The Robert Roper piece on Alfred Kroeber was stunning. So well written; so much to digest. I had read about Ishi before but never his post-death desecration. No wonder Kroeber went into depression after their long association.
The final paragraph calling back to Scheper-Hughes’s powerful phrase “disordered mourning” will stay with me a long time. It encapsulates the complexity of coming to terms with the genocide of Native peoples, the history of anthropology, and the modern desire to “get past it.”
Thanks for linking to this and the introduction to Alta. Bonus fact: Kroeber was Ursula Le Guin’s father.
Thank you for the link to the balanced article on Alfred Kroeber and the renaming of Kroeber Hall.. I took physical anthropology from him at Cal in the early fifties. I remember that when we occasionally saw the sign "Gone Fishing" we knew that the professor was away on a field trip.
Zimbardo's death hit me hard - back when I went to Brooklyn College I tried to arrange an interview with him (our most famous alum, in the sciences anyway!) that just never panned out.
Speaking of Charlie and nicknames, there's the trend to nickname females with traditionally male-sounding names. Samantha becomes Sam, Josephine is Jo, Charlotte is Charlie. Plus a Loretta I dated was called "Fred." Could Nancy be "Nick"?
The Robert Roper piece on Alfred Kroeber was stunning. So well written; so much to digest. I had read about Ishi before but never his post-death desecration. No wonder Kroeber went into depression after their long association.
The final paragraph calling back to Scheper-Hughes’s powerful phrase “disordered mourning” will stay with me a long time. It encapsulates the complexity of coming to terms with the genocide of Native peoples, the history of anthropology, and the modern desire to “get past it.”
Thanks for linking to this and the introduction to Alta. Bonus fact: Kroeber was Ursula Le Guin’s father.
Thank you for the link to the balanced article on Alfred Kroeber and the renaming of Kroeber Hall.. I took physical anthropology from him at Cal in the early fifties. I remember that when we occasionally saw the sign "Gone Fishing" we knew that the professor was away on a field trip.
Zimbardo's death hit me hard - back when I went to Brooklyn College I tried to arrange an interview with him (our most famous alum, in the sciences anyway!) that just never panned out.
You're very welcome, Nancy. Thanks backatcha for the mention.
Most of my classes at Cal were in Kroeber Hall. I didn't realize they'd changed the name! Fascinating.
Speaking of Charlie and nicknames, there's the trend to nickname females with traditionally male-sounding names. Samantha becomes Sam, Josephine is Jo, Charlotte is Charlie. Plus a Loretta I dated was called "Fred." Could Nancy be "Nick"?
No.
There's always "Nan," but it seems to me Nancy is already short enough.
P.S. I tried Alphaguess, and it took me 18 words and about six minutes. Maybe I'll do it again and maybe I won't.
No, there's never Nan. Nancy is already a diminutive, something I've always hated about it.
I've written about my lifelong dislike of my name (gift link): https://wordworking.medium.com/my-name-and-i-a-hate-love-story-683e858d9a5a?sk=3c40f1e4b743c7dbb7a798ab1169924d
That's a lovely essay--thanks for the gift link!
The Enthusiast is one of my favorite books of all time, so I cannot wait to read Charlie Haas’s new one!