AnthroPerspectives has been a long time coming. With a lifelong connection to reading and writing, my relationship to the human story has always felt like a part of me. During my childhood, I was an avid reader. Book after book, I delved into the lives of young girls from around the world who were experiencing such different realities, cultures and experiences. I was always infatuated by the individual’s story, and have not gone through a phase in my life where I wasn’t using writing as a tool for reflection, imagination or understanding. The seeds of this blog were planted even…
Tag: community
Examining Social Justice Part 1: A Road Map to Understanding
Tensions exist around issues of social import. If we are incapable of defining what it is that we are actually fighting for, we will be unable to engage one another constructively on topics that shape our world.” Social justice is a controversial topic whose definition and importance are often contested. There are those who claim social justice as their moral obligation when shaming someone for their behavior, leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths around this cause. When conversations come up that cite social justice or discuss social structures, inequity, race, gender, etc, people often back out of the conversation for fear…
Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren: Support for Three Generations
Working in the field of human services in Massachusetts for the past 3 years has given me an understanding of the vast way in which community problems are intertwined. There are so many topics to discuss when it comes to looking at a community as a whole and breaking it down into manageable pieces. The purpose of the organization I work for on Cape Cod is to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting families and building resources in the region. Through our work, we engage various social issues that a person may face. From family dynamics, domestic violence, poverty,…
People and Plants: A History of Chamomile
For thousands of years storytelling has been an essential part of humankind. To keep tradition and history alive, information was shared from person to person until we found a way to keep record of our experiences by writing them down. My purpose in being a writer is to tell a story. Not just a story of one person’s life, but narratives of human experience. As individuals, we each hold within us a memory, a life-span of perspectives and experiences, something to share that is our story. In communicating our stories and perspectives, we are participating in this significant tradition of…
Research and Story Telling in Brittany, France
This past May, my undergraduate professor and mentor invited me to join her for an ethnographic research project in Brittany, France. Before we left, I didn’t know what to expect. My professor told me we would be doing research on small dairy farmers in France and that I would help her as a translator. As we got closer to our departure, she gave me a little more information, her goals and some interview questions. I began to read some literature on dairy farming and food systems, and learned a bit about French cheese varieties. Yet, I still had no clue…
My story: Growing up in a Fundamental Baptist Church
Recently I had the opportunity to go on to a good friends podcast and talk about my background growing up in a fundamentalist baptist church. The discussion got intense. Often we take for granted how differently we each grow up and how subcultures that we are a part of can have their own norms and values, giving the person within that culture an experience of culture shock when they move into new cultural dynamics and experiences as they grow up. Before joining this church I was raised as a “normal” kid, although by anti-establishment hippy parents who taught us to…
Farmers Market Culture
Early in the morning, when the grass is still glistening with dew, the vendors begin to roll in one by one. Quietly the farmers unload crates of vegetables. The bakers carefully set up freshly piped cupcakes. People uncover their booths and the day begins. Walking around to stretch their legs and look at each other’s selections, the vendors engage each other in a bit of morning chit chat as they wait for the sun to fully come up and the customers to arrive. Farmers markets are a unique world. As you walk around, you may believe you have come to…