Ethnology museums are pedagogical. As educators attempting to make sense of how museums teach about the world, the authors of this article are especially interested in how ethnology museums curate otherness through objects, texts, and spaces, and how these combine to present a narrative of others. Ellsworth has referred to this as the…

Ethnomusicology, the field in which the author has spent most of his life, is an unpronounceable interdisciplinary field whose denizens have trouble agreeing on its definition. He calls it the study of the world's musical cultures from a comparative perspective, and the study of all music from the perspective of anthropology. In this article,…

In this article, the author reflects on the transitions she has navigated since 2005 and offers insight into elements of research relationships. As she guides and accompanies a new generation of qualitative researchers planning and experiencing their fieldwork, the need for writing that addresses the complexities of "the intersubjectivity of the…

I argue that until ethnomathematical frameworks are explicitly used to investigate the specific mathematical practices in networks of powerful elites the term will continue to index that which is Other to "traditional" mathematics and run a risk of desubstantialization. I suggest that the field ally itself with disciplines and perspectives in…

In the summer of 2008, the Spanish legislature resolved to grant great apes (though not all simians) basic human rights. While the decision to grant such rights came about largely through the lobbying efforts of the Great Ape Project (GAP), the decision has potential reverberations throughout the scientific world and beyond in its implications for…

In this commentary, anthropologist Iris Carter Ford reflects on the preceding pieces by Carmen Kynard and Signithia Fordham. She identifies parallels among the two essays and her own life, drawing out themes that emerge from the narratives. Integrating ideas about "talking black" and "talking back," Ford notes that both phenomena have roots in…

Ethnologists in the early twentieth century were the first to publish photographs of the Alabama-Coushatta people of Texas and the Coushatta (often written as "Koasati") of Louisiana. Since then, authors have shaped the photographic and textual representations according to their own notions of culture and identity. In this case, Mark…

In western musical contexts at global and local levels, musicians are becoming increasingly involved in what might be termed multicode music making and are expanding their musical competences. In this article I consider the practical and cognitive implications of such an expanding of competences for music education at various levels. Combining…

Examines the history and structure of two interdisciplinary fields (sociology of music and ethnomusicology) and describes their relationship to each other. Looks at the sociology of music within the context of musical scholarship, describes four approaches to musical sociology, and contrasts sociology of music with ethnomusicology. (AYC)

This history of the ethnic classification used in various Central American countries provides conceptual and historical background for understanding current systems of classification. It includes tables showing the ethnic composition of Central America during the colonial regime. (JDH)

The articles in the volume on ethnography and education are seen as an attempt to think through the underlying conceptions of ethnographic method in order to provide a context and logic for its application to education. They represent an effort to bridge the gap between anthropological and educational ethnography. Some of the discussions address…

Discusses the iron tower, a key symbol in the mythology of the Haya people of Northwestern Tanzania, in terms of the historical and symbolic importance of iron production in the area. Through structural analysis, the mythic unification of industrial production and human procreation is clarified. (CS)

Discusses F. Graeme Chalmers' view (v22 n3 1981) that cultural anthropology, (more specifically ethnography) is an essential aspect of art education. The complexity of modern society requires that art education promote understanding of cultural pluralism. (AM)

Joel Spring (2007/this issue) argues that in most nation states around the world today, English plays a central role primarily as a commodity of globalization. At the same time in the United States, English is being perpetuated in nationalistic terms as the only legitimate language. This is done through a variety of mechanisms such as language…

Proposes a framework to review the literature of the culture of mathematics, specifically in the use of the term ethnomathematics. Derives a definition of ethnomathematics; reviews two examples as a test of the power of the definition and the resultant description of ethnomathematics. (Author/MKR)