Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries globally in antibiotic misuse, calling for anthropological attention to explore the underlying contributing factors. We look at antibiotic use as a complex social practice embedded within the critical structures and informal networks of Sindh, Pakistan. Using ethnographic methods, we show that antibiotic misuse is not a "knowledge gap" but rather a reasonable response to structural neglect. The Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25 highlights that only 0.9% of GDP is spent on health. With limited healthcare services, people often skip formal biomedical clinics to avoid a "cascade of costs," and pharmacies have become a key part of a makeshift network of care. We show that antibiotic circulation is influenced by gendered social networks and domestic hierarchies, where high maternal and infant mortality rates illustrate the life-threatening impact of restricted female health agency. Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires shifting focus from individual "awareness" to the political economy of health, advocating for structural reforms that target the socioeconomic factors influencing medicine use in resource-limited settings.
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly mediate access to knowledge, anthropologists face questions about how to engage with these technologies constructively. In this article I demonstrate how pairing large language models (LLMs) with knowledge graphs, an approach called neuro-symbolic AI, can transform how we engage with our own disciplinary scholarship. I constructed the SfAA Bibliographic Graph, representing 84 years of publishing (1941-2025) from the Society for Applied Anthropology's two journals, and conducted comparative tests presenting identical questions to an LLM alone versus the same LLM integrated with the graph. The results reveal systematic differences. Whereas the LLM alone acknowledges limitations or generates plausible but unverifiable predictions, the graph-grounded system provides precise findings traced through collaboration networks, institutional affiliations, and temporal patterns. The value lies in their interplay: the graph provides deterministic anchors whereas the LLM contributes interpretive context, producing insights neither component could generate alone. For anthropologists, this integration opens new possibilities for how we discover, synthesize, and build upon decades of scholarship, while raising questions about who builds knowledge infrastructure, whose knowledge gets represented, and the invisible labor required to sustain these systems.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a persistent public health concern in Peru, particularly in densely populated urban districts marked by poverty, informal labor, and overcrowded housing. Drawing on 25 semi-structured interviews with adult residents insured under the public health system (Seguro Integral de Salud) in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, this article examines how gender norms shape everyday understandings of TB, health-seeking practices, and moral responsibilities for care. Rather than focusing on individuals currently undergoing treatment, the study explores how TB is understood through the experiences of relatives, neighbors, coworkers, and illness trajectories within participants' social networks. Findings show that masculinities and femininities organize distinct moral economies of risk and care. Men's narratives emphasize endurance, work obligations, and the minimization of symptoms, often delaying engagement with health services, while women's accounts foreground caregiving responsibilities and the coordination of care within households. These gendered practices intersect with structural constraints, making self-medication and delayed consultation pragmatic responses to precarious everyday conditions rather than signs of neglect. By situating TB within everyday life and gendered moral expectations, this study contributes to debates on health, gender, and urban inequality. It argues for gender-sensitive public health strategies that engage with local moral worlds beyond purely informational models. La tuberculosis (TB) contin & uacute;a siendo un importante problema de salud p & uacute;blica en el Per & uacute;, particularmente en distritos urbanos caracterizados por pobreza, empleo informal y hacinamiento. A partir de 25 entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas a personas adultas afiliadas al Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS) en San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, este art & iacute;culo examina c & oacute;mo las normas de g & eacute;nero moldean las formas cotidianas de comprender la tuberculosis, las pr & aacute;cticas de b & uacute;squeda de atenci & oacute;n y las responsabilidades morales asociadas al cuidado. En lugar de centrarse en personas que atraviesan un tratamiento activo, el estudio explora c & oacute;mo la TB es entendida a trav & eacute;s de las experiencias de familiares, vecinos, compa & ntilde;eros de trabajo y trayectorias de enfermedad presentes en las redes sociales de los participantes. Los hallazgos muestran que las masculinidades y feminidades organizan econom & iacute;as morales diferenciadas de riesgo y cuidado. Las narrativas masculinas enfatizan la resistencia, las obligaciones laborales y la minimizaci & oacute;n de los s & iacute;ntomas, lo que suele retrasar la b & uacute;squeda de atenci & oacute;n. Por el contrario, los relatos de las mujeres destacan las responsabilidades de cuidado y la coordinaci & oacute;n de la atenci & oacute;n dentro de los hogares. Estas pr & aacute;cticas de g & eacute;nero se articulan con restricciones estructurales que convierten la automedicaci & oacute;n y la postergaci & oacute;n de la consulta m & eacute;dica en respuestas pragm & aacute;ticas frente a condiciones de vida precarias. Al situar la tuberculosis en la vida cotidiana y en las expectativas morales asociadas al g & eacute;nero, este estudio contribuye a los debates sobre salud, g & eacute;nero y desigualdad urbana, y plantea la necesidad de estrategias de salud p & uacute;blica sensibles al g & eacute;nero que dialoguen con los mundos morales locales m & aacute;s all & aacute; de los enfoques centrados exclusivamente en la informaci & oacute;n biom & eacute;dica.
In Timor-Leste, children now learn to plant vegetables, conserve water, and design permaculture gardens as part of a newly revised national school curriculum. In this article, we trace how Timorese permaculture has developed from marginal grassroots activism practiced by a few into a cornerstone of public education. Drawing on long-term collaborative fieldwork with activists, students, and teachers, we discuss how school gardens and Arts and Culture classes grounded in permaculture and liberation pedagogy bring ecological knowledge and critical thinking into Timor-Leste's classrooms. The new Arts and Culture curriculum invites children and youth to imagine futures rooted in Timorese landscapes and local histories. Differing from previous governmental and donor-driven models of schooling and development, permaculture education aspires to cultivate "gardens of hope," which grow from healthy soil, revived water springs, traditional seeds, and historical consciousness rooted in Indigenous practice. The article contributes to anthropological debates on postcolonial education, decolonial emancipation, and aspirational futures. We discuss how permaculture practice and liberation pedagogy work to decolonize modernist ideas of progress and development and open new pathways to resilient livelihoods, sustainable ecologies, and liberated minds.
Past conservation practices have faced challenges in creating solutions to the impacts of socio-ecological change in part due to management practices that consider humans and nature as separate. Scholars suggest a shift to transformative conservation to address environmental and social injustices. However, this shift is difficult because conservation practitioners may conceptualize the socio-ecological system as separating humans and nature, which may cause conflict or barriers to developing new epistemologies and relationships with the environment. Using a case study of Redband Trout ecosystems in Idaho, we examine how conservation practitioners conceptualize connections between humans and the environment and how worldviews translate into conservation practice. We found that scientists and practitioners conceptualized Redband Trout ecosystems through a conservation lens, where humans are viewed as negatively impacting the ecosystem. We offer insights into how a shift to transformative conservation could occur with attention to collaborative conservation and pluralistic science.
The Amazonian region of Vaup & eacute;s holds some of the worst health indicators in Colombia. Despite being a primarily indigenous area, its decontextualized, biomedical public health system often neglects indigenous realities, contributing to poor access to services, culturally incongruent hospitals, and alarming maternal-child indicators. We study indigenous ideas and practices of obstetric health, and indigenous women's decision-making and experiences visiting Hospital San Antonio de Mit & uacute;. Drawing on participant observation, eight in-depth interviews, and three focus groups with community members, we identify key characteristics of Amazonian indigenous health models, their interactions with biomedicine, and barriers indigenous women face when accessing care. The data point to some shortcomings of the Colombian public health system and advocates for the potential of intercultural medicine.
In response to Duke's (2026) op ed, "Artificial Intelligence and the End(s) of Qualitative Data Analysis," published in Human Organization (85, 1), and my own experience with AI-mediated research in Islamic finance, I engage with the ongoing dialogue on AI tools and qualitative research. I argue that AI tools ought to be viewed as reflexive collaborators rather than threats to interpretive rigor. I suggest that the key challenge for qualitative researchers in the Human-AI era lies in preserving autonomy and responsibility, especially for those who have yet to develop a deep understanding of their field.
In this article, I juxtapose the high demand for antibiotics in India, leading to overuse and rising concern that antibiotics compromise long-term health. This has fostered interest in harm reduction and a thriving market for wellness products. I first explore the motivations driving antibiotic popularity and overuse, emphasizing the importance of multiple stakeholders. I then highlight health concerns associated with synthetic chemicals used in agriculture and allopathic medicine; these are reflected in bionationalist discourse on pharmaceutical dependency. Given widely held cultural concerns about digestion, I explore the potential of promoting gut-supportive alternatives to antibiotics for self-limiting illnesses as a means to curb rampant antibiotic use. This offers a new approach to antibiotic stewardship, shifting focus from drug resistance to the collateral damage of antibiotics on gut health and the human microbiome. A (micro)ecological approach to antibiotic stewardship would be attractive to public health proponents of both One Health and Ayurvedic Biology.
As anthropology departments face pressure from state legislation, university boards, and university administrators to justify their continued existence and/or make significant - and frequently drastic - changes, department leadership and anthropology faculty are strategizing how to bolster their programs, pedagogical approaches, and industry collaborations. In this article, we compile case studies from multiple, diverse anthropology programs and faculty to highlight concrete steps to take in response to these external pressures. We build on recent anthropological scholarship on this topic to identify and affirm action items in response as well as proactive safeguards to mitigate their effects.
Romania has undergone significant social and economic growth since the collapse of communism in 1989. However, this development has been uneven and concentrated in urban areas, with rural areas economically peripheralized. Despite Romania's growth, Roma share fewer benefits of the recent economic expansion. Therefore, to be Roma in rural Romania represents a kind of "double jeopardy" in which racial inequity combines with spatial inequality for especially disadvantaged outcomes. After joining the EU, Romania identified education as a priority for promoting Roma integration and social mobility, and a system of school mediators was established to work with both schools and Roma communities to improve Roma educational outcomes. In this article, we use interview data with school mediators in a sample of mostly rural locations within Romania's Carpathian Basin to examine how national-level educational policy is translated into local-level practice. We find that school mediators make sense of their professional roles through educational practice that responds to the lived logics of local community. However, their practice is not positioned to fundamentally alter the structural barriers that exclude Roma people. Rom & acirc;nia a cunoscut o crestere social & abreve; si economic & abreve; semnificativ & abreve; de la c & abreve;derea comunismului & icirc;n 1989. Cu toate acestea, aceast & abreve; dezvoltare a fost inegal & abreve; si concentrat & abreve; & icirc;n zonele urbane, zonele rurale r & abreve;m & acirc;n & acirc;nd & icirc;n mare parte periferice. & Icirc;n ciuda cresterii economice a Rom & acirc;niei, romii beneficiaz & abreve; mai putin de pe urma recentei expansiuni economice. Prin urmare, a fi rom & icirc;n Rom & acirc;nia rural & abreve; reprezint & abreve; un fel de & bdquo;dubl & abreve; insecuritate", & icirc;n care inegalitatea rasial & abreve; se combin & abreve; cu inegalitatea spatial & abreve;, cu rezultate deosebit de dezavantajoase. Dup & abreve; aderarea la UE, Rom & acirc;nia a identificat educatia ca o prioritate pentru promovarea integr & abreve;rii romilor si a mobilit & abreve;tii sociale si a fost creat un sistem de mediatori scolari care s & abreve; colaboreze at & acirc;t cu scolile, c & acirc;t si cu comunit & abreve;tile rome pentru a & icirc;mbun & abreve;t & abreve;ti rezultatele scolare ale romilor. & Icirc;n acest articol, folosim date obtinute din interviuri cu mediatori scolari dintr-un esantion de localit & abreve;ti preponderent rurale din Bazinul Carpatic al Rom & acirc;niei pentru a examina modul & icirc;n care politica educational & abreve; la nivel national se traduce & icirc;n practica la nivel local. Constat & abreve;m c & abreve; mediatorii scolari & icirc;si & icirc;nteleg rolurile profesionale prin practica educational & abreve; care r & abreve;spunde logicii tr & abreve;ite de comunitatea local & abreve; si traduce aceast & abreve; logic & abreve; peste diviziunea institutional & abreve; dintre scoal & abreve; si comunitate. Cu toate acestea, practica lor nu este de natur & abreve; s & abreve; modifice & icirc;n mod fundamental barierele structurale care exclud persoanele de etnie rom & abreve;.
This article examines how hunger is experienced, managed, and moralized within charitable food programs (CFPs) in rural Appalachian Eastern Kentucky. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2021 and 2024 across six CFP food distribution sites, I analyze hunger as an embodied condition that is shaped by stigma, surveillance, and bureaucratic control. Situating CFPs within a broader salvage economy and neoliberal poverty relief industry, I trace how surplus food and impoverished people are both managed through systems that prioritize efficiency, accountability, and deservingness. In rural Eastern Kentucky, CFPs are often embedded within religious institutions and associated with compassion and care. Within the CFP structure, hungry people navigate shame and offer compliance in exchange for food. Outside the bureaucracy of the CFP, people cultivate informal networks of mutual aid that resist stigma and reassert dignity when structural violence is reframed as individual moral failure.
In this article, we investigate cultural food security for Syrian refugees in T & uuml;rkiye, highlighting how food security extends beyond basic nutritional needs to encompass cultural identity and emotional well-being. Drawing on 27 in-depth interviews with Syrian refugee women in Gaziantep, T & uuml;rkiye, we examine the four pillars of food security - availability, access, utilization, and stability - in light of refugees' experiences with their traditional cuisine in a new environment. We find that while Syrian ingredients are largely available, refugees face challenges related to affordability, perceived quality, loss of traditional food practices, and diminished social connections linked to food, all of which affect their sense of stability and belonging. High prices, lost food sovereignty, and poor social networks undermine true cultural food security. We advance the concept of cultural food security by extending Power's (2008) framework to an urban refugee context, and operationalizing it empirically through the four pillars of food security as culturally lived and experienced.
Life histories of research participants on applied development projects can bring into view unanticipated social forms. This is particularly true for the way such projects frame gender. We document development-focused research in two cities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that elicited accounts of widowhood, wherein participants called our attention to the implications of this kinship category for the urban context of our work. Widowhood in PNG refers not only to a woman whose husband has died but also to a woman whose husband has absconded from the marriage without a formal divorce. In the absence of support from their families, our interlocutors describe how widowhood required them to explore new ways of connecting with each other for mutual support. Their stories underscore the necessity of attention to emergent gendered subjectivities in development contexts, and to the changing nature of marriage and social reproduction in contemporary PNG.
How might we apply anthropological research ethics to research conducted in tech organizations, especially those that are open source and open access? In this article I reflect on my two-year volunteer work with a civic tech nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, during which I translated and adapted anthropological ethics into research ethics guides geared towards UI/UX researchers. Writing these guides involved both contemplation and translation of anthropological methods and ethics, and a consideration of how to adapt research ethics to the organization's primary interfaces-GitHub and Google Workspace. I introduce the concept of open-source anthropology as a kind of anthropology concerned with translating and adapting our source code-our methods, training, and ethics-to non-academic audiences, and not just making our research open access. Open-source anthropology is an adaptation of anthropological research ethics elsewhere and otherwise, and it is the co-creation of research methods and ethics, making our source code truly open source.
