Author Archives: Eric Williams

Through interviews, participant-observation, photography, and archaeology, De León sheds light on the lived experience of migrants traversing the Sonoran desert. Their first hand accounts reveal the disturbing reality of Prevention Through Deterrence and the hybrid collectif. In chapter 7, De … Continue reading →

I was intrigued by Lara’s inclusion of Frantz Fanon’s definition of decolonization. Fanon describes decolonization as, “quite simply, the substitution of one ‘species’ of mankind by another. The substitution is unconditional, absolute, total, and seamless” (2). It is also a … Continue reading →

After reading Garcia’s ethnography, I’m most interested in her pastoral framework and how it contextualizes heroin use in New Mexico’s Española Valley. Rather than using an isolationist approach that confines personal histories of addiction to an individual’s psychology, the pastoral … Continue reading →

Dixon’s ethnography on professional midwives in Mexico presents alternative ways of understanding global health. In the introduction, Dixon notes how global health is “a concept, a network, a field of view that determines the stakes and sets the course of … Continue reading →

I’m most interested in Shange’s thoughts on neoliberalism and carceral progressivism, I believe they can be complemented well by French marxist philosopher Guy Debord’s concept of recuperation. Shange discusses how liberal logics inform the aims of progressivism to uphold democracy … Continue reading →

Thomas’ utilization of reparations as a framework for research serves to further dismantle the persistent manifestations of biological determinism. It’s clear that her ethnographic work aims to dispel the belief that Jamaican culture is the core reason for these postcolonial … Continue reading →

I appreciate how Murchison’s approach to outlining research topics and design comes to terms with the exploitative nature of past ethnographic studies. She puts emphasis on obtaining the perspectives of informants, their emic perspectives, and aligns with the theoretical position … Continue reading →

I find Tsing’s perspectives on the precarity of our modern ecological situation as a result of humanity’s desire for progress to be illuminating. I’m interested in the potential avenues for debate on the topic as the various visions of our … Continue reading →