AnthroCurrents – July 25, 2014

A biweekly look at recent stories on anthropology and practicing anthropologists in the popular media

Sex and Money

• Apparently, crickets were chirping in the Brazilian brothels during the World Cup, contrary to everyone’s expectations. Thaddeus Blanchette, an anthropologist with the Prostitution Observatory, explains why everyone got it wrong.
• Meanwhile, back in Canada, anthropologist Frances Shaver urges Canadian law makers to put their personal moral values aside and pass laws that make Canada a safer place for sex workers.
• Anthropologists have their say in two complementary pieces on agribusiness. The Huffington Post posts a piece originally from the New York Times online that dissects the sugar trade. The Daily Beast tackles palm oil and discusses how growing numbers of palm oil plantations are destroying chimpanzee habitats.

In the Field

• The biggest social science news of the week is no doubt the PLOS ONE article on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault experienced by a range of scientists in the field.
• Journalist Sebastian Junger studied anthropology at Wesleyan. In an interview with ABC, he talks about the discipline and about the new film “Korengal,” which uses the same footage used for the Oscar-nominated film “Restrepo.”

Además

• If you read the article featured in the last edition of AnthroCurrents on Nancy Scheper-Hughes, you might want to see her response to the Pacific Standard profile.