monks to help them meditate and contemplate the structure of the universe. At 10.15, members from the TashiLhumpo Monastery in Tibet (click here to find out more) will be creating a sand mandala, together with a ritual of public chanting and dedication. There is then a talk at 14.00 explaining the importance of mandalas in their worship. Entrance to the museum is FREE.





TUESDAY 3RD JULY - Learning about the Jarawa

On Tuesday I'm going to attend the weekly Vigil for the Jarawa that is organised by Survival International, a charity that aims to help tribal peoples defend their lives and land. The Jarawa live on the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean and are at risk of disease because of poachers coming onto their land. The aim of the vigil is to encourage the Indian Government to do more to enforce laws that are supposed to protect the Jarawa from exploitation. Several of Survival International's staff members trained as anthropologists and they have recently been involved in a high-profile campaign to stop tribal peoples being labelled as 'primitive'. The vigil lasts from 12.30 until 14.00 every Tuesday outside the Indian High Commission in Central London.



WEDNESDAY 4TH JULY - Living and Dying

The Living and Dying exhibition at the British Museum in London is a really fascinating display of the different cultural approaches people take across the world to health and well-being. It also includes objects used to try and ward off danger or illness, and looks at the relationships we form with each other and the world around us to achieve this. On Wednesday, I am going along to a talk by the curator of the display and British Museum anthropologist, Lissant Bolton, will be giving an introductory tour of the gallery at 13.15. The tour is FREE - all you need to do is turn up at Gallery 24 at the right time!



Also starting today is the New Crowned Hope festival at the Barbican in London, which runs until 12th August 2007. It promises artists from "every nation on earth" and takes its inspiration from Mozart in trying to exhibit new forms of expression, and individuals who are challenging cultural stereotypes in new ways. Look out for more on the blog in coming weeks!