In the popular imagination “Chinese Culture” is something which emcompasses those different things which are unique to China. Chinese cultural things on display at tourist sites will likely include things like silk brocade, cloisonné, jade carvings, paper cuts, calligraphy and teapots. As a Nanjing taxi driver described to me last week there are also telling … Continue reading
A few days ago I was walking out of the subway station, when I became aware of a giant, dark blue bag in my field of vision. The bag was on the back of a person a few steps higher up the stairs, so it was directly in front of my face. For a few … Continue reading
This morning while cleaning my office I happened upon a menu that I collected over twenty-five years ago in the spring of 1990 while studying in Chengdu, Sichuan. I don’t remember what restaurant it is from, but the fact that the first page lists Green Leaves Beer (绿叶啤酒) and that page two lists “guo kui” … Continue reading
FROM sunil GUEI Dearest One, I am the first duaghter of an ex military/ex president been an opposition party to the present Government of COTE D`IVOIRE. On the 19th sept 2002 my father/mother including every members of our family was murdered by the unknown REBELS during the time they attack our house by shooting and … Continue reading
Last night at the Turf Club the Spring 2016 Visual Anthropology Class screened a selection of the work they have been doing with their neighborhood partners this semester. As with previous years the work they shared illustrated the special relationship that many of them have developed with neighbors in the Hamline Midway. The neighbors shared … Continue reading
Yesterday morning at 8am students in our Pilgrims, Travelers and Tourists class spread out across campus, took empty spaces and narrated them into existence—haunting the campus with the likes of pirates, magical ravers, Paul Bunyan and revelations of improbable things just below the surface. The rainy weather wasn’t ideal, but the signs did attract a great … Continue reading
This morning while cleaning my office I found an item I collected a few years ago while in Shanghai which I immediately thought should be considered a Mystery Object. It is a “menu of fake stuff” that I acquired from one of the many salespeople of knockoff consumer goods who troll the length of Nanjing … Continue reading
A few days ago some students stopped by my office to ask me about an email that they had all just received from the Dean of Students Office. The message announced a ban on the use of drones on campus. The sudden appearance of the all-campus message suggested that there had been an incident that … Continue reading
This semester our digital anthropology seminar has covered a lot of ground. We have been so busy, in fact, that I haven’t had much time to even do all of the blogging that I had planned. I hope to do some catching up at the end of the semester. We have read many interesting things, … Continue reading
“We aren’t training to be filmmakers, but use our cameras to learn. Our neighbors have taught us so much.” This past Sunday afternoon our Visual Anthropology class hosted its fourth annual public screening and “thank you” party for our neighborhood—The Hamline Midway. While in previous years we had an early evening slot, this year the … Continue reading
