A Few Anthropological Ramblings...

[elleflies]

Little know fact: The United States Military has started employing Anthropologists to embed with the troops and accompany them in Iraq so as to help the troops better understand the culture they're interacting with and to hopefully cut down on altercations as a result of misunderstandings.

I heard about this... oh awhile ago now and thought it was a FANTASTIC idea.

I interact with the troops on a daily basis and most of them are very young, with only a high school education and for many their trip to the dust bowl of Iraq is their first time away from home. The only culture they've ever really known is their own, usually middle class upbringing. They don't think highly of the Iraqi's or the Iraqi culture. A popular refrain I've heard from them time and time again (including my own brother) is that "civilization may have started there but it sure as hell didn't keep going."

And I've heard the stories to back up that claim. I'm even guilty myself of not being overly fond of Middle Eastern culture, but I do try and understand and be respectful while I'm there even though it's not my cup of tea. Unlike the soldiers though, I'm not spending months at a time in a highly charged environment loaded down with weapons and making life or death choices.

Now back to the topic at hand: Anthropologists in the war zone. I think this is a damn good idea. I had no idea the academic community had publicly disavowed it and is treating the woman in charge as a bit of an anthropological outcast.

I minored in Anthropology, as I wanted to minor in something I loved and the impression I got from most of my classes was that Anthropology is about as Ivory Tower as you can possibly get. This inter-anthropological tiff isn't helping me change my mind much.

I like the idea of using Anthropology to help save lives and help other people open their minds to cultures and practices that aren't their own to help influence understanding and acceptance. I think it's a good idea for Anthropology to get out of the classroom and start finding ways to make itself useful in the real world (besides writing research papers about Coming of Age rituals amongst the Apache people of the Southwest. Granted, its interesting stuff, but without much real world value. And yes, I do own the book about it *g*)

Apparently, many Anthropologists don't see it that way.

Now, the reason for my little spiel is this article: Raised Eyebrows Over Keynote Choice

Be sure to read the comments, they're turning into an Anthropological war zone of their own. Highly entertaining stuff.

My impression of this article was that most Anthropologists would be happier if she followed the AAA party line, got out of the war zone, found a teaching job, applied for grants and wrote research papers about the rituals of remote tribes in god only knows where.

I know Anthropology values observation with limited exposure and I find that, generally speaking, a good thing. But in this case I think helping an invading party understand and work together with the local people to be a good that shouldn't be ignored. Someone in the comments brought up the point... imagine if the Spaniards had brought Anthropologists with them when they invaded South America? Who knows what would have happened and what parts of the destroyed cultures would have survived if someone was there to iron out the misunderstandings. If someone was there to observe and explain rather then shoot first and never question.

so yeah, I'm completely in favor of Anthropologists in Iraq helping and guiding the troops through the customs and rituals of Middle Eastern life. I think it's a good thing for the troops to understand a culture so completely different from their own and a good thing for Anthropologists to use their practice in a real world situation. I do realize that for Anthropologists these are ethical dilemma's, but I don't understand how saving both military lives and civilian lives can ever be a bad thing.

I just couldn't help ranting and raving as Anthropology and The Military are both topics close to my heart :)

Comments

[taboojo.livejournal.com]

I'm really not surprised that there's controversy surrounding Montgomery. I read some of her stuff in my Contact and Culture Change class last year (I've got my BA in anthro) and we had a whole day of discussion devoted to anthropology and the military. The main thing I remember is my classmates and I were fearful that the military wouldn't use anthropology correctly, but rather utilize anthropological methods to exploit different countries and cultures, and anthropologists who participated in such practices would be undermining the field's very foundation. But then again, they're gonna go out and conquer anyway (under the guise of "development" which is just another way of saying imperialism or colonialism), so if it can be done more "humanly" through anthropological tactics, shouldn't it? It's tough... I don't know if Boas would've wanted anthropology to be employed by the military.

[elrina753.livejournal.com]

I definitely get the controversy. I didn't want to really dive into it as I wasn't sure I could put my feelings on it into words, and I really didn't want to blunder through it without doing it justice. One of the articles I read about it awhile back touched on the subject and even though the Anthropologists are embedded with the troops, as civilians, I do think they should have the right to refuse to go along with something if they feel its wrong. I don't think they should be under the military's thumb, but I do think they'd be valuable in negotiating many grey areas that life seems to have, especially in a war where civilian lives are so at risk.

I guess, as someone who is close to this stuff, I'm in favor of using whatever we can to cut down on the loss of life - both military and civilian. I don't know how this would fit into undermining the foundations of anthropology, but I guess like all subjects it's an ethical question that will have to be wrestled with.

It would be safe and secure to stay in the Ivory Tower forever but I really do feel that Anthropologists could do some good over there. Even if they can't solve all the problems at the very least I would hope they'd open they eyes of the troops to being more culturally understanding and engender some interest in the subject (I'm getting a bit worn out hearing some of the slang words for the Iraqi's...). With this particular war and the way its being fought I think Anthropologists on the ground would be a vast help to both sides.

I also have the added kick in the butt of having family members in Iraq and that does tend to color my views of what I would do to ensure their safety.

[aesvir.livejournal.com]

I agree that academics need to get out of the ivory tower and do some good with their knowledge. Anthropologists who don't want to embed with the military should consider teaching courses to soldiers here or publishing readable materials (aka not journal articles). I can understand not wanting to go into a warzone or being afraid of exploitation, but they should find alternative ways to decrease cultural conflict. Sitting back and criticizing is easy--actually doing something is hard.

To be fair, my own minor was in East Asian studies, with the focus on 10th-12th century classical Chinese poetry. Which is pretty useless, since not even the Chinese read their own classics much any more.

[elrina753.livejournal.com]

The soldiers would benefit so much from having someone sit down with them and explain some of these things. Most of what they hear they get from the guys who've already been over there which is a somewhat (and more then somewhat) biased view. There are so many things the field could be doing that wouldn't hurt their integrity or ethics if that's a big issue for them. Sadly though, I'm betting it will just be more and more criticism.

I've actually gotten quite a bit of use out of my minor. I wasn't expecting to, but all this traveling around the world and having a bit of a background has helped. And yeah, I can see how East Asian studies might not be the most practical thing to have, but with minors I've always thought of them as something to enjoy and something to take your mind off of your major (which usually kicks your ass)

[veracity]

You know my view, but I'll put it out there for other people.

This fragile flower, delicate snowflake Ivory Tower attitude is horseshit. You can't expect to not face danger when you're a social science major. You can't. Sorry. It doesn't work that way. Otherwise, all their information will be at best second hand, and really, how reliable is that? Isn't it better to see for yourself? If you run scared from something that has to do with your degree, then go back to school and find one that comes with a security blanket.

Like I told you: if every scientist was afraid to do their job, we'd be scienceless - still thinking the world was flat and following the geocentric model. It's a lot like a marine biologist afraid to go in the water because of the very remote chance of dying like Steve Irwin. That afraid? Get out of the field. You're not going to help, only hinder.

And I pray not a one of those with their heads sky high up their butts are a social anthropologist.