Space for Anthropology: the new Star Trek movie

I have no qualms in stating that I love Star Trek. I’m a fan of rambling summer blockbusters generally, but Star Trek–Star Trek is a whole universe. And my favorite thing about the Star Trek universe is that it is founded on an idea of learning.  More than that: Starfleet, at the heart of Star … Continue reading »

Merry Widows and Gay Divorcees: Gender & Power in Marriage Narratives

After reading my friend & colleague Dr Jem Bloomfield’s post on Twelfth Night and “Mapp and Lucia”, which focused on the discomforts caused by sexual tension (or imagined sexual tension) between sets of people in social power relationships of inequality, I had some follow-up thoughts.  For Jem, the focus of these two narratives on “the … Continue reading »

Walking the Bounds

When I was young, we were forced to read Ethan Frome for school.  I found this novel utterly infuriating because one of the major themes is that the titular character leads a depressed, reduced life because he’d “seen too many New England winters.”  Now, New England winters are tough, but they don’t KILL people.  Okay, … Continue reading »

Boston: You’re My Home

Monday there were two explosions close to the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  At the time I started to put my thoughts down on paper, Boston was in the process of evacuating as the authorities hunted for more suspicious devices. Boston is the city of my birth.  Though not truly my hometown–Gloucester, a coastal … Continue reading »

Doing the Robot: Dancing with Xbox

So last night I went around to my friends’ house and we all played this game I’m pretty sure is called ‘Xbox Dance Like That Uncle at the Wedding’.  Now, I always score really low at XDLTUW, which usually elicits extra laughter because I have a PhD in that sort of thing.  And I might … Continue reading »

Shake It Up

In the past few days I’ve been noticing more and more stories about the sudden emergence of the ‘Harlem Shake’ as a protest movement (in the most literal sense) across the Middle East.  The Verge has a particularly good analytical piece on its development. Much commentary focuses on the bizarre or trivial nature of choosing … Continue reading »

Così fan tutte: They’re (Operas) All Like That?

I recently had the chance to see the English Touring Opera’s dress rehearsal of Così fan tutte at the Hackney Empire. It’s a very exciting thing to walk into a working theatre for a rehearsal: for me there is a very strong sense of having crept into a secret world of esoteric delights.  I haven’t … Continue reading »