Anthropology Going (even more) Digital

Traditionally cultural anthropology has been about studying distant tribes and low-tech societies outside the Euro-American realm. It took a while until anthropology dared to stay at home and found that there are interesting objects of research also in the scholar's own society.

It took even more time for anthropology to engage in studying the everyday interaction of people and technology. Nowadays, the essential role of digital technologies in global culture is slowly being accepted as a proper subject within the discipline. In my view it should already be part and parcel of anthropology.

Professor Michael Wesch of Kansas State University is a pioneer in digitally oriented cultural anthropology. His view of and approach to modern anthropology was finally recognized when he was awarded the professor of the year 2008 title by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (Wired Magazine discovered him first though when Wesch was given the Rave Award in 2007.) Hopefully Wesch's example will further encourage anthropologists to probe the interesting realm of digital culture.

Check out Prof. Wesch's channel on YouTube and his Digital Ethnography blog. Here's one of the videos that earned the professor the Rave Award.


Pic from Kansan State Univ.