GATE e.V. (Gemeinsamer Arbeitskreis Ethnologie und Tourismus) is reporting about their successful conference on “Anthropology and Tourism: Chances, perspectives and conditions for better cooperation”. The conference was held in Berlin, 5-6 Nov. 2004, and was attained by more than 100 anthropologists, students and people from tourism industry, development cooperation and educational institutions. Here you will find a short report (german). More information on the conference see www.gate-tourismus.de

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Endlich ist meine Doktorarbeit erschienen, als gedrucktes Buch und als .pdf (7,5MB) online -- unter einer Creative Commons Lizenz frei herunterzuladen. "Metatrickster" handelt von sechs historischen Persönlichkeiten, die die ganze Welt und manchmal auch sich selbst hereingelegt haben: Burton, Taxil, Gurdjieff, Backhouse, Crowley und Castaneda haben mystische, verborgene, verwirrende und schwer greifbare Leben geführt, sind auf der ganzen Welt aufgetaucht und wieder verschwunden. Alle sechs haben ungeheure Ähnlichkeit mit einem widersprüchlichen Wesen, das scheinbar in den Mythologien aller Zeiten und Orte auftaucht. Vor über hundert Jahren haben die Forscher dieses Wesen "Trickster" getauft. Irgendwie ist jede dieser historischen Tricksterpersönlichkeiten mit allen anderen verwoben, alle sind sie wie Teile eines verworrenen versteckten Netzes, daß sich durch Geschichte, Kultur, Raum und Zeit erstreckt ... more info and download link here.

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The very first article in the newest issue of the "American Anthropologist" (Vol. 106, No. 4, December 2004) is called '"The Vulgar Spirit of Blogging": On Language, Culture, and Power in Persian Weblogestan' by Alireza Doostdar. I can't furnish an abstract yet, as neither the 'Bayerische Staatsbibliothek' nor the 'Universitätsbibliothek der LMU' offers online-access to the "American Anthropologist". Thank you very much! What was the year? 2004? Bah -- Humbug!

[Edit by fab: it is available as a downloadable fulltext pdf via his/her english weblog]

Abstract: "This article is an ethnographic study of Persian-language weblogs (blogs), focusing on a divisive argument among Iranian bloggers that came to be known as the "vulgarity debate." Sparked by a controversial blogger who ridiculed assertions that Islam was compatible with human rights, the debate revolved around the claim that biogging had a "vulgar spirit" that made it easy for everything from standards of writing to principles of logical reasoning to be undermined. My study focuses primarily on the linguistic side of the controversy: I analyze blogging as an emergent speech genre and identify the structural features and social interactions that make this genre seem "vulgar." I also examine the controversy as a confrontation between bloggers with unequal access to cultural capital and a struggle over "intellectualist" hegemony. in the conclusion, I use the construct of "deep play" to weave together multiple layers of structure, explanation, and meaning in the debate. [Keywords: Iran, weblogs, computer-mediated communication, speech genres, social status]"

DOOSTDAR, ALIREZA. 2004. "The vulgar spirit of blogging": On language, culture, and power in Persian Weblogestan. American Anthropologist 106(4): 651-662.

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