Reification, fetishism, alienation, mastery, and control – these are some of the key concepts of modernity that have been battered and beaten by postmoderns and nonmoderns alike, with Bruno Latour, a nonmodern, discarding them most recently. Critical of this approach, which creates a rift between moderns and nonmoderns, the author engages in d…[Read more]

Sónia Silva is an Associate Professor of anthropology at Skidmore College. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Zambia, as well as museum work in Europe and the USA, Silva’s research deals with materiality, material religion, the notion of the fetish, ritual and religion, divination, witchcraft, violence, and museums. Silva is the author of Alon…[Read more]

Based on a case study, the paper analyses the possibilities of social media as a tool for science communication in the context of information and communication technology (ICT) usage in archaeology. Aside from discussing the characteristics of digital archaeology, the social networking sites (SNS) Twitter, Sketchfab, and ResearchGate are…[Read more]

Previous work on inter-ethnic coexistence in Mauritius has portrayed secularism as the only possible site of the national, which is at the same time described as clearly separated from religious traditions. In contrast, focusing on understandings of secularism among Mauritian Muslims in the context of a politics of diasporic ‘ancestral c…[Read more]

In its strategy of postcolonial nation-building with a highly diverse population Mauritius has opted for a multicultural highlighting of the differences in ethnicity and religion among its population. Akin to a mosaic, the Mauritian state officially recognizes the existence of several “ancestral cultures” of its citizenry, above all those of Ind…[Read more]

Die Tierphilosophie ist eines der lebendigsten Felder der Gegenwartsphilosophie. In ihrem Mittelpunkt standen bislang Fragen nach dem Geist der Tiere, der Tier-Mensch-Unterschied oder Probleme der Tierethik. Die auf drei Bände angelegte »Philosophie der Tierforschung« wirft einen neuen Blick auf dieses Gebiet mit dem Ziel einer strukturierten Un…[Read more]

Die Tierphilosophie ist eines der lebendigsten Felder der Gegenwartsphilosophie. In ihrem Mittelpunkt standen bislang Fragen nach dem Geist der Tiere, der Tier-Mensch-Unterschied oder Probleme der Tierethik. Die auf drei Bände angelegte »Philosophie der Tierforschung« wirft einen neuen Blick auf dieses Gebiet mit dem Ziel einer strukturierten Un…[Read more]

For decades researchers have been intrigued about the historical connections and parallels between the Caribbean and Indian Ocean worlds, in particular between the French Antilles and the Mascarenes. Linking the Caribbean with the Indian Ocean, a shared history of French colonial rule and settlement, slavery, plantation capitalism, together with…[Read more]

The scholarly treatment of linguistic ethnonationalism is intimately linked to the question of the origins of the nation. A main division in scholarship on nationalism, between those who conceive the nation as an entirely modern phenomenon and those who trace its roots further back in time, has also resulted in contrasting positions regarding the…[Read more]

Draft Version des Beitrags: In dem vorliegenden Artikel möchten wir der Frage nach den Möglichkeiten eines weiblichen bzw. feministischen Zugangs zu wissenschaftlicher Forschung in verschiedenen Hinsichten beleuchten. Wir werden uns dem Thema exemplarisch anhand des Forschungsfeldes der Primatologie zuwenden, wobei die Antwort auf die Frage, w…[Read more]

Filosofía del proyecto: http://www.cousateca.info

Esquemas para una visión de filosofía Cousateca según el modelo del prof. Remo Bodei en La vida de las cosas.

In this article I make a case for an analytic of atmospheres as a way to understand the seemingly ineffable yet powerful effects of vocal sound on listeners in an Islamic setting. Focusing on the recitation of devotional poetry in honor of the Prophet Muhammad among Mauritian Muslims, I seek to bring together neo-phenomenological approaches to…[Read more]

הדרת נשים מהמרחב הציבורי הדתי היא תופעה נרחבת ומוכרת. מתחילת שנות האלפיים אלפי נשים יהודיות, חילוניות, מסורתיות, דתיות וחרדיות, מרקעים סוציו־אקונומיים מגוונים, מתמודדות עם הדרה זו. הן יוצרות ומחדשות ריטואלים דתיים, וכך מפלסות מקום במרחב שהיה סגור בפניהן. השאלה הניצבת בבסיסו של מאמר זה היא מה הן האסטרטגיות שנשים משתמשות בהן כדי ליצור לעצמן ולחדש…[Read more]

מחקר זה מבקש לתאר ריטואלים הקשורים לאוכל שנשים יוצרות ומחדשות לעצמן. שאלת המחקר היא כיצד ומדוע נשים יוצרות ומחדשות ריטואלים. התשובה מבוססת על ניתוח דוגמאות של טקסים הקשורים באוכל שהתפתחו בישראל והתפשטו בקרב נשים יהודיות ברחבי אירופה וארה”ב מאז שנת 2000: “סעודות א ֵמנים” וטקסי הפרשת חלה ציבוריים. המתודולוגיה שננקטה היא איכותנית אתנוגרפית, ומבוס…[Read more]

New ritual practices performed by Jewish women can serve as test cases for an examination of the phenomenon of the creation of religious rituals by women. These food-related rituals, which have been termed ‘‘amen meals’’ were developed in Israel beginning in the year 2000 and subsequently spread to Jewish women in Europe and the United States.…[Read more]

This study shows how Old Order Amish and ultra-Orthodox women’s discourse about television can help develop a better understanding of the creation, construction, and strengthening of limits and boundaries separating enclave cultures from the world. Based on questionnaires containing both closed- and open-ended questions completed by 82 p…[Read more]

This study explores how women in two devout religious communities cope with the Internet and its apparent incompatibility with their communities’ values and practices. Questionnaires containing both closed and open-ended questions were completed by 82 participants, approximately half from each community. While their discourses included similar f…[Read more]

Users of contemporary media technology in religious settings often oscillate between immediacy in spiritual interaction and the increasing complexity and visibility of media technology as human artifacts. Drawing on approaches to mediation from philosophy and media theory, I examine Mauritian Muslims’ uses of sound reproduction in performing a d…[Read more]

This essay discusses anthropological approaches to the study of media interacting with contexts of ethnic and religious diversity. The main argument is that not only issues of access to and exclusion from public spheres are relevant for an understanding of media and pluralism. Background assumptions and ideologies about media technologies and…[Read more]