The Familiar Strange

This is part 2 of the wonderful roundtable we recorded at 2019's AAS conference!

k4g9t9jy

In this very special collaboration, TFS would like to present a two part roundtable we recorded at 2019’s AAS conference! It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to gather again and talk all things anthropology this year, but we hope that this might be enough to whet your appetite for more things to come in 2021! A big thank you to Dr Benjamin Hegatry, Dr Carly Schuster and Dr Shiori Shakuto for their hard work in putting together this roundtable discussion. We hope you enjoy!

Roundtable Participants

Christine Helliwell, Emeritus Professor, The Australian National University

Margaret Jolly, Professor of Anthropology, The Australian National University

Martha MacIntyre,Honorary Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne

Francesca Merlan, Professor of Anthropology, The Australian National University

Kalpana Ram, Professor of Anthropology, Macquarie University

Kathryn Robinson, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, The Australian National University

Roundtable Convenors

Benjamin Hegarty, McKenzie Fellow, The University of Melbourne

Caroline Schuster, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, The Australian National University

Shiori Shakuto, Assistant Professor, The University of Tokyo – Tokyo College

The end of 2020 is in sight! What a year it has been for all of us. The team at TFS would like to say thank you to all our listeners this year and to everyone who has listened in to our podcasts and read the blog this year! We are taking a short season break and we will return with some new and improved content in February 2021!

But keep an ear out for some special content we recorded last year at the AAS before the year is out!

Head over to our website for more links to some cool things happening over our summer break.

This week, we bring you an interview with Dr. Ashley Carruthers. Ashley is a lecturer of anthropology at the Australian National University’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology. His research interests include migration, mobilities, rural-urban relationships, networks and infrastructures, farming, organic agriculture, bicycles, and he has conducted in-depth fieldwork in Vietnam.

It’s also Familiar Stranger Clair’s first interview! We hope you enjoy it!

In this interview we talked about an organic farming community called Thang Dong. It’s located in a peri-urban region near Hoi An. We discussed what insights that WE, urban dwellers and subjects of modernization, could glean from the farmers’ organic agriculture project, which prevented them from being displaced. The project can be seen as a hybrid of multiple temporalities, where the traditional, the modern, and the postmodern are entangled in a non-linear manner. It is also an assemblage or a network of various agents, including non-human actors like the land, or the chemical fertilizers. We talked a lot about Latour’s Actor Network Theory, his book Down to Earth and We Have Never Been Modern. But don’t worry about it being too theory heavy, Ashley has tons of fun stories along the way! We also talked about the emerging culture of cycling as a leisure activity in Vietnam, and how the elites may inadvertently bring about some public good while benefiting themselves.

Head over to our website for a full list of links and citations!

on’t forget to head over to our Facebook group The Familiar Strange Chats. Let’s keep talking strange, together!

If you like what we do and are in a position to do so, you can help us to keep making content by supporting us through Patreon.

Our Patreon can be found at https://www.patreon.com/thefamiliarstrange

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Clair Zhang

Podcast edited by Clair Zhang and Matthew Phung

Surprise! We are so pleased to show you all a collaborative project we did with our friends and yours at Myanmar Musings!

In this very special episode, Familiar Stranger Alex D’Aloia sat down with Luke Corbin, Anthea Snowsill, Michael Dunford and Dinith Adikari to discuss all things Myanmar. Join us as we explore the tea shops of downtown Yangoon all the way to the mountains of the Northern Shan state. We talk about masculinity, ethnicity and agricultural practises. It was such a pleasure to have collaborated with Myanmar Musings and we hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Thanks again to Luke Corbin from Myanmar Musings for collaborating with us! We hope to work with you again in the future!

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Matthew Phung

Podcast edited by Alex D’Aloia and Luke Corbin

On this week’s panel, we feature the president of the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists, Hanne Worsoe and Dinith Adikari who is a PhD candidate from the Australian National University.

Hanne kicks us off [1:37] by discussing a recent article by Judith Butler about the recent US election. She asks us to consider how identity politics has come into play more and more, not only in the US election, but also in Australia’s elections. How important do you think identity is when it comes to politics? Should Politics with a capital P be separate from identity?

Continuing in the same vein as Hanne, Dinith [6:31] discusses the spectacle that has been the US election. He poses a commonly repeated question of “why do people care so much about the US election?” What do you think? What motivates people to keep up with elections not in their own countries?

Next, Carolyn [11:31] changes topics to discuss deepfake technology. We have covered this topic previously too, but Carolyn asks some questions about the potentially insidious applications of this technology, and begs the question who owns your face and likeness? How do you think the likeness of people could be used?

Finally, Alex [15:50] the self-professed nerd asks the strangers to consider how our likes and dislikes are shaped by society and social interactions and what that means to us as Anthropologists. If we know how and why these likes and dislikes arise, shouldn’t that answer all the questions of anthropology? What do you think? Where do you think likes and dislikes come from?

Head over to our website for a full list of links and citations

Don’t forget to head over to our Facebook group The Familiar Strange Chats. Let’s keep talking strange, together!

If you like what we do and are in a position to do so, you can help us to keep making content by supporting us through Patreon.

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Matthew Phung

Podcast edited by Alex D’Aloia and Matthew Phung

“How much time do you actually need to spend with someone to “accurately” represent their lives?”

This week, we bring you an interview with Diana Tung who is currently doing her field work in the city of Iquitos in Peru. This is also executive producer Matt’s first interview!

Diana discusses all things fieldwork and how things have changed since we have experienced a global pandemic. We talk about how she has had to adapt her methods and how very different things are when compared to the start of the year. We also touch on serendipity and how it played into her field work. Finally, we discuss the passing of David Graeber and the effect that he had on her work and our work being a representation of the people we work with.

Quotes

“I think if you’re hanging out with people and the same topic comes up over and over again, it’s probably something you should be paying attention to”

“Just because you didn’t know about it beforehand or you weren’t paying attention to it beforehand doesn’t mean it's not important to the people you’re hanging out with”

“Sometimes it does work, and when it does I”m very very thankful other times I spend the entire week waking up in the middle of the night to download a program”

“It’s really important of course to maintain your relationships with people back home, but having someone close by who I knew could step in and help me when I really needed help at any time I think that kind of support is priceless”

Don’t forget to head over to our Facebook group The Familiar Strange Chats and let us know what you found most interesting in this episode. Let’s keep talking strange, together!

If you like what we do and are in a position to do so, you can help us to keep making content by supporting us through Patreon.

Our Patreon can be found at https://www.patreon.com/thefamiliarstrange

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Matthew Phung

Podcast edited by Matthew Phung

This week we bring you a panel with Anthea Snowsill who is currently doing her research with the Intha people of Myanmar. In this panel We’d also introduce our newest Familiar Stranger, Carolyn West. Welcome to the team Carolyn!

Carolyn [1:25] kicks us off by discussing the recent documentary The Social Dilemma. She asks us to consider if social media and the global nature of the internet has created more separation and polarisation. What do you think? Has the internet changed how you debate or discuss certain issues?

Next Alex [5:46], discusses the personhood of corporations. Often called Corporate personhood, Alex asks us to consider how we interact with these “entities” as individuals and as a collective. What do you think? Does the idea of a corporate personhood feel strange to you?

Then Anthea [12:10], introduces the panel to the Buy Nothing Movement. She discusses the different social norms surrounding selling and gifting material possessions such as blenders or even used mattresses. Have you heard of the Buy Nothing Movement before? Would you sleep on a used mattress???

Finally, Simon [16:37] discusses how the effects and presence of colonialism are different depending on one’s location. He asks the panel how Australian colonialism is seen around the world and reflects on how “racism is complicated”. What do you think? Do you think colonialism and its prevalence varies from place to place?

Head over to our website for a full list of links and citations!

'The reasons why uniforms exist is for various reasons. Among them is to visually identify a staff member, which is a functional reason - a really practical reason, rather. It's also to take away any outside... personality that can come through on the person's body.'

This episode, Caitlin Setnicar, Australian National University anthropology graduate with First Class Honours (2018) and current Business Designer at ThinkPlace, chats with Dee. They unpack customer service abuse and the many frameworks in place that allow this normalised violence to happen and continue happening, discuss some pathways to applied anthropology and consulting work, and explore how ethnography can be portrayed through cartoons.

You can learn more about ThinkPlace at https://www.thinkplaceglobal.com/

Quotes, Links and Citations can be found at our website https://thefamiliarstrange.com/

Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and let us know what you found most interesting in this episode or share your own retail 'horror' story. Let's keep talking strange, together!

If you like what we do and are in a position to do so, you can help us to keep making content by supporting us through Patreon.

Our Patreon can be found at https://www.patreon.com/thefamiliarstrange

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Deanna Catto

Podcast edited by Deanna Catto and Matthew Phung

For the panel this week we welcome Luke Corbin from Myanmar Musings and Familiar Strange alumnus Jodie Lee Trembath!

Simon starts us off [1:31] by discussing his recent culture shock in moving to Germany from Australia. Simon thought that experiences with fieldwork and working with other cultures would have prepared him better for a rapid transition to another culture. The Strangers offered some other perspectives about culture shock and their own experiences. What about you? when you went over for fieldwork or even moving to another country, did you experience culture shock?

Jodie then poses a question to the rest of the strangers, “as an anthropologist, what is story to you?” This question stemmed from Jodie’s recent obsession with the book series The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb. The Strangers debated what even constitutes story and how different disciplines and cultures share knowledge. What do you think constitutes a story?

Next, Luke [11:58] discusses the fastest selling cologne in the Australian perfume industry and how smell and masculinity are related in Australian culture. It might surprise you what the cologne is and what it smells like! The Strangers offer some personal anecdotes about masculinity and how it has shifted over time. What do you think? What does masculinity smell like?

Finally, Alex [17:30] discusses the bureaucracy of play and games discussed by the late, David Graber’s in his book, The Utopia of Rules. Alex brings up how even a game based in imagination and role playing such as Dugenons and Dragons, there are still rules that people need to follow. To play, you have to participate in bureaucracy. This leads Alex to ask the question “Is imagination built on rules? Should we rethink conceptions of play?”

Head over to our website for a full list of links and citations!

This anthropology podcast is supported by the Australian Anthropological Society, the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific and College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Australian Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, and is produced in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association.

Music by Pete Dabro: dabro1.bandcamp.com

Shownotes by Matthew Phung

Podcast edited by Alex D’Aloia and Matthew Phung