OUPblog » Anthropology

Revenge of the hungry cockatoos? Spite and behavioural ecology Outside of humans, very few other animals have been observed engaging in spiteful behaviour, and those that have are controver...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/03/revenge-of-the-hungry-cockatoos-spite-and-behavioural-ecology/

The VSI podcast season three: ageing, Pakistan, slang, psychopathy, and more Listen to season three of The VSI Podcast for concise and original introductions to a selection of our VSI title...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/02/the-vsi-podcast-season-three-ageing-pakistan-slang-psychopathy-and-more/

How research abstracts succeed and fail The abstract of a research article has a simple remit: to faithfully summarize the reported research. After the title, it’s the most read section o...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/11/how-research-abstracts-succeed-and-fail/

Why depth interviewing is essential to understanding individuals and institutions Once assumed to be a core research tool, many of today’s researchers have cast a skeptical eye on depth i...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/11/why-depth-interviewing-is-essential-to-understanding-individuals-and-institutions/

SHAPE and societal recovery from crises The SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy) initiative advocates for the value of the social sciences, humanitie...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/08/shape-and-societal-recovery-from-crises/

Archaeology, architecture, and “Romanizing” Athens The question of whether Athens was a Greek or Roman city seems straightforward, but among scholars there is some debate. OUPblog - A...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/06/archaeology-architecture-and-romanizing-athens/

On SHAPE: a Q&A with Lucy Noakes, Eyal Poleg, Laura Wright & Mary Kelly OUP have recently announced our support for the newly created SHAPE initiative—Social Sciences, Humanities, and the...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/05/on-shape-a-qa-with-lucy-noakes-eyal-poleg-laura-wright-mary-kelly/

What can neuroscience tell us about the mind of a serial killer? Serial killers—people who repeatedly murder others—provoke revulsion but also a certain amount of fascination in the gen...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/04/what-can-neuroscience-tell-us-about-the-mind-of-a-serial-killer/

Margaret Mead by the numbers The life of anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) spanned decades, continents, and academic conversations. Fellow anthropologist Clifford Geertz compared the...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/04/margaret-mead-by-the-numbers/

SHAPE today and tomorrow: Q&A with Sophie Goldsworthy and Julia Black (part two) This second part of our Q&A with Sophie Goldsworthy, Director of Content Strategy & Acquisitions at OUP, and...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/03/shape-today-and-tomorrow-qa-with-sophie-goldsworthy-and-julia-black-part-two/

Introducing SHAPE: Q&A with Sophie Goldsworthy and Julia Black (part one) OUP is excited to support the newly created SHAPE initiative—Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/02/introducing-shape-qa-with-sophie-goldsworthy-and-julia-black-part-one/

Moving beyond toxic masculinity: a Q&A with Ronald Levant In 2018, the American Psychological Association released its first ever Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men. At...

https://blog.oup.com/2020/05/moving-beyond-toxic-masculinity-a-qa-with-ronald-levant/

It’s time for the government to introduce food rationing The current COVID-19 emergency has much to interest students of politics. Does it demonstrate that authoritarian regimes are able ...

https://blog.oup.com/2020/04/its-time-for-the-government-to-introduce-food-rationing/

Using math to understand inequity What can math tell us about unfairness? Bias, discrimination, and inequity are phenomena that are deeply complex, context sensitive, personal, and intersec...

https://blog.oup.com/2020/02/using-math-to-understand-inequity/

Natural disasters make people more religious Philosophers once predicted that religion would die out as societies modernize. This has not happened. Today, more than four out of every five...

https://blog.oup.com/2019/10/natural-disasters-make-people-more-religious/

Understanding the Multi-functional Nature of the Countryside It is tempting to see the countryside through a haze of a pink washed nostalgia as somewhere where life continues with a perce...

https://blog.oup.com/2019/09/understanding-the-multi-functional-nature-of-the-countryside/

Ten facts about dentistry You use it every day; it’s a facial feature that everybody sees; and one that enables almost all animals to survive. We’re talking, of course, about the mouth....

https://blog.oup.com/2018/07/10-dentistry-facts/

Mexican Women’s Self-Expression through Dress – Episode 43 – The Oxford Comment Our host for this episode is William Beezley, Professor of History at the University of Arizona and Edi...

https://blog.oup.com/2018/05/mexican-womens-self-expression-dress-oxford-comment/

How the intention to share photos can undermine enjoyment Though people both take and share more photos than ever before, we know very little about how different reasons for taking photos i...

https://blog.oup.com/2018/05/how-the-intention-to-share-photos-can-undermine-enjoyment/

Modernization of mortuary practice and grief Modern western mortuary practices are characterized by the professionalization of the management and presentation of the corpse. These practices...

https://blog.oup.com/2018/04/modernization-of-mortuary-practice/

Zhongguo and Tianxia: the central state and the Chinese world China is playing an ever-increasing role on the world stage of international relations, and it is starting to bring its own voc...

https://blog.oup.com/2018/02/zhongguo-tianxia-chinese-international-relations-terms/

George Washington and eighteenth century masculinity We want George Washington—the President of all Presidents, the Man of all Men—to be a certain way. We want him to be an unalloyed ma...

https://blog.oup.com/2018/02/george-washington-eighteenth-century-masculinity/

Not finding Bigfoot The Renaissance is remembered as a time of renewed interest in scientific investigation, yet it also brought a huge increase in sightings of fantastic creatures such as ...

https://blog.oup.com/2017/10/not-finding-bigfoot/

Divali in the White House? When Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to celebrate Divali in the White House in 2009, he sent a message to South Asian Americans that they are a part ...

https://blog.oup.com/2017/10/diwali-white-house/

Energy and contagion in Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life Emile Durkheim was a foundational figure in the disciplines of sociology and anthropology, yet recap...

https://blog.oup.com/2017/10/energy-contagion-emile-durkheim/