http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#3f448fc1-083b-40d1-a9d3-5bba2dc778b7 Auto: i have to agree. with all the sensory overload, it's too easy to drown in sea of new connections being made. seed thoughts are perfect starting points! cheers :) Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:26:37 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#3f448fc1-083b-40d1-a9d3-5bba2dc778b7 niki 2008-12-04T18:26:37Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8412eb7e-fdfe-431d-8893-63e3d04f949e for sure for sure. i actually think i've done some good thinking on acid. the trick is to just take a few notes and use those as starting points for thinking later. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:39:31 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8412eb7e-fdfe-431d-8893-63e3d04f949e automatthew 2008-11-25T20:39:31Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#54f624cb-fbd0-4915-a9a1-33cb12758ca5 i totally agree. it's been my experience that if you are doing your best in any structure (be it academia, work, relationship) it is the stretching against and beyond said structure that can really illuminate the validity behind your belief, and the weaknesses. academia encourages and demands that you master your area of interest, understand the facts and know enough about what you are saying to entertain other illusions of truth/understanding in an objective way. as far as intellectual exchange and drug orgies...well, those have always been great for blueprinting and generating, but it is the quiet focus that really helps unveil the underlying dynamics. cheers niki Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:36:51 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#54f624cb-fbd0-4915-a9a1-33cb12758ca5 niki 2008-11-23T08:36:51Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#16474ada-b787-4ada-b32e-d480f133abb1 AfterBurn: Reflections on Burning Man (Counterculture Series) (Paperback) by Lee Gilmore (Editor), Mark Van Proyen (Editor), Beth Bailey (Series Editor), David Farber (Series Editor) Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:16:16 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#16474ada-b787-4ada-b32e-d480f133abb1 Mark 2008-11-20T01:16:16Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#902ccd8b-993a-4c77-833c-0e836fa8c778 not to mention all the drugs one is likely to be doing in these mental orgies. there is such a thing as the illusion of understanding, and that feeling of connection and understanding you get when you're on acid probably has more to do with the flood of chemicals in your brain than the quality of your ideas. ; ) Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:52:22 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#902ccd8b-993a-4c77-833c-0e836fa8c778 automatthew 2008-11-19T00:52:22Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8e6a1ebd-1327-47f7-80fa-6cf06cf715fb i think there's something to be said for an institutional structure forcing you to refine and defend your ideas. to read more and to articulate better. to be clearer and rigorous in your thinking. a free-for-all of intellectual exploration can be great an exciting, but can only go so far toward really exploring ideas and developing a complex understanding of issues. focus is as important as freedom, diffusion is a trap as well as an opportunity. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:50:32 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8e6a1ebd-1327-47f7-80fa-6cf06cf715fb automatthew 2008-11-19T00:50:32Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#7dc449a8-77c9-4113-b4fb-f7e9d6fa62cd i've enetertained this notion of rejecting the academic institution and it's paradigm of merit-based credentials, and was happy to read your [well said] post expressing a perspective i've been struggling with here recently. i can also make the connection between large-scale institutions like University, Government, Money Market, and country borders with the principle of one human family. and that in Our current state of evolution, some more appropriate structure needs to be reshaped so that we can unfold and open at a less restrictive rate. intentional communities for example. here is my general feel: there are 3 categories of people...1. students who do not care to think for themselves 2. students who do and 3. students who teach those who can't, how to. the later are the "applied" scientists, the truest of world bridgers. from my experience in the education institute and university, diversity is both the beauty and the beast in regard to standardizing knowledge and teaching the tools for seeking and discovering it. as a clear-sighted, idea driven individual, [speaking for myself and as it sounds - for you] one would notice quite quickly the latency in cogntive and imaginative development in the average mass. thus, leaders, followers, in and out groups, intentions and values. a structure works best when it is effective and efficacy can be determined by the harmonic cohesion of the people who occupy and endorse it. are we capable of breaking free, to create our own ways of discovery and earthbound enrichment? of course, people do this in every moment - when they decide to join in to the dance of their 'truest self' whatever it is that makes them beam with lightness and magnetic energy which promotes others to do the same for themselves. will this free-radical-nature produce a human family that appreciates one another, shares honestly, and practices that which will best help it to survive? i fear it is these visionaries who keep this biggest picture perspective dear to their hearts that are martyred, ridiculed, stomped out in elementary schools for being too imaginative and strange, collectiing in microcosms around the globe in cooperatives, tribes, festivals and intentional spaces, attracting one another gently. slow and steady is evolution. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:33:30 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#7dc449a8-77c9-4113-b4fb-f7e9d6fa62cd niki 2008-11-18T22:33:30Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#692ec9bb-ea86-44a1-982a-e8795ab9352d First published by Klaudio Zic Publications, 2008, www.lulu.com/astrology. Copyright © 2008 By Klaudio Zic. All Rights Reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, for commercial purposes or otherwise, without the written permission of the author, except when permitted by law. ALICE IN TRIBELAND A report on modern tribal life Copyright © 2008 by Klaudio Zic, all rights reserved. http://www.lulu.com/astrology MIND “My mind is a plastic bag”, blurts out Polystyrene of X-Ray Spex, an original British punk band. Later on she is Hitler and ruler of the supermarket; plastic dreams of authority in action, but before alien dreams come true, she washes the plastic bag with her own tears. In other words, she is lost in the supermarket, much like Genesis in Selling England by the Pound. Pluto has crossed from the seventies' Coma Berenices into Bootes for the eighties1, but supermarkets are still there to dictate value while rearing the sheep. PARADISE In isolated countries at the end of the world, there is still joyful connection between the visible and invisible worlds, as one is open to oneself2 in eternal initiation. Recent authors like Carlos Castaneda or Malidoma Patrice Somé,S3 have presented us with a world apart4 from alienation. LONELINESS In a world where tickets buy temporary tribes, one is alienated against oneself and lost lineage. As there is no flowing initiation, the connection to one's purpose is lost. When purpose is lost, there is death by the devil. CULTS In a civilization lacking one's own spiritual heritage, any cult is welcome as well as those not necessarily misunderstood. Theoretically we are all one but not the same. As one strives to adopt the next alien culture with a little help from a further alien culture, one loses the little connection one had with his own. Mary Frances becomes Samsaradevi and later on dancing hooping Shemsa. This spiritual transformation creates a positive influence on tattooing business, while benefiting the accessory vendors, which in turns moves the samsara wheel towards western direction. NIMROD Orion is sometimes exemplified as rebel against God, especially taurean god5. However it might be, this X-shaped constellation is popular form Ireland to Guam. Orion is a zodiacal constellation in its own right, as well as a subconscious ascendant for the epoch. It hosted the Moon when the twin burning towers fell. The position of the Moon in Orion for the WTC event was the same as the natal Moon of a known terrorist, Xi 2 Orionis. OSIRIS There be occasion in sacrificing to any subconscious ascendant6, zodiacal station or constellation. Orion worship has been popular in e.g. Ireland, when another people walked the land. Any constellation that is mainly located under the ecliptic can be rightfully considered chthonic. A remarkable nether constellation like Orion has rightfully participated in complex astronomic calculations as well as cults of the dead. TRIBELAND There are of course no modern tribes at any admission price. Orion is forgotten, there is no true zodiac7 and people live in supermarkets as ruled by modern Hitlers. In an atmosphere where ticket determines membership, modern Babylon is celebrating Nimrud. NASA NASA is a welcome tribe of sincere scientists that make our life better. The reformation of the zodiac would be almost impossible without their HORIZONS integrator and helpful staff, to which is addressed all our gratitude. ALIENS Scattered intelligence can be found all over the planet. These individual intelligences, from South Africa to Australia, sometimes have western8 and sometimes deep tribal roots. Some authors like Carlos Castaneda or Malidoma Patrice Somé differently embody both heritages. FREAKS The flower power movement apparently did not move further from tribal smoke within a safe enclosure as guarded with guns. Cancer sick pagan Reiki masters are the apex of evolution, with their crumbled walls painted with Indian culture. The flower power generation is protected by the very forces they were allegedly fighting against. BELLY DANCING A belly-oriented civilization dances like Kali on the navel of the world9. Babylon fell to be trampled upon by barbarians. Not sure if Hitler drunk vodka in his refuge. EXPERIMENT A well meant as well foundation decided to experiment with humans. They were interested in the possibility of introducing new, genuine and liberating ideas. The result? Slaves bite. This is like stopping the car while approaching a nice dogie on foot, with a tasty piece of smoked bacon, along with friendly attitude; with the result of being bitten by what later results as chupacabra10. The advice to the missionary is: stay in your Bugatti Veyron. Wave to the crowd11. A noblewoman that we call Alixe is the archetype of this absurd axiom. In order to help the crowd, do not approach it12. JESUS How does one help the crowd? The crowd hardly assembles itself in want of help, but when in dire and providing free cure, they will amass. They will bite later, generally meaning as soon as possible. The crowd trusts nobody13 and is thus absurdly easy to manipulate. It has no purpose. Jesus used to say his say, cure to left and right, and disappear while anticipating those who sought to kill him with gratitude. PURPOSE In an environment without purpose, one seeks the purpose of the mob. How can a mob have purpose when the individual has none? In order to achieve purpose, for the few who perceive this archetypal need, tribes are formed on the basis of an original but imported structure. An alien monk albeit initiated in a Thibetan order will communicate to the people of the county he was born in exactly as if he were never initiated at all. The result is that there is no import. Much as whatever message was sure to be misunderstood at first contact, now when it is sort of adapted, it vanished. This points to a closed structure impenetrable for any culture, including one's own. PEOPLE A people can not be easily made by stacking all kinds of everything together. Coherence is achieved through years. Things like typical or national are touristic destinations. You can find them in Venice14, Mexico or Cuba. It is hard to determine whatever typical feature in an disorderly mixture. Thus the tourists packed on a ferry do not make people. Klaudio Zic Copyright © 2008 by Klaudio Zic, all rights reserved worldwide. Redistribution of this file in any form is violation of the Copyright Law. This copyrighted material has been previously published as available from http://www.lulu.com/astrology Copyright © 2008 By Klaudio Zic. All Rights Reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or Transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, for commercial purposes or otherwise, without the written permission of the author, except when permitted by law. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:28:35 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#692ec9bb-ea86-44a1-982a-e8795ab9352d Vidamésse de Laon 2008-10-01T11:28:35Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#d832e09e-cedf-41fc-8c58-1a69c19068a3 i know! i may commit ritual suicide in a fit of objective indignation! Thu, 23 Feb 2006 14:07:02 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#d832e09e-cedf-41fc-8c58-1a69c19068a3 automatthew 2006-02-23T14:07:02Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#9df40f85-5b3f-42c3-84d3-df328efe24b5 " slanted explanations in cultural anthropology? noooooo " I am shocked to my core that you would suggest that opinions and bias could ever find their way into cultural anthropology! harumph! Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:48:58 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#9df40f85-5b3f-42c3-84d3-df328efe24b5 Miriam 2006-02-22T18:48:58Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#49be401e-cf72-476b-ae27-501242379dd8 well, that IS a norm and value. and it's what keeps the society functioning. in a similar way that other norms and values keep other societies functioning. regulating interaction and all. i doubt having just the one norm and value would work for a society that had to live together 365 days of the year from birth to death. "you won't be shunned, or locked up for doing it. " Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:06:26 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#49be401e-cf72-476b-ae27-501242379dd8 automatthew 2006-02-22T14:06:26Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#476892a2-db90-4374-a5d6-b6971d22de0c slanted explanations in cultural anthropology? noooooo "I am glad that discovery channel made a documentary at the last burningman because most of the burner generated explinations are pretty slanted and full of drug joy. " Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:03:39 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#476892a2-db90-4374-a5d6-b6971d22de0c automatthew 2006-02-22T14:03:39Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#533e1311-2a87-4f2e-b7f4-d1f34097ff15 heh, did you say that in your personal statement? "I'm writing a PhD on jungle/drum'n'bass. ;-) " Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:01:58 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#533e1311-2a87-4f2e-b7f4-d1f34097ff15 automatthew 2006-02-22T14:01:58Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#cdfaea05-78e3-4830-8124-b1b2fbc8d3d9 Yeah, I could kind of get with that. The big deal isn't some little TAZ in the desert as it is what you do the other 51 weeks of your life. Too much obsession making too little a difference in the real world. The thing that does strike me is the incredible lack of norms and values, with those that do exist being built from an ideological perspective. In a world where looking the wrong way at someone on the subway can cause alarming awkwardness, it is a grand thing to be in a place where running around in a tutu flapping your arms like a chicken while yodelling won't take away your standing within the community. Some people might watch, some might heckle, and others may walk away to find something more interesting, but you won't be shunned, or locked up for doing it. That's exceptional, and important, even if temporary. So enjoy your documentary, lets hope it can get the viewers back home to realize (just like Malcom in the Middle's mon did) that everyone one of us is an artist, and being a little crazy, making art can be fun. Wed, 22 Feb 2006 05:00:14 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#cdfaea05-78e3-4830-8124-b1b2fbc8d3d9 North 2006-02-22T05:00:14Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#2e67e876-5cb9-44e7-92b9-08c82ca6d8b0 yawn. I am glad that discovery channel made a documentary at the last burningman because most of the burner generated explinations are pretty slanted and full of drug joy. Tue, 31 Jan 2006 04:38:56 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#2e67e876-5cb9-44e7-92b9-08c82ca6d8b0 VIDA 2006-01-31T04:38:56Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#32879969-43d6-49bf-9b8b-b6189503a003 what makes you think graduate education wouldn't further ones ability to do such things? i certainly find it difficult to see why it would hinder it. or create "barriers". Sat, 03 Dec 2005 04:33:37 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#32879969-43d6-49bf-9b8b-b6189503a003 automatthew 2005-12-03T04:33:37Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#dab16f0c-c33c-4984-a42f-3e7c6b954f11 what's the usefulness of a master's degree, of a phd, of money? why are these distinctions desirable? how are they going to affect us in the future? what do you want the money for? i guess i'm asking these questions for a variety of reasons -- i graduated with a b.a. in anthropology did my thesis on an emerging evolved human consciousness, an ecocentric model, made physically manifest in the form of ecovillages, i focused on three of them where i had done participant-observation fieldwork -- and maybe school's just not for me, or maybe i'm just *really* involved with the ecocentric experience, but i have little enthusiasm for continuing in traditionally suggested higher education programs only to get some more degrees that further separate me - at least nominally - from the interconnected egalitarian anarchist-but-thoughtfully-created bioregional settings i envision the future of our planet to need, the future of life in this universe to need. i do acknowledge the communicative opportunities that those educational distinctions allow inside a commonly accepted structure, but i wonder if it's time to break free, to create our own ways...i understand - since i've read through both your posts related to burning man - that you want to think & travel in your life, and acquire money - does that translate to accessibility of other desired resources like food, quality of life, etc? -, but i wonder if you couldnt do that on your own, do studies in your own ways, using your heart/intuition/high mental capacities as guides, following an inner knowing/truth, that will allow for you to live the life you deeply desire rather than one close enough but not fully there because of its relationship with a structure previously set out for you...couldnt you become some kind of independent knowledge holder & sharer, a traveling researcher and teacher, what intentions do you have in the craetion of who you want to become? how do those relate to all of humanity, to all existing life? i'd love to hear other folks comments, i'm just wandering through ideas, but also recognize that i've found a place in myself that is open enough to sincerely part from the constructed reality and begin to create one that is most resonant with my intuitive sense, i mean, why not try, eh? love&blessings be*you*to*full beings! *kay'a* Fri, 02 Dec 2005 14:38:43 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#dab16f0c-c33c-4984-a42f-3e7c6b954f11 ~kay'aleya~ 2005-12-02T14:38:43Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#5187d47b-9957-484e-8c78-89bd84b8223a Oh, and YES academia can be as fun as you make it...that's why I'm writing a PhD on jungle/drum'n'bass. ;-) Storm the halls...down with the fogies...the future is up to US. Sun, 25 Sep 2005 04:34:14 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#5187d47b-9957-484e-8c78-89bd84b8223a $item.owner.firstName 2005-09-25T04:34:14Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#4ae69b5f-3e03-47b8-9c6a-cc0aa0477797 Fortunately, Hakim Bey is anti-copyright: http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html Sun, 25 Sep 2005 04:32:10 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#4ae69b5f-3e03-47b8-9c6a-cc0aa0477797 $item.owner.firstName 2005-09-25T04:32:10Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#b55f5145-c54c-4029-8f37-ee1a0eb8ebba I'm definetely going to learn more on the "Temporary Auronomous Zones" (hyperlinks?). I have a friend who spent the summer travelling from festival to festival across Canada throug the summer, who came out with the idea of Festival City, an interconnected space that exists online, in temporary festival communities, and as a full-time real-space sub-culture. In my opinion, the biggest thing that seperates Burning Man from any other community or culutre I've experienced is the lack of social taboos and barriers. If the inclination hits you, feel welcome to run around squawking like a chicken, with or without costume. Some people will stare, some people may join, lots of people will walk by. You will not lose friends, no one will demand a reason, neighbours will not dismiss and reject you. It is liberty in a way that is more important than the legal freedoms (nudity, drugs, etc.). A master's on the burn. Who knew academia could be so fun? Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:28:21 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#b55f5145-c54c-4029-8f37-ee1a0eb8ebba North 2005-09-24T19:28:21Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#c8eacb5c-3b8b-4a72-a8c3-af33a92d86d8 that's about where i'm at too. i mean i have a lot of ideas about what i want to study. but i feel like it would be rather arbitrary to just pick one and say THIS, THIS will be my lifes work. you know? and yeah i definately don't have a strong enough background in theory to have a good conversation with a really anal professor. undergrad really doesn't prepare you for that imho. at least not my undergrad. not that i couldn't just do the reading now. but it's all complicated by me just rethinking the whole thing. when you go through 8 years of anthro grad school you come out at the end with basically only one job opportunity. and even that doesn't pay very well. and you have to wait another 7 years to even be up for tenure. and if you don't get it you're fucked. doesn't seem to smart for me. i just want to be able to think for a living. and travel for a living. and at some point, not necessarily right away, make a decent amount of money. so i'm thinking international relations, development, ngos, think tank stuff. but i don't know. i'm not sure how to tailor my education at this point to do something like that. my mom is suggesting an masters in organizational development or something because it's applied social science, very marketable, and applicable to things other than big corporations. like ngos. but i don't know. i'm so confused! and i really don't have enough information... the getting the free ma from three years in an anthro phd program sounds like it makes some kind of sense. though if i get an ma that actually allows me to make some money the cost isn't necessarily a bad thing. Fri, 23 Sep 2005 19:49:49 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#c8eacb5c-3b8b-4a72-a8c3-af33a92d86d8 automatthew 2005-09-23T19:49:49Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#385f8988-aba8-41d3-8cdf-52c595b45723 ha, I saw your message well before I saw this post, so I'll give the short version to the tribe... Didn't know what I wanted to write a dissertation on and this is crucial for a good application to any school... so I paid money to get my MA in one year. Now I've decided I'm too lazy to be fully in academics (not mentally, and not really, but I just don't want to wait until I'm 32 or so to start a career...) So I'm going to try to get into Library School - and spend 2 years getting a second MA degree so that I can be a university-level academic librarian speciallizing in anthropology. Fri, 23 Sep 2005 18:15:03 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#385f8988-aba8-41d3-8cdf-52c595b45723 Miriam 2005-09-23T18:15:03Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8e911ea1-c3a6-4e99-ba2a-f8e26d77fa28 where are you going to go from there? why didn't you just go straight into your phd? i'm trying to figure out what i want to do. i just got my ba and i had assumed through my undergrad that i wanted to do pure cult anthro academia all the way. but i'm starting to think i want to do something more applied, and not sure how best to tailor my education to take advantage of opportunities in that direction. a masters seems to be a better choice than getting locked into an 8 year program at 23. and then a phd later, possibly not in anthro. Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:50:39 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#8e911ea1-c3a6-4e99-ba2a-f8e26d77fa28 automatthew 2005-09-23T13:50:39Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#dde070fa-e49d-4801-b3d4-0e9a4b97f7c4 social sciences - focused in cult. anthro. It was a one year program, so somewhat limited in scope. I found it easier than my senior year of college. Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:41:46 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#dde070fa-e49d-4801-b3d4-0e9a4b97f7c4 Miriam 2005-09-23T03:41:46Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#1584a61c-8a13-4aed-b1c0-cebddf442909 i don't think that it's a "religion" per se. what's interesting to me is how it appropriates the form of a religion in particular cases for particular purposes. like the burning of the man. or the experience of the flower descending on the people gathered below. and how the use of psychadelics to create "religious" experience is so central to those events. especially when you think about how important psychadelics are to shamanic religious experiences. it may not provide an explanation for the universe. but might it not provide a model for relating to the universe regardless? it certainly "takes care of things" in that sense. in terms of how one interacts with ones fellow beings and what values one holds in terms of creating experiences? those are both part of what religion does for people, the explanation part is just a back story. it does seem to be a pretty coherant cultural package that has many traits and those traits are passed on to people through attending the event. they may have shared many of those traits in the first place but perhaps it solidifies them in peoples minds and adds additional convictions that they might not have held. that's definately something that a relgion does. a vehicle for cultural continuity. the idea of a liminal space/time within a religion but not necessarily of the religion is interesting to me. but there wouldn't be a religion that burning man could be in the context of that would explain the "religious" aspects of burning man. what did you get your masters in? Thu, 22 Sep 2005 16:53:54 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#1584a61c-8a13-4aed-b1c0-cebddf442909 automatthew 2005-09-22T16:53:54Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#36f5a03e-db40-4ff5-8eaa-acc4453a07ad I wrote my MA thesis on BM's gift economy and its role in the creation of a community. While I'm really feeling too lazy to get into what I wrote, I can tell you that I used online surveys, tribe.net, JRS newsletters, informal interviews, and publications (especially websites), in addition to a couple year's worth of "fieldwork" (for which I got backdated approval through the U of Chicago's IRB). tribe.net and regional networks were also pieces of evidence of lasting inclinations towards an emerging community. I didn't even begin to touch on issues of identity! woo, what a topic (and a monstrosity to write about)! yes on the liminal space aspect! no on the religion! (just my opinion) - why? because burning man does not provide (in my opinion) an explanation for the "uncontrollable" and "unexplainable" in everyday life. My grasp of what religion is: a venue for "taking care of" the things that a person cannot control and "explaining" things that cannot be comprehended. any thoughts? does burning man do this for anyone? it seems more like it fulfills the role of any other celebratory liminal space/time WITHIN a religion or "culture" than actually being one all on its own. (for example: mardi gras is not a religion, it's a liminal space within catholicism) Thu, 22 Sep 2005 01:21:27 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#36f5a03e-db40-4ff5-8eaa-acc4453a07ad Miriam 2005-09-22T01:21:27Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#63949131-393b-4680-8c58-602a48e309a3 but that's what i asked for? it does definately seem like a liminal space in the sense of normal rules and identities being suspended. but what change would take place afterwards? where would one go on to? i haven't heard of the "temporary autonomous zone" idea but it sounds interesting. i'll definately look it up. and the post-subcultures reader. though the autonomy of burning man is definately in question... hehe. but can one really do fieldwork effectively in only a week? i would think online communities like tribe and regional networks would have to be included. Wed, 21 Sep 2005 19:30:08 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#63949131-393b-4680-8c58-602a48e309a3 automatthew 2005-09-21T19:30:08Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#770f29b2-0640-4406-bbc6-c8af3e5735ee Two initial theoretical launching points, one new one old: Turner's liminality and communitas, and Hakim Bey's "Temporary Autonomous Zone." As for the latter, while not strictly anthropological, it is being increasingly used; I myself have used it in papers to discuss raves and electronic dance music culture. See also, for instance, David Muggleton's edited work _The Post-Subcultures_ reader which not only uses the TAZ extensively but also Maffesoli's notion of, yes, the "tribe." I do think fieldwork could be done on at BM. Good ole participant observation, although the observer/observed boundaries would be very permeable...not that Clifford, Marcus, Fischer, and others haven't thoroughly deconstructed that anyway. I'll stop there. Sorry for spouting theory; my PhD exams are still knockin' around my head... Wed, 21 Sep 2005 18:21:46 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#770f29b2-0640-4406-bbc6-c8af3e5735ee $item.owner.firstName 2005-09-21T18:21:46Z http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#348b62b7-c337-4408-b5a6-68660c19190d what do you guys think? a genuinely new social formation or just the same old same old? does it make sense to talk about it as a religion? it seems to fulfill many of the same functions as a religion. what about international networks? the formation of community? what about identity? what about the material of modern life? bringing all that material out onto a blank slate and reorganizing it. amalgamating it. destroying it. contesting meanings and categories. what is up with this business? do you think real fieldwork could be done in this context? Wed, 21 Sep 2005 18:08:58 GMT http://cultanthro.tribe.net/thread/bce5ba9a-7052-4d99-97bb-c8c6d984e6bf#348b62b7-c337-4408-b5a6-68660c19190d automatthew 2005-09-21T18:08:58Z