This is a small article about Gallaudet University, which is the world leader in schools for teaching deaf and hard of hearing students.

http://aaweb.gallaudet.edu/About.xml

The Connection of Sports

As I was cramming for finals I took note of the Trobriand Cricket movie we needed to watch and study for the final exam.  This video was full of information regarding the diffusion of sports between two different cultures.  It also got me thinking of a show that I love to watch (when its available) called "Dhani Tackles the Globe" on the Travel Channel.  I have watched this show for two seasons( not sure if there is going to be a third) because of the amazing stories, cultural explorations and respectful connections it displays. 
The premise of the show is that an american professional football player Dhani Jones,who plays for the Cinci Bengals, uses his off-season time to learn about compete in numerous international country's sport of choice. For instance, he took a week to prepare for English Rugby in the UK and though it is not far from football, he found it extremely difficult and challenging to make the transition.  The bowtie-sporting athlete Dhani also takes time from practice to immerse himself in the history, cuisine, and libations of the local culture and this is where the show becomes really interesting.  My favorite parts are when he finds time to break away from the sport practice and a local takes him around to sample local cuisine and drinks.  The destinations included in this series are incredible too.  Like any other Travel Channel show, you are given a visual journey to places like Croatia, South Africa, Jamaica (where he played cricket), France, and Australia.
This show really impressed me with the amount of acceptance and generosity of international countries.  It seemed that Dhani was sent to learn and compete in cultural events and his efforts were respected and reciprocated by others.  I really hope that students can find time to catch this program in the future.  I have already marked half of the places Dhani went to put on my list of PLACES TO TRAVEL. 
Cheers, Brian R

The Thrashing of Margaret Mead

I went to see Paul Shankman talk about his book "The Thrashing of Margaret Mead: Anatomy of a Controversy," at the beginning of the semester but had trouble registering to post about it.

He discussed his book and research into the controversy over Mead's work in Samoa and essentially weather the adolescent girls there lied to her or told the truth about their sexuality. The entire controversy hinges around a revisiting of her work and sources by Derek Freeman.

Shankman presented a dispassionate and panoramic view of the controversy. He compiled a lot of evidence that Freeman was full of shit and had an egotistical and or moral agenda to fulfill. Freeman's whole case hinged on one then elderly woman who he said was Mead's primary contact/source for her findings but this did not seem to be the case upon further inquiry and cast doubt on the credibility of Freeman's accusations. Shankman was able to show on the old analog projector a snide Christmas letter that read something to the effect of "...you are wrong and I dislike you.. merry Xmass" but written in a superficially pleasant/academic tone (its been a while so I can't remember it verbatim).

I think Shankman did his very best to give Freeman the benefit of the doubt... But Freeman reminded me of an internet troll you see on various forums online. He just wrote a lot of trollish letters and attacked the reputation of the defenseless dead instead.

Medical Anthropology and Manifestations of Sexuality

Studying medical anthropology in Chapter 14 I frequently thought of a particular movie that I saw awhile back. This film is called The Painted Veil, and it is primarily set it a 1920's Chinese village with a cholera outbreak. It is an interesting film in that it not only illustrates human behavior and customs in an unfamiliar place to most, but medical techniques of the times as well. Another film I watched recently made me think of a few chapters ago when we studied genders and sexuality. I was watching Titanic and couldn't help to notice the corseting of the rich, first class females. There is one scene in which the main female character, Rose, is being corseted up by her mother. It looks painful and after reading about it in the anthro book, I'm sure that it must have been. The other examples of women body exaggerations in the book also seem pretty crazy and ridiculous, such as the Chinese footbinding. Various cultures really do some interesting things when it comes to the emphasis of the woman form.

For my paper I wrote about Mayan dances and we did not have time to show videos. This link that I'm posting show the performance of the Jarana at the festival Vaquerias in Yucatán. The Vaquerías is a honor of the patron or patroness of the acienda or village. The festival is a party that lasts three days and four nights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNkuwHo4CPE&feature=related

My presentation on Tuesday was on the Kurdish culture and this webpage will give readers a lot more information that will help them better understand their culture. I focused on the Gender roles and division of labor for my section of the final project and I found that this article went into great detail about how women are struggling in all Kurdish cultures to have rights.


http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/12/18426957.php

Here is a lot more in-depth information about the how the Trobriand Islanders play cricket.

http://www.berkeleymedia.com/catalog/berkeleymedia/films/arts_humanities/trobriand_cricket_an_ingenious_response_to_colonialism