Busy Time. Now.
Jun. 25th, 2003 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipI've pinched the subject title from a recent post by Unsworn. Who incidently owes me a third question in that interview meme ;-)
But it has been busy time of late. For the first time in weeks I had some company in the house, some visitors from the Australian Dental Association trying to distribute some equipment here. To say the least, the little of what exists as a dental program here has a few issues with things like sterilization of equipment. Regretfully, I've heard that Mike whom I used to share the house with and has been an active helper of East Timor (and Papua New Guinea, and the Solomons and Australian indigenous communities etc etc) for years now hasn't really recovered from the dengue fever her caught. It looks like his help of people in the tropics has come to an end. He'll certainly be missed.
The Portuguese version of the Computer Users Manual has been completed and now it's a case of sticking the graphics in the right place and sending it off to be printed. Hopefully the Bahasa version will be completed soon as well, whereupon I'll replicate the process, send it all back to the UNDP and the training programme will begin.
The past several days of thesis writing has seen the production of some 8,000 words which isn't really sufficient if I want to finish by my self-imposed deadline. It has been very difficult mental work however, dealing with methodological approaches of communication and communications technology that is supposed to account for 40,000 years of the species and in a manner that's relevant to contemporary technologies. In the process I must say I've really enjoyed re-reading Frederich Engels' "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", for being both insightful and extraordinarily flawed and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State", which really has stood the test of time.
In other news, Octavia visited with Vicky the other night to prepare and cook some food for a dinner meeting with several border patrol commandants and related bureaucrats. In the process he decided to help himself to my collection of beer. Having knocked that off, he went to Vicky's sister's restaurant and tried to claim that Vicky had sent him to collect a further ten crates of beer and soft-drink. Fortunately the restaurant contacted Vicky to ensure that she had placed the order, which of course she hadn't.
I think Octavia has a problem with alcohol. Like he can't get enough of it ;-)
But it has been busy time of late. For the first time in weeks I had some company in the house, some visitors from the Australian Dental Association trying to distribute some equipment here. To say the least, the little of what exists as a dental program here has a few issues with things like sterilization of equipment. Regretfully, I've heard that Mike whom I used to share the house with and has been an active helper of East Timor (and Papua New Guinea, and the Solomons and Australian indigenous communities etc etc) for years now hasn't really recovered from the dengue fever her caught. It looks like his help of people in the tropics has come to an end. He'll certainly be missed.
The Portuguese version of the Computer Users Manual has been completed and now it's a case of sticking the graphics in the right place and sending it off to be printed. Hopefully the Bahasa version will be completed soon as well, whereupon I'll replicate the process, send it all back to the UNDP and the training programme will begin.
The past several days of thesis writing has seen the production of some 8,000 words which isn't really sufficient if I want to finish by my self-imposed deadline. It has been very difficult mental work however, dealing with methodological approaches of communication and communications technology that is supposed to account for 40,000 years of the species and in a manner that's relevant to contemporary technologies. In the process I must say I've really enjoyed re-reading Frederich Engels' "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", for being both insightful and extraordinarily flawed and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State", which really has stood the test of time.
In other news, Octavia visited with Vicky the other night to prepare and cook some food for a dinner meeting with several border patrol commandants and related bureaucrats. In the process he decided to help himself to my collection of beer. Having knocked that off, he went to Vicky's sister's restaurant and tried to claim that Vicky had sent him to collect a further ten crates of beer and soft-drink. Fortunately the restaurant contacted Vicky to ensure that she had placed the order, which of course she hadn't.
I think Octavia has a problem with alcohol. Like he can't get enough of it ;-)
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"Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State"
Date: 2003-06-24 09:21 pm (UTC)Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-24 11:12 pm (UTC)Ahh, I haven't used the full url's. Should be fixed now.
Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-26 04:42 am (UTC)Nonetheless, it always good to reread his reconstructions as an exercise to better judge other ideas by.
Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-26 08:23 pm (UTC)elaborate concoctions as to the "gentile organization of society" in general...
As someone quite well versed in contemporary anthropology, I'd like to see your evidence for this. I often hear than Morgan is considered "disproved" but the evidence that has been presented is very flimsy indeed.
Engels' followed Morgan's description of les gens of the Iroquios, and Chappewa and, by chance, a description of Indian Tamil kinship relations as well.
This eventually led to Morgan claiming that these was a universal system and distributed a questionairre to all US consuls around the world to discern kinship relationships (possibly the first major cross-cultural study ever). This resulted in Consanguinity and Affinity (1866) which reinforced earlier claims.
His inability to see the synergistic forces leaping forth from the so-called "industrial revolution" is also laughable...
Noone accurately predicted them with any degree of accuracy. Engel's predictions were certainly better than most however. Where he (and Marx) were weakest was their reliance on the material forces of production generating social ideas. Quite understandable following the experience of the idealist (what they call 'utopian') socialists.
Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-28 07:13 am (UTC)To be "quite well versed" means that you must be certified by either a masters or a doctorate in cultural-anthropology (most probably) along with a major in archeology; but also have taken courses in history, languages, biology, computer science, statistics, and geology... and therefore are certified to respond in predictable ways by your peers when confronted with someone like myself.
So with full suspicion that you are approved as one who would defend the faith regardless, we shall proceed:
--- quote ---
"As someone quite well versed in contemporary anthropology, I'd like to see your evidence for this."
The physical-anthropological and archeological evidence you want to see abounds!.. its prima face and can be found in museum collections everywhere, but in most cases are confined to back-rooms, attics, basements and storage facilities under museum control.
One of the dirty little anthropological/archaeological secrets is when collected evidence that does not conform comfortably to a developing hypotheses biased by accepted canonized models of human development come to light, they are not given equal weight to the statistical method under the given prerogative based on the researcher's personal judgment. Its very convenient indeed when the anthropologist/archeologist may call on specialists in physical and/or psychological testing, and other fields, to help in the project knowing full well the time required to do so in the light of scare funding and specialized laboratories facilities available to that end! After all, the project must go on, and conclusions must be drawn. The result is that piles of this embarrassing collected evidence are side-tracked from proper scrutiny... and are in fact gathering dust as I write this! I won't identify some of these collections at this time because of aforementioned space limitations... but will do so later if you so require.
Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-28 07:20 am (UTC)--- quote ---
"I often hear than Morgan is considered "disproved" but the evidence that has been presented is very flimsy indeed."
Flimsy Indeed?.. when one must consider that the study of human culture began in ancient times, but anthropology did not become a separate area of study until the mid-1800's. Early anthropologists concentrated on applying the then new darling Darwinian theory of evolution to their studies. They viewed the history of human culture as a process of evolution from lower to higher forms. According to these early anthropologists, this process climaxed with the cultures of Europe and North America. So-called "primitive" peoples, whose technology was less advanced than that of the Western nations, supposedly represented earlier stages of development. For example, the American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan studied patterns of marriage in various societies. He concluded that marriage had evolved through the centuries from group marriage to the Western form of marriage to one partner... rather demeaning (especially to women) don't you think in the light of archeological evidence to the contrary. One may conclude that this concoction was based on a hind-brain testosterone-like construction more synoptic to "Male Chauvinism" than anything else.
By the late 1800's, many anthropologists began to criticize the evolutionary theories of Morgan and others. These later scientists emphasized the discovery and recording of human differences, rather than the formulation of patterns of development. They also felt that information about various groups should be gathered before the cultures of those groups were transformed by contact with the West. Such anthropologists as Adolf Bastian of Germany, Franz Boas of the United States, and William H. R. Rivers of the United Kingdom organized expeditions to observe the cultures of other societies firsthand.
An approach called 'functionalism' coupled with the politically based need to to discover universal human patterns had become an important goal of social-anthropology my the mid-1900s, and is fraught with systemic problems much beyond the DNA programed and hard wired 1st. and 2nd. prime motivations that humankind shares with other species on this planet, whether they be considered sentient or not.
Re: "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", and "The Origins of Family, Private Property and the State
Date: 2003-06-29 06:21 pm (UTC)To be "quite well versed" means that you must be certified by either a masters or a doctorate in cultural-anthropology (most probably) along with
a major in archeology; but also have taken courses in history, languages, biology, computer science, statistics, and geology...
Doctoral candidate in social theory, honours degree in politics, philosophy and sociology, minors in computer science and economics. Member of the Australian Sociological Association. Fluent in Tetum (Austronesian, Praca and Terik dialects), some knowledge of Fatauluku (Papuan), Makasae (Austronesian), Kemak (Austronesian) and Arrente (Austronesian-Australian). Have lived in the least developed country in the world for the past year (animists, grass huts etc).
He concluded that marriage had evolved through the centuries from group marriage to the Western form of marriage to one partner... rather demeaning (especially to women) don't you think in the light of archeological evidence to the contrary.
Firstly, I haven't encountered the archeological evidence. I keep on looking for it and it just isn't there - and in any case it wouldn't be "archeological" anyway. Despite the assertions of cultural relativists who would like to "disprove" the theory of universal developments in human society and common needs. Instead, various reports seem to indicate the contrary.
Secondly, all feminist anthropologists are supportive of Morgan rather than oppositional (e.g., Margaret Mead, Michelle Risaldo, Gayle Rubin, Pat Caplan, Evelyn Reed etc). As Engels' pointed out the original implementation of the institutional family is an example of "women as the private property of their male spouse".
There will always be those who seek common features and those who seek relative differences. For example,Boas, as a relativist, stands against Malinkowski, a universalist; and the reason is quite simple. Relative symbolic values exist with universal institutional features. Anyone who tries to engage in universal intepretation of symbolic values on a historical-evolutionary scale is engaging in an act of imperialistic arrogance. But those deny the universality of institutions that correlate according to technical and economic development of a society is an excersise in denial.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 11:30 pm (UTC)Thanks for the vote of confidence. I am hampered of course by my perfectionism and the scale of the project I have undertaken and a commitment to write clearly.
And I wouldn't have been able to do it all without the help of a li'll rabbit armed with an automatic pistol ;-)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 11:56 pm (UTC)The bunny is glad to have been of assistance
no subject
Date: 2003-06-25 01:08 am (UTC)The past several days of thesis writing has seen the production of some 8,000 words which isn't really sufficient...
OK, I hearby bash my head against the desk for not doing a regular word count.
Definitional subsection. Words allocated = 1 000. Words written = 2 500.
I hate having to edit to make something shorter.