#anthrocentric

PETER;

Hi! You can call me Peter. I got my undergraduate degree in Anthropology from McGill University, where I focused on Critical Medical Anthropology, with a healthy dose of Culture Evolutionary Theory (don’t worry, not the horrible just-so stories from the 1970s! I subscribe very firmly to the truism that all models are wrong, but that some models are useful). I suppose that, for an Anthropologist, I tend to be a bit more science-y (or positivist, or whatever you want to call it) than average, but I can also be a crunchy postmodernist poststructuralist hippie with the best of them. Different situations require different strategies, and I’m proud to have been trained in the most Humanistic of the Sciences and the most Scientific of the Humanities.

After graduating, I worked for a year in the Midwestern United States at a domestic violence center. I then came back home to Canada for my Master’s in Social Work, which, if all goes according to plan, I will complete in the year 2016. I feel very strongly that Social Work is a great career path for people who love Anthropology, but are frustrated that Anthropologists don’t do enough to create change. Also for people who want to get paid and be able to eat. I’m white, cis male, straight, allosexual, anglophone, educated, and pretty tall, so, you know…I’m more or less playing life on easy mode. I do, however, have an anxiety disorder, and I identify as a person with a disability. If any of you out there are anxious people, let me reassure you: It doesn’t categorically prevent you from working in a terrifying high stress field (like victim services), and can even, at times, be a strength. Although, of course, your mileage may vary, because everyone is different (and that’s wonderful). I was also lucky enough to live in Japan for a year during University, and (according to my friends) “speak very good Japanese”. Any of you who have studied a second language will understand that I don’t feel like I speak good Japanese. I love talking about languages, language learning, and linguistics.  Other hobbies include flint knapping, video gaming, cooking, watching way to much television and wishing my apartment was big enough for a dog.

Cathryn;

Hi all! My name is Cathryn, I’m 20 years old and currently doing my undergrad in anthropology at the University of Auckland (New Zealand). Since it’s undergrad, I’ve done/I do a little bit of everything: social anth, linguistics, medical anth, primatology, archaeology, evolutionary/biological anth.. At the moment I'm doing papers in medical anth, primate conservation and ecology, human evo, as well as a cross-cultural comparison paper on oral narratives, literature, and folklore.

My main interest is in bioanth, and I think I'll be heading towards a bioanth/bioarch/osteology focus for postgrad - not that I'm really sure what I want to do with all of this afterwards, but we'll see. I enjoy learning, and I kind of just want to be a student forever. I’m into the whole biocultural approach, local biologies, human niche construction, ecological/evolutionary perspectives.. Things like that. Additionally, I have a particular interest in the discourses regarding race, ‘scientific racism’, speciation versus variability, as well as structural violence.

I am Eurasian, bisexual, and cis female. I am also a musician: classically trained in piano and violin, a musical theatre background in singing, and before I die I need to add the cello to the list. I love music, and miss it! So if I wasn’t doing anthropology, then that’s what I would be doing. Or physics. I’m big on video games, cartoons, fantasy, sci-fi.. And do a lot of cosplay, costuming, and prop-making because of it. Also because I love creating things and working with my hands in general.. sewing, painting, drawing, sculpting, etc! I like writing prose/poetry, and looking at myths and folklore - which is what I minor in alongside anthro (English/comparative literature). I've found the two disciplines to work really well together (with some surprise) - so far, one of my highlights was being able to write an anthropological perspective on the construction of race in Tolkien's works :')

Kris;

And I am Kris. For those who have followed this blog for a long time, you would all know me as Anthrocentric. I founded this blog originally as a space for me to gather resources and go over topics I recently learned. Over time, this page exploded and so did my interests. While this blog is primarily an anthropology blog, it has showcased psychology, medicine, neuroscience, biology, ecology, and other general sciences. I hope to continue to have this blog primarily post anthropological posts, but I will still post/reblog on other subjects and resources that I feel we could all benefit from. 

I am an anthropologist-in-training working on my MSc in primate behavior. I went to Emory University receiving a degree in Anthropology and Psychology, but I spent the majority of my time there behind a camera and editing footage ahaha. Regardless, I am interested in the interactions between nonhuman primates and humans and how they are so interrelated in the parasitological and behavioral level. My pursuits have led me to see that the very problems that are so impacting my beloved primates and their ecology are also harming the very people who come in contact with said primates. They are as helpless as these endangered primates and it is through no fault of their own, for they have no significant control over their own nation’s economy. I intend to use anthropology to study human and nonhuman primate behavior to help create a better environment for all involved currently and in future generations. 

Although I study primarily nonhuman primates, I am very much involved with social justice. My work will always be for the benefit for humans and future generations. I am a cis southeast asian woman. I identify as bi (pan wasn’t really widespread when I came out and I really love the bi community anyways), meaning I am attracted to people of the same and different genders (at different levels). Many of ya'll know that I lived in the southeast United States my whole life, well, now I live in the Pacific Northwest and it is weird ahaha. 

One super coolio fact about me: If I wasn’t such an anthro person, I’d be a film major. I love television; I have done everything from gaffing to art direction on film sets. I love writing scripts, sketching out storyboards, video editing, and graphic designing. Sometimes, I still consider getting into film instead of pursuing this graduate degree.