AnthroCurrents – May 16, 2014

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

• Just in time for summer, New Republic offers this amusing anthropological perspective on locals coping with tourists.
• It was just a matter of time before Game of Thrones made it into AnthroCurrents. The blog Making Game of Thrones interviewed linguist David Peterson on his work creating languages for the show.

Who Majors in Anthropology?

The Savage Minds post that catalogs well-known people who also studied anthropology is getting a lot of attention on LinkedIn and elsewhere. They could add President Obama’s mom or Sigrid Rausing (Granta) to that list.

Up Hill, Both Ways

When I was coming up, a person got a college degree so they could obtain a well-rounded education and learn how to think. The tide has turned, as evidenced by a multitude of articles criticizing disciplines that aren’t also job titles. Now the Wall Street Journal reports on MBA programs introducing courses like “Thinking about Thinking,” which are designed to do what I thought college was supposed to do in the first place. I agree with Jessica Kleiman, whose article in Forbes is critical of those who would turn colleges into vocational schools.

The Not-So-Wayback Machine

The April 4, 2014 installment of AnthroCurrents mentioned Michael Mascha, anthropologist and bottled water connoisseur. Economy Watch presents a completely different view of the bottled water market, and an anthropologist puts in his two cents. I thought I was buying a cold, portable drink, but it turns out I was buying… freedom.