The connections between anthropologists, military counterinsurgency experts and intelligence agencies are multiplying and deepening. It is well known that anthropologists work for the military. But government agencies may be only the tip of the iceberg.…

A few weeks ago I wrote about the deepening connections between anthropologists, military and intelligence agencies. Yesterday, Fort Leavenworth (USA) conducted a roundtable discussion among anthropologists and military veterans who have experience in Ir…

One of the anthropologists who is working for the military has started blogging about his experiences with the U.S. Army. His name is Marcus Griffin, professor at Christopher Newport University, Virginia (USA). He now works at Ft. Hood, Texas, for the t…

A few days ago, the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) decided to oppose the embedding of anthropologists in military teams (HTS) in Iraq and Afghanistan. The use of anthropological knowledge in the U.S. military and the m…

(post in progress) The American Anthropological Association (AAA) sounds quite diplomatic in its final report on the growing ties between the military and anthropology. The report was released yesterday at the annual AAA meeting and says: There is no…

The U.S. military is not only interested in employing anthropologists. Now, they have started attending anthropology conferences. Anthropologist Caroline Osella from the University in London and one of the editors of Social Mobility In Kerala, is worried…

The debate on anthropology and the military is extremly polarized. Mats Utas, Head of the Africa Programme at the Swedish National Defence College, has written an interesting article where he challenges both sides. Among other things, he shows that there…

The website of The Association of Feminist Anthropology is another place to look for anthropology books and ethnographies. One of the books reviewed is written by folklorist Carol Burke "Camp All-American, Hanoi Jane, and the High-And-Tight: Gender…

Approximately half of all anthropologists in the United States contributed their expertise to the World War II effort. In his new book Anthropological Intelligence: The Deployment and Neglect of American Anthropology in the Second World War, anthropologi…

Their first set of conference podcasts in 2007 was a huge success. Now, Jen Cardew and her team published a large number of new recordings from the 2009 conference of the Society of Applied Anthropology. It seems to have a been an interesting conferen…

Dear Lorenz, I also had a quick look at the weblog and find it very interesting. I don’t share your opinion that its purpose is advertising the US Army, at least not after a first quick look. You explain the conclusion ("it seems that his job is…

A first quick look produces this: 1 The author offers a big deal of reflexion. He makes clear, waht his views are, his opinion is and how his perspective is. 2 It is absolutely clear, that this is a blog, a kind of journalism, and therefore biased by…

I cant help but wonder if most of the speakers of the “military” panel really understand the concerns and criticism of the AAA’s ethics board and the Network of Concerned Anthropologists (amongst other critics of HTS and HTT). Even if…

Hi, Ive just seen that there are more interesting podcasts concerning the topic of anthropology& military: “Scholars, Security and Citizenship, Part I & II (SAR Plenary)", including speakers Laura McNamara, David Price, Maren Tomforde…

Call you call it prostitution if anthropologists work for the military? Opinions are divided on this issue. As a pacifist, my answer is obvious. Others will stress that they've done their job as an anthropologist if they have succeeded in teaching soldie…

Another article about military anthropologists: The Christian Science Monitor writes about anthropologist "Tracy" who helps the US Army in their war against Afghanistan. Tracy "can give only her first name" to the journalist: Evidence of how far the…

Burma's protesters may have been silenced, but we must continue to support them, writes Brendan Barber in The Guardian. But maybe we should not focus too much upon the courage of the monks. Muslims in Burma are persecuted, not only by the military, even…

News of anthropologists in the US. military starts circulating on one of the largest Muslim websites, Culture Matters reports. Anthropologist Donald Abdallah Cole says to IslamOnline.net that "Arabs and Muslims should be wary of western anthropologists"…

(Photo: Dean Terry, flickr, from the film Subdivided, see below) The annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association received more media attention than usual. One important topic was the relationship between anthropology and the military as…

The collaboration between the U.S. military and anthropologists has been criticized for both political and ethical reasons. According to a recent article in Newsweek, the whole project could end as a fiasco: The implementation of the $40 million project…