‘Ordinary people’ and the problem of populism

In his blog series, anthropologist Paul Mepschen sets out to make sense of populism. Who is this ‘ordinary person’, so often mentioned in election coverage about populist leaders? Based on his dissertation Everyday autochthony (2016), this is part one.

Paul Mepschen • December 01, 2016 • 1 comment

Beyond 'Trump or Hillary': a travelogue

During a road trip across America in the summer of 2016, Janine Prins wondered how American citizens viewed their situation. Will the election outcome affect their daily life?

Janine Prins • November 08, 2016 • 3 comments

Ethnography and the work of the ancestors

Fieldwork makes one think again about one’s own society. This blog is about how fieldwork taught me what ancestors mean in South Africa and forced me to think again about attitudes to ancestors in Europe.

Erik Bähre • April 18, 2016 • 1 comment

Humour: a threat to society?

The more you think about humour, the more complex it becomes. Humour can be both insulting and complimentary, both escalating and de-escalating, both relaxed and tense. It exploits stereotypes and sweeps them aside. Is humour a potential threat to society?

Kim Molenaar • January 29, 2016 • 1 comment

Discrimination? Maybe not; Annoying? You bet!

The attacks in Paris made my heart go out to Dutch citizens with a Moroccan or Turkish ethnic background. What influence does all this have on them?

Marieke Slootman • December 15, 2015

When dreams shape our day

Dreams appear only to the individual, but seem to come from a source outside our social selves. Do we allow them to shape our days? Comparing Dutch and Kyrgyz social contexts, we understand how profoundly cultural these processes are.

Nienke van der Heide • April 15, 2015 • 2 comments

One of us: Tarik Z. and Conspiracy Culture

Should we view Tarik Z., who tried to hold the Dutch national television news hostage, as a would-be terrorist? To me, he represents something more humdrum, ordinary, and closer to home: latter-day conspiracy thinking.

Peter Pels • February 10, 2015

14.8%

Before the millenium the Netherlands had one of the lowest percentages of female full professors in the world. What has changed since then and what does it tell us about gender equality in academia?

Henrike Florusbosch • November 27, 2013 • 3 comments

Economy as pseudo-nature: what’s the problem?

Economists make a mistake when they make us belief that the economy is a natural force. Economy is not nature. There is no economy outside of human relations, except maybe for monkeys grooming each other. Economy is society and culture.

Erik Bähre • April 22, 2013

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