lecture is over for the term
two days of presentations next week.
teacher is using funny language.
unprofessional cursing, slurs against women, overweight, anorexia, bulimia, christians.
the opposite of culturally sensitive.
agressive tone.  destroying the learning atmosphere.

it makes me uncomfortable.
as the learning curve hits a plateau . . . i realize i find a lot of what gets lumped under the term "anthropology" interesting, especially the attempted non-racist anthropologies.  but the academic bickering tiresome and the exoticizing of other cultures i see to be ethically fraught.  the thin veneer of non-racism to me barely conceals an academic affluent narcissism, which can whitewash the present and the past, and essentialize the other, in a myth of identity.
in the following excerpts, i find interesting the word "disentangle." so telling.  as anthropology seeks to disentangle itself from  . . .
i wonder they could not find a better word.
i think the word anthropology is too poisoned as i read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_anthropology

i think of ethnology and ethnography as archaic words, which no longer sound fair.  they sound tyrannical, and eurocentric, exoticizing otherness.
i am terrified if i mention the word anthropology, my truly educated friends might associate me with anthropology's racist past.  i am sorry it has taken me this long (january to may) to figure this out.  how embarrassing!

using any of these ethno-words also makes me uncomfortable.  i do not like the divisiveness, the essentializing.

if my teacher were not so seething with so much hostility, i might get a better impression.  but know i think anthropology needs a new name and a new mission and to divorce itself from its scary past.

why terms anthropology and ethnography creep me out:

from
http://science.jrank.org/pages/7673/Ethnicity-Race-in-Anthropology.html

Such a nuanced view of ethnicity has not always been the norm in anthropology or in

social science. A central story of ethnicity in anthropology is its labored disentanglement from now discredited biological and evolutionary notions of "race," ideas that continue to contribute to the general public's conceptualization of the "ethnic" as a physically distinct type of person.

In the mid-nineteenth century the terms ethnic and racial first came into common use, employed by pre-and post-Darwinian scientists, and later anthropologists, to construct human racial and cultural taxonomies. As the social corollary of race, "ethnic" (ethnicity as a unique term does not emerge in the United States until the 1950s) initially served to reinscribe physical notions of racial, and in some cases national, identity onto groups of people often naively assumed to have a shared cultural, historical, or even evolutionary past. 

Likewise, until ethnicity's emergence in the 1960s and 1970s as a term describing more fluid social processes of identity formation, social scientists used ethnic to describe a natural or fixed category of person. In the United States, especially during the intense debate over Eastern European and Mediterranean immigration in the early portion of the twentieth century, an "ethnic" was a person of a marked, lower, category, opposed to a bourgeois white identity. Ethnics, in this context, became lower-class whites, Jews, and nonwhite, colonized, or indigenous peoples.

Such a nuanced view of ethnicity has not always been the norm in anthropology or insocial science. A central story of ethnicity in anthropology is its labored disentanglement from now discredited biological and evolution

...greater anthropological use of the term ethnic group coincided with a general repudiation of biological determinism and racism within the social sciences as a whole, as well as with a particularly anthropological recognition of the emergence of anticolonial nationalism outside the First World. Specifically, anthropologists replaced tribe or tribalism with ethnic group, especially when describing African migrants to colonial urban centers. Still, all these early uses of the term ethnic in anthropology imply a bounded set of cultural traits, historical commonalities, or mental similarities between people of the same ethnic group, even if they later became delinked from physical or racial characteristics.

Read more: Ethnicity and Race in Anthropology - Franz Boas, Ethnicity, And Contemporary Physical Anthropology: Continuing Tensions, Cultural Fundamentalism And Instrumental Ethnicities http://science.jrank.org/pages/7673/Ethnicity-Race-in-Anthropology.html#ixzz0ol6Q2Ej3

to broadcast or not to broadcast . . .

see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act
of watergate era situations . . .

and recall that ezra pound, anti-semitic poet, spent years in an asylum for treasonous broadcasting.

i argue that the digital age gives a heightened level of free speech to those who seek it . . .
nut that nonetheless the utilization of it to harass or abuse is disgusting .. . .

as for fearlessness . . .
and activism for those disenfranchised by blindness and dyslexia and geography and economics . . .

i wrote this letter two months ago in a fit of optimism about technology and LACC and disabled student outreach and accessibility activism.
the idea was to record and broadcast classes for alternative learning strategies.
i refer to the american foundation for the blind endorsement of the google books project for text to speech and braille reader access.

i wrote the founders of bambuser to thank them for their hard work and to let them know that our economically challenged school really appreciates the free technology!

susan matranga was initially supportive, but then backed off and told me not to write her.
eckford also told me he had no time.
kendell told me he had no time.
somebody should care about tech.  its 2010, right?
hello? LACC?

my 2-18-10 letter:

thank you for all your hard work and for inspiring your students---i don't know if you understand the magnitude of our thankfulness--

please only read this if you are not tired overwhelmed

i meant to write you b4 about it---

but now i can---

now if or if not it transpires

nonetheless i think it would be a great idea

to at least audio document lecture and load onto a free mp3 sharing portal

(with yr participation, and not covertly)

the trend with all the best schools is this digitization---and democratization of what would be a very pricey experience--

so i can hear anthropology from oxford, or listen to stanford law, yale law,science everything, climate change, even conservative think tanks, on Itunes U.

whatever you may think of Apples hegemonic dominance strategies---it holds amazing potential cognitive wealth for educationally disenfranchised persons.

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes_u/

also--and sublimely attractive is live streaming tech---which if the wifi is strong enough, an excellent easy stream can go thru a laptop with cam----

i have watched tech lectures in swedish from this amazing swedish start-up bambuser

the idea being free info to anyone internationally---

super easy to start a channel and the embed code could go in the anthro club blog.

or we could do the same with club---

even if no one caught on initially---the connectivity---or utilization as a study tool could really help people with bad eyes, attention issues etc

it would help to bring LACC up to date tech wise and reach into the ether realm---pertaining to eco crises, literacy--

http://bambuser.com/

now if all this remains conceptual as far as your personal involvement---i completely respect this, and perhaps share your concerns regarding image, ubiquity, and even the legal or professional implications.

one need not necessarily participate in an OPEN DATA movement to become aware of its potential---and web traces can be annoying to erase . . .

the audio file format may be an amazing compromise especially given the fact of some kinds of learning "disabilities" which preference audio versus literary communique.

for instance, my best friend with dyslexia would love your lecture if it were as easy as sending a link.

or my mother in oregon would love it too.

i am extremely inspired by a lecture on itunes U from new york law discussing implications for the google books settlement in terms of using text to speech recognitions and braille reader accessibility for the blind---in the sense that the google books settlement--- which is an overt disruption of copyright norms---or intellectual property interests---

defeats academic elitism---

as a former victim of overpriced edu---this i think, is such a wonderful trend---

and most importantly, the dearth of quality intellectual experience is such that i feel that we---your students---are absolutely starving for this information----

and to share it one day, or maybe now---might be a profound gift, or sacrifice---with humanitarian aim---not to be overly utopic---

and as the preference is yours

i just thought it might be at least flattering to run it by you

and it would be as easy as a laptop running a silent audio recorder---or all the latest ipods have this feature now too---

but then again a unique experience might be better with less tech---

well thanks again, and syllabus please?

thanks for letting me in the class

mary eng

this is my letter to bartelt, attempting to enlist his support on 2-25-10:

http://bambuser.com/channel/anthropologylacc/broadcast/585577

don't bother reading unless you want to---merely more polemic!

if it helps too, i might take a minute in class to elaborate on a legal basis for it, the benefits of the experiment, the company and alternatives, and inform students:there must be consent in a sense.also re: not cutting it for the film, its rather unlikely the MPAA will come after me or LACC re:copyright----but this law is being rewritten and unwritten as we speak and digital anarchists have the social good of literacy and communication at heart.

another student and i were talking about a proposal for a real IP law class or series for all the creatives---the deficiency of modernity is glaring . . .

prof at google books hearings said smthg quite poignant re: copyright in EU being natural rts theory, and in US actually being social good theory based---and so here it will evolve

actually the director of OSS (for:blind, dyslex etc) is quite interested---and i spoke to eckford and guerrero who were warm and want to stay informed of our progress, perhaps meet. they enjoy itunes U and tried to start something similar a while back.

the new tech just makes it way too easy!

i wish i had the same for some of my old profs----!  i am literally begging old friends to utilize the tech to provide readings or discussion groups---challenging content and information---i would love to hear them read their papers or speak outside of the predictable.

edu a right not a privelege in sweden---and the copyriot movement in force

susan b. matranga  at office of special services (re:disabilities)

is happy about the idea for it

and possible expansions

they used to have a budget for student notetakers for the blind etc but now nothing----

the digital options now are beautiful in terms of audio archive etc mp3s

and the cloud

i was thinking of a site eventually that could link to future multimedia

or the blog embed

and make a new interp of ADA

a more radical equality

bambuser is a pretty cool company 

with wifi expansion this could be in many classes theoretically

i ran around sniffing info on who would be interested in helping

one fellow ESL's evan kendall said "i don't know why you care, usually only people care if they have smthng at stake."

i replied---cognition communication technology learning.   by something i think he meant money, not cognitive wealth or communication.

its very international---and really quite normal all of the sudden.

bambuser was utilized during the pirate bay trial for commentary for the IFPI's prosecution last feb.

itunes university has a lot of functionality but would require more IT plus i like free open style better.

plus funny also USC film school fighting copyright for film editing classes---where what is possible now in a classroom has not relevance to the old laws

here is from the google books hearing

http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/22/transcript-to-thursdays-fairness-hearing-in-google-book-search-case-now-online/

from

MR. MTIMA: May it please the Court. I'm Lateef

 Mtima. I'm the director of the Institute for Intellectual

 Property and Social Justice. I'm also a professor of law at

 the Howard University School of Law. I'd like to thank the

 Court for this opportunity to address

Finally, however, it is the fact that

 many governmental and even scholarly institutions have been

 slow to recognize the digital divide as a problem of copyright

 social utility that brings us to where we are today. Now that

 the meaningful mechanism for bridging this divide has been

 presented to the private sector, further delay is unfair to the

 digitally disenfranchised who have been overlooked for almost a

 quarter of a century.

 Now we recognize that the proposed settlement will not

 cure all of the deficiencies of the digital divide, but to

 those who say that this will provide only trivial improvement,

 we humbly suggest that they may be unfamiliar with what the

 disenfranchised can do with only a little

BROADCASTS BLOCKED
INTERNET DOWN IN THE OLD LIFE SCIENCE BUILDING

lead counter is a proposition 65

environmental violation

5-6-10

Medical anthropology

bring a guest as a part of presentation!!!!

presentation now optional!!!!

blogging not recommended as field notebook for privacy and rapport reasons.

anthro is being chased out of anthropology

and replaced by critical theory

cultural geography

past

eugenics

colonialism

militarism

department of defense supported anthropology

or CIA

how can modern anthropology distinguish itself from its colonialist past?????

when I asked whether or not the implicit gender bias of “anthro” pology is ever questioned, teacher cleverly tried to point towards the distinction between

anthropos---which he asserts is gender neutral yes

Greek anthrōpos ‘human being.’

and andros---which is male

in distinction

andro- (usu. andr- before a vowel)

combining form

man (as opposed to woman) : androcentric | androgenize.

I think my point resides in the phoeneme, in a linguistic sense of original root “sounds,” a point too subtle for this class

book:

spirit catch me and I fall down

how can the modern anthropologist repair the damage to anthropology done by

qualitative

social circumstances

standard biomedical concepts.

Class cannot be broadcast anymore.

I requested again today.

The lecture is quite good and dense.

I cannot type fast enough.

Quite impressed that teacher is now blocking his internet to deter us from broadcasting lecture, blogging the notes, or looking things up like the

books:

the serpent and the rainbow

the spirit catches me and I fall down

or a more complicated history of the andro/anthro phoeneme split

I realized that the 4-16-10 lecture was indeed quite good as I listened to it last night on bambuser.com

the linguistic gripe with “show your tits” does not nullify the fact that the lecture was quite dense and articulate.

If a dialogue were permitted regarding language, then anger would need not affect the IT options for students.

Language imperialism forces one language on a people, and tells them they cannot speak a certain way.

Because I request more respect for women and have been told “you have no case” now the students and public are deprived of brian bartelt's great lecture.

I hope he tightens up his act, and gets to a university that forces him to be tech-friendly, like stanford.

It would be mandatory itunes university lectures.

I don't think he could get by with cursing and saying “tits and ass,” but once this part is deleted the overall content is quite good.

Biochemical effects on mind/body

as with verbal abuse

methodologies

elizabeth said the “silent scream” day was unnecessary.

Teacher walked out of class to vent his fury in a silent scream.

It was I think bc a student was late.

I thought it was funny, bc I don't get angry so easily, and don't understand people who do.

It seemed very dramatic.

I thought it was funny and I made a little video immediately afterward.

It is on youtube.

Camaroon healing

70% effective

bigtime cultural relativism

wonder about PTSD

a better way to describe PTSD

the impasse

possession

reflexology

adversarial distinction btw conventional and traditional medicine

does away with

and does away with artificial adversarial distinction

1. homeostatic

2. treatment healing

3. mind-body system

4. spiritual healing

insular dwarfism

insular

treatment healing

mind/body system

darwinian medicine

proximate v. evolutionary

spiritual healing v. evolutionary

internal equilibrium maintained by internal processes

healers look at bloodwork too bc they want to see the

biomedical . . . too

anthropo: outside the box???

via scott clapson . . .

bb: conspiratorial

“right-wing nutjobs” would love a video of teach he guesses

I say that is why it is

fearless

its not the fifties anymore

re: videos

homeostasis |ˌhōmēəˈstāsis|

noun ( pl. -ses |-sēz|)

the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, esp. as maintained by physiological processes.

allopathy |əˈläpəθē|

noun

the treatment of disease by conventional means, i.e., with drugs having opposite effects to the symptoms. Often contrasted with homeopathy .

After an hour in the classroom

I can smell the smog intensify

not sure if it is the AC or the bad air from outside now smelling ultra-petrofuely

why morning clarity is so precious, before the smog takes off in los angeles

bless the night, a time when traffic, and smog subsides

Point contra bashing biomed

Darwinian medicine

looks at adaptive significance of disease

natural selection

disease cravings

for fat

heart attacks

nephew lizard hunt story

re growing back tail

not finger

put stem cell researchers out of work

exquisite

fever kills pathogens

do not take fever medicine

it will kill the bugs

do not try this with a young child.

Reminds me of the vegan parents who were serving

iron deficiency

protects against infection

appetite loss

prescribe iron

you get more sick

bacteria feed off iron

brain produces chem reducing reduces iron

iron suplementation will increase illness

70% doctors do not know this 2005

so the stereotype

arcane:

bloodletting

actually had a good effect

morning sickness protects the fetus

in the sixties morning sickness medication would promote deformities

body rejects food to protect fetus

double rate miscarriage

birth defects

biomedicine does have its limits

standing birth

birth no drugs

cold steel surgical room

C-section

infant mortality

high due to prenatal care

overstandardization

chemotherapy

what was the alternative radon . . .

so the cultural sensitivity or linguistic "know how" is what teaching is all about eh?
a few ideas from the student perspective:

#1 don't get school sued
#2 don't get fired
#3 don't get kids blogging things on ratemyprofesors.com etc.
#4 don't get recorded saying stupid things
#5 don't write creepy emails to students defining/defending the word "tit"

in view of the chicken disembowelment video we watched tuesday 5-4-10, is it possible to support animal cruelty, but not equality for women?

and if so . . .
well actually i think he is trying to be nicer to olivia since i wrote this letter.
sadly rick ayala missed the "tits and ass" outburst.   so did elizabeth, who thinks the class should be more "Socratic," by that meaning with more dialogue and less dogmatism.

that i agree with a lot of the content, doesn't make the dogmatic style less noteworthy.
but of course i don't support animal cruelty or verbal harassment of women on campus, or in their email box for that matter.

found the old library dictionary to cite the word tits as "usually considered vulgar."
and by vulgar, i think vulgate, as in the language of the people, common, unrefined.
it is not such an offensive thing to call it vulgar.
and by antiquated, i meant coming from a time and place where it was socially acceptable to speak of women as material things.

the men of the future will respect women very much and value their ideas.
if they complain about vulgar epithets, they will not be told, "you have no case."
the men of the future will be profoundly respectful to women, possibly even to animals and the earth.
and possibly to themselves.

to defend animal cruelty, by implying that critiquing it risks racism, or calling africa "primitive" glosses over . . .
he was less dismissive of olivia when she brought up hervegan perspective.
but he did seem to try to lump her into this "belief system" subculture, with this, but you are a vegan, and believe blahblahblah.
it is often about tone.
then seamus speaks and his tone improves.
he says, "how astute."
i speak and he says, "let's not wig anyone out" and "you have no case."
hmmm.

when someone told me class made him uncomfortable, i told him teach is in pain.
that is why he is sharing his chicken torture videos with us.

in the documentary where they throw a live chicken into the fire, it was odd to notice how teacher smiled, as everyone winced.

as though he enjoyed freaking us out with the cruelty.

so we all have our fetishes, eh . . .
cancer anyone???? in cooked meat????
yum.

here is a little chemistry lesson for those of you that still eat meat apropos what bartelt termed "cowschwitz," i.e. american factory farming:

Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats Research has shown that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not present in uncooked meats. A few of these chemicals may increase cancer risk. For example, heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl, and fish. HCAs form when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and creatine (a chemical found in muscles) react at high cooking temperatures. Researchers have identified 17 different HCAs resulting from the cooking of muscle meats that may pose human cancer risk. Research conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as well as by Japanese and European scientists indicates that heterocyclic amines are created within muscle meats during most types of high temperature cooking. Recent studies have further evaluated the relationship associated with methods of cooking meat and the development of specific types of cancer. One study conducted by researchers from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics found a link between individuals with stomach cancer and the consumption of cooked meats. The researchers assessed the diets and cooking habits of 176 people diagnosed with stomach cancer and 503 people without cancer. The researchers found that those who ate their beef medium-well or well-done had more than three times the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate their beef rare or medium-rare. They also found that people who ate beef four or more times a week had more than twice the risk of stomach cancer than those consuming beef less frequently. Additional studies have shown that an increased risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and breastcancer is associated with high intakes of well-done, fried, or barbequed meats. Four factors influence HCA formation: type of food, cooking method, temperature, and time. HCAs are found in cooked muscle meats; other sources of protein (milk, eggs, tofu, and organ meats such as liver) have very little or no HCA content naturally or when cooked. Temperature is the most important factor in the formation of HCAs. Frying, broiling, and barbecuing produce the largest amounts of HCAs because the meats are cooked at very high temperatures. One study conducted by researchers showed a threefold increase in the content of HCAs when the cooking temperature was increased from 200° to 250°C (392° to 482°F). Oven roasting and baking are done at lower temperatures, so lower levels of HCAs are likely to form, however, gravy made from meat drippings does contain substantial amounts of HCAs. Stewing, boiling, or poaching are done at or below 100°C (212°F); cooking at this low temperature creates negligible amounts of the chemicals. Foods cooked a long time (“well-done” instead of “medium”) by other methods will also form slightly more of the chemicals. Meats that are partially cooked in the microwave oven before cooking by other methods also have lower levels of HCAs. Studies have shown that microwaving meat prior to cooking helps to decrease mutagens by removing the precursors. Meats that were microwaved for 2 minutes prior to cooking had a 90-percent decrease in HCA content. In addition, if the liquid that forms during microwaving is poured off before further cooking, the final quantity of HCAs is reduced. One study has evaluated the content of HCAs in fast food restaurants. After evaluating five kinds of meat products from various fast food restaurant chains, the study concluded that there were low levels of HCAs found in fast food meat products due to factors such as cooking temperature and time. The study suggested that greater exposure to HCAs stems from home cooking and cooking in non-fast-food restaurants where food may be cooked to order and where a larger amount of meat is consumed. Studies are being conducted to assess the amount of HCAs in the average American diet, but at present the maximum daily intake of HCAs in food has not been established. At the moment, no Federal agency monitors the HCA content of cooked meats (how much a person could be eating), there is no good measure of how much HCAs would have to be eaten to increase cancer risk, and there are no guidelines concerning consumption of foods with HCAs. Further research is needed before such recommendations can be made. However, concerned individuals can reduce their exposure to HCAs by varying methods of cooking meats; microwaving meats more often, especially before frying, broiling, or barbecuing; and refraining from making gravy from meat drippings.

this was from a letter to bartelt 4-23-10:

you should take yr job seriously bc you are great and you should take women seriously too, and not be mean to them when they speak up in class.  i mean olivia too should be treated with respect.

you should be a fighter for women bc we need people like you

my own little world view has a lot of love for ahimsa

and when negative words are uttered it does violence on par with real violence

women should not be reduced to material utilitarian things---not even as a joke of solidarity with the heteronormative world

or judged for their lack of femininity or phenotype.

its unfair.

and heterosexist normatization of the class isn't fair too.

you dont know who has run in with homophobia all their life and then they are supposed to be lumped into "real woman" or "real man"

i dont believe in any of this

or asked what women want in a man,as you asked a gal in bio this, i was a bit shocked at the presumptuousness.

if you asked me you might have got an earful.

nobody should be hit over the head with their paper, as well, even as a joke.  he looked so submissive and dismayed.  it was after midterm.

i know they are working you too much.  i'm so sorry.

but it would be better to call off class than say messed up stuff.

that's not funny.

it could hurt someone.

no more broadcasts y'all due to the fact that i asked for more respectful terminology regarding the female anatomy!!!!

evidently . . . nothing is too evident actually.
my class time anxiety has simmered down, and teach seems to be trying to be nicer.

so voila!

ah well!
this email is a koan inside of a riddle inside of a blog so you see . . .
a few classmates have discussed whether women are treated fairly in class.
one guy said that when Dr. says things abrasive about women, the girls in the class look down or away.
another girl said she tries not to make a comment, bc she doesn't want to be put down.
anyway,  who has this much energy to have opinions and words anymore?

as with all learning curves, the plateaus can be a drag . . .
in defense i don't believe i called teach a fascist, but said the tone can be fascistic, which is quite a lot better i think.
i think all of us if we are lucky to be passionate about something etc might be a bit overbearing at times . . . .


Fri, April 16, 2010 12:53:04 PM

RE: the t&a video response
Mary,

With all due respect, you are completely out of line.  In no way can my class be described as "vulgar and antiquated."  I take offense at this gross misrepresentation.  Before you levy such a charge against me, I strongly suggest you think hard about what you are saying.  You will see that you have no case.

I take pedagogy seriously.  I take accusations like this seriously.  In no way do i think this a laughing matter.

Finally, before you make a mountain out of a mole-hill, perhaps you need to revisit the entomology of the word "tit."  It derives from teat, meaning nipple, and can be pronounced as tit or teet.  Both men and women have them, as do the cows on the farm on which I grew up.

I also do not appreciate your calling me a fascist.  These are serious charges/accusations and I will not stand by and let a student throw such accusations my way - especially when they are completely unwarranted.  I always welcome questions and discussion.  In fact, I go out of my way to facilitate that.

I tried to accommodate you and your desire to video my lectures.  However, these base-less accusations have left me with no choice but to forbid all filming and taping of my lectures, as my academic freedom is now at stake.  I will make a formal announcement in class next week.

-Dr. Bartelt