Created in 2011, Hot Spots goes beyond the headlines to consider current events and pressing global issues from the perspective of anthropologists and others on the scene. Hot Spots series are reviewed by the editors of Cultural Anthropology; series editors must be current members of the SCA.

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A la izquierda del poder

A la izquierda del poder

(English translation below) Esta colección de ensayos reflexiona sobre la llegada al poder, por primera vez en la historia del país, de la izquierda democrática... More

Woman, Life, Freedom

Woman, Life, Freedom

On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Zhina Amini, a twenty-two-year-old woman from the Iranian province of Kurdistan, died in Tehran due to injuries incurred while in p... More

The "Marcha a Lima" against the Denial of Modern Political Rights

The "Marcha a Lima" against the Denial of Modern Political Rights

Pedro Castillo, a rural school teacher, was sworn in as President of Peru on July 28, 2021; his victory built on solid electoral support from Andean Indigenous ... More

After Roe

After Roe

On June 24, 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a conservative supermajority of the US Supreme Court overturned the court’s rulings in Roe v.... More

Negotiating the Crisis: Critical Perspectives on Climate Governance

Negotiating the Crisis: Critical Perspectives on Climate Governance

This Hot Spots series critically examines the global apparatus of climate change governance, through ethnographic analysis of the United Nations Framework Conve... More

Haiti beyond Crisis

Haiti beyond Crisis

This series suggests new ways to understand the current situation in Haiti and poses questions about what is, and isn’t, happening in Haiti right now. We seek t... More

Russia’s War in Ukraine, Continued

Russia’s War in Ukraine, Continued

This is a continuation of the series, Russia's War in Ukraine, published on March 11. Every war is distinctive in its sources, consequences, and legacies. Some ... More

Russia’s War on Ukraine

Russia’s War on Ukraine

Russia launched its unprovoked war of aggression on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Anthropologists, with intimate experience on the ground, are striving to conte... More

The Damage Wrought: Immigration Before, Under, and After Trump

The Damage Wrought: Immigration Before, Under, and After Trump

The anthropologists and activists gathered for this series have long been on the front lines fighting for migrant and racial justice. They have assisted familie... More

Firestorm: Critical Approaches to Forest Death and Life

Firestorm: Critical Approaches to Forest Death and Life

The earth is aflame. The now annual fires—in Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, the United States, and beyond—are the most visible way that forests are dying. Forest... More