AnthroPod 57. Anthropology and/of Mental Health, Pt. 2
Jun 25, 2020
Guests Nick Sieber and Ebi Saldana explore the interplay of anthropology and mental health. Sieber, an anthropologist focusing on attention in cultural contexts, discusses the implications of ADHD in academia and the importance of adapting field methods to suit varying attentional styles. Saldana reflects on her fieldwork disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the emotional toll of lost projects and the need for academic resilience. Both guests highlight the complexities of conducting research amid personal and societal challenges.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Attention Signals What We Value
- Attention functions as a proxy for what people and systems value rather than a neutral cognitive capacity.
- Nick Sieber argues that attention is being formalized, priced, and embedded into machine learning and ad systems as a measurable commodity.
Two Competing Frames Of Attention
- Competing discourses frame attention as scarce economic currency and as the basis of human sovereignty.
- Sieber highlights tension between the attention economy and movements that defend attentional autonomy as essential to being human.
Medicalization Masks Social Roots
- Medicalizing attention (e.g., ADHD) individualizes a problem that also has social and situational roots.
- Sieber suggests treating attention as social and cultural, not solely an individual disorder.
