"NAPA [National Association for the Practice of Anthropology was founded in 1983 to promote the practice of anthropology, both within the discipline and among private and public organizations. NAPA has grown as anthropologists have developed broader professional opportunities outside the academy. [...] NAPA members use anthropological training to address issues related to public health, organizational and community development, information technology systems, housing, social justice, law, the media, marketing, environmental management, and the arts."

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Munich - Radio Lora has interviewed Prof. Kurt Beck of our institute. The topic of the interview is the projected reduction of academic positions at our institute (in the face of 1054 students studying social/cultural anthropology here). The interview will be aired today at 19:00h (plus some minutes) on Radio Lora 92.4 (cable: 95.6). Tune in and stay informed.

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Today the Süddeutsche Zeitung published a book review of "Matisse und Picasso als Kulturrreisende. Primitivismus und Anthropologie um 1900" by Bärbel Küster. Unfortunately I haven't found the online-article yet, but I will add it later...

Küster investigated in her dissertation the view on painters representation of the earlier so called "primitives" - such as paintings as "La Gitane" or "L' Algérienne" by Matisse or "Deux femmes nues" by Picasso. She constitutes the thesis of the "anthropological turn" (1)Maybe someone might add something about "anthropological turn" in the theoretical debate in History of Art. My expertise ends here unfortunately! by statements of theory in art and states that painters in the early 20th century have been highly influenced by anthropological photographs, adapting the anthropological question of characteristics of human beings though presenting the "primitives" in a different way than ethnographers.

Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2003. 239 pages, 39,90.

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Finally Gabi Geuter, who has known the elusive legend of cultural anthropology, Carlos Castaneda in person, has published her tremendous book Filming Castaneda: The hunt for magic and reason. I know Gabi face-to-face (she was willing to be my informant on Castaneda while I wrote my Ph.D.-thesis -- a big Thanks again) and can assure you that her book is none of the New-Age-rubbish which partially sprang up around the name Castaneda. During the genesis of her book Gabi frequently sent me chapters in progress and I always was thrilled and delighted while reading them. You may know that Castaneda was reluctant to have himself photographed and even made sure that false pictures of him, showing someone other, got into circulation. When Castaneda died, AP delivered a picture of him which was reprinted in countless obituaries around the world -- until today the picture keeps popping up, even in social/cultural antropological publications. Some days later AP wrote to its customers that they should delete the picture, as it was not depicting Carlos Castaneda. But it was too late -- the old trickster's last deception? Besides the concept of 'erasing oneself' in Castaneda's books the concept of 'stalking' is described as another faculty of 'his' magical system. Gabi took those concepts a substantial step further: She stalked Castaneda by camera. Her book is both a meditation and an analysis of all this and her entanglement with Castaneda and his circle -- a hunt for magic and reason. There's a press release, too.

GEUTER, GABI. 2004. Filming Castaneda: The hunt for magic and reason. Bloomington: 1stBooks Library/Authorhouse. [ISBN: softcover: 141404612X, hardcover: 1414046138]

via e-mail

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment