Social Science

Most of us have repeatedly heard, read or encountered someone else who has, of the Mayan Doomsday Prophesy for 2012.  Fewer have probably heard of the legend of the Crystal Skulls. The last days of the ancient Mayan calendar occur…
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Dolphins are smart. They’re second to humans where intelligence is concerned, scientists believe. Their brains are large and are comparable-at least functioning in the more primal aspects the same way human brains work- to that of humans. Scientists have observed…
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Language is perhaps the most important agent of culture.  In 1915, Franz Kafka published the following:  Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.  This first line from…
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Anthropology examines human behavior with particular consideration given to “how” and “why” people act in certain ways. It tracks history and tries to put science and theory together to solve an intricate puzzle. What was it about particular times and…
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As our hero is manhandled into the headquarters of the sinister organization he’s been investigating, he finally comes face-to-face with Mr. Big who is – wait for it – the trusted government official who was his friend and mentor. Conspiracy…
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“Social movements, it is argued,emerge out of the crisis of modernity; they orient themselves towards the constitution of new orders, and embody a new understanding of politics and social life itself. They result in the formation of novel collective identities…
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The history and practice of anthropomancy Anthropomancy is the practice of divination by examining the entrails of a person during sacrifice. Anthropomancy is also believed to be performed on younger kids or virgins fundamentally.  Those who practice anthropomancy are called…
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Ruth Benedict carried her ideas of what constituted the Dionysian and the Apollonian duality throughout her life. This theory which she used in regard to the culture and personality of the Hopi Indians and appears in her famous book, Patterns…
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Political anthropology is the study of politics all the way from a stateless society to complex bureaucracies. It is a very similar discipline to Political sociology, but differentiated in terms of what relations they study. Political anthropology studies the politics associated…
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About fifty years ago, I was recuperating from an insignifcant illness, and very restless in my Chicago apartment bed. Reading the Wall-Street Journal, I came upon a small ad: HUGE LANDSITES FOR SALE IN BRAZIL. I phoned the given number,…
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