ANTH 425 Power and Change
Fall 2011
Nov. 15-17 Should anthropologists participate in the war on terror? Read: González, Roberto (2007) "Towards mercenary anthropology? The new US Army counterinsurgency manual FM 3-24 and the military-anthropology complex." Anthropology Today 23(3): 14-19.
McFate, Montgomery (2007) "Building bridges or burning heretics? A response to González in this issue." Anthropology Today 23(3): 21.
Robben, Antonius (2009) "Anthropology and the Iraq war: An uncomfortable engagement." Anthropology Today 25(1) 1-3.
Sluka, Jeffrey (2010) "Curiouser and curiouser: Montgomery McFate’s Strange Interpretation of the Relationship between Anthropology and Counterinsurgency." PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review 33(s1): 99-115.
Should anthropologists assist the military to carry out operations in a "kinder, gentler" way to save lives?
Should anthropologists avoid engagement with the military?
What are the issues?
- ethics
- past experience:
- history of anthropological collaboration with state (colonialism, in US with CIA)
- history of US and other military operations
- what are the wars about?
- what is the potential result for anthropologists?
- should we be worried when non-anthropologists define the terms of research and its goals, applications?
- how does this relate to Mahmood?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBkHWb6Iurw (National Geographic)
Fox news report on anthropological
involvement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvaZFqNIYjQ&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnj9D5pr8f8 (for comments)