New Books Network
Anthropology
Southeast Asian Studies March 1, 2021

Democracy for Sale

Elections, Clientelism, and the State in Indonesia

Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot

Hosted by Michele Ford
In post-Suharto Indonesian politics the exchange of patronage for political support is commonplace. Clientelism saturates the political system through everyday practices of vote buying, influence peddling, manipulating government programs, and …

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Sociology March 1, 2021

What the Signs Say

Language, Gentrification, and Place-Making in Brooklyn

Shonna Trinch and Edward Snajdr

Hosted by Richard Ocejo
Two stores sit side-by-side. One with signage overflowing with text: a full list of business services (income tax returns, notary public, a variety of insurance) on the storefront, twenty-two words …
Ethnographic Marginalia February 26, 2021

Political Life in the Wake of the Plantation

Sovereignty, Witnessing, Repair

Deborah A. Thomas

Hosted by Sneha Annavarapu
How can ethnographers use multimedia presentations of their work to reach new audiences, build different relationships with their participants, and promote new practices of witnessing and representation? On today’s episode …
Anthropology February 22, 2021

Streetwalking

LGBTQ Lives and Protest in the Dominican Republic

Ana-Maurine Lara

Hosted by Reighan Gillam
In Streetwalking: LGBTQ Lives and Protest in the Dominican Republic (Rutgers University Press, 2020), Dr. Ana-Maurine Lara examines the dominant modes of power that seek to suppress LGBTQ lives and …
American Studies February 19, 2021

Margaret Mead

A Twentieth-Century Faith

Elesha J. Coffman

Hosted by Lilian Calles Barger
Elesha J. Coffman's Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith (Oxford UP, 2021) takes a careful look at Mead’s religious origins and influence. As a famous American anthropologist, Mead’s intellectual contributions to mid-century culture …
Philosophy February 19, 2021

Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory

Patricia Hill Collins

Hosted by Sarah Tyson
Is intersectionality a critical social theory? What must intersectionality do to be both critical and a social theory? Must social justice be a guiding normative principle? And what does or …
Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness February 18, 2021

How God Becomes Real

Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others

T. M. Luhrmann

Hosted by Jack Petranker
Tanya Luhrmann has spent much of her career as an anthropologist investigating the complex ways that people engage religion and the supernatural. In How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence …
SSEAC Stories February 18, 2021

Decolonising Conservation Practices and Research

Seeing the Orangutan in Borneo with Dr June Rubis

June Rubis

Hosted by Natali Pearson
Around the world, orangutans are widely recognised as an iconic species for environmental and wildlife conservation efforts. The rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is one of last remaining …
Genocide Studies February 17, 2021

Researching Perpetrators of Genocide

Kjell Follingstad Anderson and Erin Jessee

Hosted by Jeff Bachman
Researchers often face significant and unique ethical and methodological challenges when conducting qualitative field work among people who have been identified as perpetrators of genocide. This can include overcoming biases …
Animal Studies February 17, 2021

Phallacy

Life Lessons from the Animal Penis

Emily Willingham

Hosted by Emily Anthes
The fallacy sold to many of us is that the penis signals dominance and power. But this wry and penetrating book reveals that in fact nature did not shape the …
Southeast Asian Studies February 15, 2021

The Politics of Love in Myanmar

LGBT Mobilization and Human Rights as a Way of Life

Lynette J. Chua

Hosted by Michele Ford
The Politics of Love in Myanmar: LGBT Mobilization and Human Rights as a Way of Life (Stanford UP, 2018) offers an intimate ethnographic account of a group of LGBT activists before …
Ethnographic Marginalia February 12, 2021

Front of the House, Back of the House

Race and Inequality in the Lives of Restaurant Workers

Eli Revelle Yano Wilson

Hosted by Alexander Diamond
How can ethnographic research shine light on the reproduction of social inequality in upscale Los Angeles restaurants? In today’s episode we talk with Dr. Eli Wilson, Assistant Professor of Sociology …
Christian Studies February 10, 2021

Rhythm

A Theological Category

Lexi Eikelboom

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
Philosophers have long approached the concept of rhythm as a significant tool for understanding the human experience, metaphysics, language, and the arts. In her new study Rhythm: A Theological Category (Oxford …
Indian Ocean World February 10, 2021

Miracles and Material Life

Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya

Teren Sevea

Hosted by Kelvin Ng
In Miracles and Material Life: Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya (Cambridge UP, 2020), Teren Sevea reveals the economic, environmental and religious significance of Islamic miracle workers (pawangs) in the …
Celebration Studies February 10, 2021

The Ethnography of Tourism

Edward Bruner and Beyond

Naomi M. Leite, Quetzil E. Castañeda, Kathleen Adams

Hosted by Emily Ruth Allen
Edited by Naomi M. Leite, Quetzil E. Castañeda, and Kathleen M. Adams, The Ethnography of Tourism: Edward Bruner and Beyond (Lexington Books, 2019) focuses on the experience-near, interpretive-humanistic approach to tourism studies widely associated …
Sociology February 9, 2021

The Hinge

Civil Society, Group Cultures, and the Power of Local Commitments

Gary Alan Fine

Hosted by Michael Johnston
Most of the time, we believe our daily lives to be governed by structures determined from above (e.g., laws that dictate our behavior, companies that pay employees wages, climate patterns …
Celebration Studies February 4, 2021

Festive Devils of the Americas

Milla Cozart Riggio, Angela Marino, and Paolo Vignolo

Hosted by Emily Ruth Allen
The devil is a defiant, nefarious figure, the emblem of evil, and harbinger of the damned. However, the festive devil—the devil that dances—turns the most hideous acts into playful transgressions …
Anthropology February 3, 2021

Revealing the Invisible Mine

Social Complexities of an Undeveloped Mining Project

Emilia E. Skrzypek

Hosted by Alex Golub
Located amid tropical rainforest in the heart of Papua New Guinea, the Frieda River area is home to one of the biggest undeveloped gold and copper deposits in the Pacific …
Christian Studies February 2, 2021

Worship and the World to Come

Exploring Christian Hope in Contemporary Worship

Glenn Packiam

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
How does contemporary worship cultivate Christian hope? In a succinct and tightly researched volume, Worship and the World to Come: Exploring Christian Hope in Contemporary Worship (IVP Academic, 2020), the Rev. Dr …
Ethnographic Marginalia February 1, 2021

Fútbol in the Park

Immigrants, Soccer, and the Creation of Social Ties

David Trouille

Hosted by Sneha Annavarapu
What meaning does a daily soccer game in a public Los Angeles park have for a group of Latino men and the ethnographer who studied them? In today’s episode, we …