Manipulating Meaning: The Military Name Game

“Manipulating Meaning: The Military Name Game” is an article that takes a brief look at the evolution of naming military operations, including recent controversial names of operations that have seemed to become more and more offensive.  This article was very interesting due to the information it provides on how the military began naming operations back in World War II after the Germans started the trend, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill set a basic framework for how to choose the names themselves.  Nowadays we are far removed from large-scale warfare, and the need for generating such nicknames has lost its significance.  That has paved the way for individuals to give operations names based on their personal preference, and usually they do so in order to help the public perception of the operation.  The example they give is the name decided on for America’s retaliation to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which we named our military response “Enduring Freedom”, which was meant to appeal to the average American’s sense of patriotism.

The Rashomon Effect

The Rashomon effect was a very interesting article pertaining to different points of views and how easily something can be viewed one way or another and make sense.  This is very helpful when starting up in Anthropology because it gives some insight into the fact that not every ethnographer is going to see eye-to-eye, and that is crucial.  Using the classic Japanese film, "Rashomon", as a guiding light, it is easier to dissect this idea.  The film is about an event that is recalled four different ways by four different people, each being shown visually and each just as plausible as the next.  This is a reasonable enough analogy for ethnographers worldwide.  If an ethnographer from the United States and an ethnographer from one of the Koreas were to go to a neutral location to conduct fieldwork, each may observe the same things but interpret them in completely different ways.

Life in Debt

The film "Life in Debt - Jamaica"was a very eye-opening look at Jamaica's economy on both the micro and macro level.  It was unbelievable to see how the average person, as well as the country itself, is suffering because of the rest of the world.  After gaining independence from Great Britain in the 1960's, the IMF stepped in to "help" Jamaica to persevere without the help of a major country/economy such as Great Britain to back them.  The result has been less than satisfactory.  While the rest of the world, including the US, benefits from abusing Jamaica's weak economy, the Jamaicans themselves are suffering heavily.  Most people lack proper jobs to supports themselves and their families, and there is no easy escape because Jamaicans lack the money and the opportunities to move elsewhere, such as the United States.  Seeing the seemingly endless struggle of the average Jamaican, whether it was a factory worker or a farmer, was honestly depressing.  There seems to be no real hope in sight as long as the IMF and the United States are profiting from Jamaica in an unfair way.

Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

This article written by Lila Abu-Lughod gives a logical look at America’s current “War on Terror” taking place in the Middle East, most notably in Afghanistan.  Abu-Lughod focuses more specifically on how America uses the issue of oppressive laws by the Taliban against women in Afghanistan as a way to justify war.  We as Americans are so narrow-minded when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world, especially the Middle East, that we truly do not take the time to even attempt to understand the history and cultural situation in that region of the world.  In America, the burqa is a symbol of oppression and sexual discrimination.  Do we ever stop to consider what the burqa means in the context of a Middle Eastern woman herself?  Do we ever consider that maybe there are more pressing problems than something as small as a burqa?  This is not to suggest that the laws and regulations regarding the burqa are not negative, but we definitely tend to focus on select issues, and not take time to consider other ones.

Cell Phones, Sharing, and Social Status in an African Society

This article takes a look at the use of cell phones in Nigeria, and how it fits in with such a society.  The author makes a point of noting to the reader to consider, “why…so many Nigerians who can barely afford life’s basic necessities go such great lengths to acquire a cell phone?”, as they read this article.  In the past decade, the cell phone market in Nigeria has surprisingly grown, with more and more citizens opting to spend their hard earned money to own a phone.  Nigerians must pay per minute on calls that they make, but incoming calls are free.  This has caused a sensation known in Nigeria as “flashing” to formulate, which is the practice of calling a person until the phone rings once, then hanging up so that they can see your number, but that you aren’t charged for the call.  That person may then call you back and you will not have to pay for the call.  One of the most interesting parts of this article was the revelation that the quality of phone a person owns in Nigeria is now used as a social status symbol.

Immigration Nation? Raids, Detentions and Deportations in Post-9/11 America

The lecture given by Dr. Tonya Golash-Boza of the University of Kansas talked about the effects on the actual immigrants who come to America.  The United States is largely at fault on a number of moral levels when it comes to the handling of immigrants, both legally and illegally residing here in the States.  Figures and stories helped provide vivid images of the horrors of how we treat those who have come to live in America, if they happen to be here as illegals.  If a person is born in the US, no matter what their parents status is, they are automatically citizens of the United States.  One story in particular talked about ICE raids in Massachusetts and how illegal parents were arrested and even deported, leaving their legal children behind with no parents to look after them.  This blatant disregard for people, particularly children, was a main point of Dr. Golash-Boza's lecture.

T-Shirt Travels (Film)

The documentary, T-Shirt Travels is an in-depth look at how exactly the clothes that we donate impact those around the world, particularly in this case those in the African country of Zambia.  Here, a man named Luka is the main person followed.  He makes a living reselling bundles of clothes to support himself, his mother, his two sisters, and his three cousins.  Charities that accept clothes from donations sometimes sell the excess donations for 10 to 15 cents per pound.  The dealers who buy these clothes then sell them in Africa for markups of up to 300-400%.  It was sad to really see how deprived and depleted Africa is of the resources necessary to be successful without international intervention.  The same people who are trying to “help” countries in Africa are also, in many cases, the same people who are looking to benefit from them as well, usually at the countries’ expense.