New Books in Anthropology

There are many books giving advice about research methods on the market, but The Art and Craft of Comparison (Cambridge UP, 2019) is the first monographic marriage of comparative and interpretive methods. In this episode of the special series New Books in Interpretive Political and Social Science, two of its authors, John Boswell and Jack Corbett, discuss their confessional tone in the book, the dilemmas of comparative-interpretive research, some of their rules of thumb for starting and finishing political research that aims for creative comparison, and why Chat GPT is no substitute for embodied, immersive interpretation. Embrace the grind!Like this episode? You might also be interested in others in the series with co-authors talking about their work, including Erica Simmons and Nicholas Rush Smith, Mark Bevir and Jason Blakely, Peregrine Schwartz-Shea and Dvora Yanow, and Aarie Glas and Jessica Soedirgo talking about Lee Ann Fujii’s Interviewing in Social Science Research. Looking around for something to read? If so, then John recommends Personalizing the State by Insa Lee Koch, and State of Empowerment by Carolyn Barnes, while Jack recommends Stephanie Lawson’s Regional Politics in Oceania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Sideways Migration: Being French in London (Routledge, 2025) examines the relationship between migration and socioeconomic status. In particular, it charts a set of middle-class aspirations that lead people to move to a nearby nation that is similar in wealth and social indicators - a type of horizontal relocation that it terms "sideways migration." It chronicles the experiences of a diverse group of French middle-class citizens who moved to London during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Based on longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork over a ten-year period, this book engages at length with their strategies of emplacement through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of social space. Against a backdrop of heightened anxieties about immigration, the disruptions of the Brexit process and, more recently, a pandemic, it shows how middle-class migration is affected by processes of dislocation and relocation, settling and unsettling, and the search for belonging. This book points to new directions for understanding transnationalism among middle-class migrants through its consideration of the French emigration apparatus and the role of the multisite French nation in the lives of its citizens living abroad. It will be key reading for scholars and students interested in emigration and migration from anthropology, sociology, geography, political science, history, and international studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Revolutions in technology are fundamentally transforming what it means to be human. Or are they? As Webb Keane points out, before humans consulted ChatGPT, they propitiated oracles. Before they fell in love with robot boyfriends, they ventured into the forest to marry nature spirits. In his new book Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination (Princeton UP, 2025) Keane combines anthropology and philosophy to show us what is new and what is not in our current technological moment. Using a broad comparative perspective he shows us how shamans, hunters, priests, and doctors have long responded to the existential questions which drive our current technological obsessions: Where is the line between human and non-human? How do humans find meaning in our interactions with non-humans? By widening our intellectual imagination, Keane shows us how many of our current intellectual dilemmas about technology are not new -- and are far more deep than enduring than we might have previously suspected.Webb Keane is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

How to dwell in a forest alongside giants, avoid disturbing a living god, assist an animal with their manners, and help an elephant cross the road. The Presence of Elephants: Sharing Lives and Landscapes in Assam (Routledge, 2024) is an anthropological consideration of coexistence, grounded in people’s everyday interactions with Asian elephants. Drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Assam, Northeast India, this book examines human-elephant copresence and how minds, tasks, identities, and places are shared between the two species. Sharing lives and landscapes with such formidable beings is a continuously shifting and negotiated exchange inherently composed of tensions, asymmetries, and uncertainties – especially in the Anthropocene when breakdowns in communication increasingly have a violent effect. Developing a multifaceted picture of human-elephant relations in a postcolonial setting, each chapter focuses on a different dimension of encounter, where elephants adapt to human norms, people are subject to elephant projects, and novel interspecies possibilities emerge at the threshold of nature and society. Vulnerability is a common experience intensified in contemporary human-elephant relations, felt through the elephant’s power to disrupt and transform human lives, as well as the risks these endangered animals are exposed to. This book will be of interest to scholars of multispecies ethnography and human-animal relations, environmental humanities, conservation, and South Asian studies.Rituparna Patgiri is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati. Her research interests lie in the areas of food, media, gender and public. She is also one of the co-founders of Doing Sociology. Patgiri can be reached at @Rituparna37 on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

When Only God Can See: The Faith of Muslim Political Prisoners (Pluto Press, 2024), uncovers the unique experiences of Muslim political prisoners held in Egypt and under US custody at Guantanamo Bay and other detention black sites. This groundbreaking book explores the intricate interplay between their religious beliefs, practices of ritual purity, prayer, and modes of resistance in the face of adversity. Highlighting the experiences of these prisoners, faith is revealed to be not only a personal spiritual connection to God but also a means of contestation against prison and state authorities, reflecting larger societal struggles.Written by Walaa Quisay, who has worked closely with prisoners in Egypt, and Asim Qureshi, with years of experience supporting detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the authors' deep connections with prisoner communities and their emphasis on the power of resistance shine through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Steven Lesk, a board-certified psychiatrist with nearly four decades of experience, explores the misunderstood realm of schizophrenia in his groundbreaking book. He introduces his 'primitive organization theory,' connecting schizophrenia to our evolutionary past. Lesk emphasizes the importance of integrating evolutionary insights into psychiatry, challenges conventional views, and highlights the impact of historical figures like Paul Schreber. The discussion also covers the evolution of happiness and the complexities of mental health, advocating for a broader understanding of these issues.

Veiko Erranti, an Associate Professor of Urban Sociology at the University of Helsinki, dives into how Finnish youth engage in democratic practices. He introduces the innovative concept of 'doing society' to expand traditional views of political action. The discussion covers diverse forms of engagement, from memes and social movements to participatory budgeting. Erranti also explores the effects of individualism on youth participation and underscores the role of social media in shaping collective activism amidst contemporary societal challenges.

Audun Kjus, a folklorist and cultural historian from the Norse Volksmuseum, dives into the intriguing intersections of play and ritual. He discusses how playful experiences influence serious rituals like marriage proposals and community gatherings. Highlighting the emotional depth of seemingly trivial moments, Kjus explores the cultural significance of practices like ash scatterings and fandom celebrations. He also emphasizes the role of playfulness in museums, encouraging innovative approaches to cultural exhibitions that resonate with audiences.

In this engaging discussion, Subir Sinha, a Reader at SOAS University of London and an expert on development politics, sheds light on the rise of Hindutva as a transnational force. He identifies economic liberalization and post-9/11 Islamophobia as key catalysts for Hindu nationalism. Sinha highlights how social media amplifies Modi's authoritarian populism while fostering global connections among Hindutva supporters. However, he also points to emerging resistance through Dalit politics and a growing awareness of the contradictions between lived Hinduism and Hindutva.

The relationship between fear people experience in their lives and the government often informs key questions about the rule of law and justice. In nations where the rule of law is unevenly applied, interpreting the people involved in its enforcement allows for contextualized understanding about why that unevenness occurs and is perpetuated.Joshua Barker’s State of Fear: Policing a Postcolonial City published by Duke University Press (2024) examines policing in Bandung, the capital city of the province of West Java in Indonesia, to show how fear and violence are produced and reproduced. He makes analysis of the emergence of informal and formal forms of political order in Bandung based on ethnographic and historical evidence about neighborhood watch groups, street-level toughs, vigilantes, and people in the police, from clerks to officers. This book provides a compelling interpretive framework for understanding episodes of violence and different forms of authority in Indonesian state-society relations as it does for many other parts of the world where unresolved colonial legacies shape the production of policing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology