Posts by This Author

Plantation Nation

Theorizing the Contemporary

Plantation Nation

The Plantations Enquiry Commission (PEC) was one of many evaluative bodies formed by the Government of India in the years after Indian independence in 1947. Suc... More

Opening Access to AAA’s Publishing Future

Member Voices

Opening Access to AAA’s Publishing Future

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) publishing contract with Wiley comes to term in 2022. In light of this pressing deadline, several journal editors... More

A Dress Code for the Revolution

Hot Spots

A Dress Code for the Revolution

During the festival season in October 2008, I sat on a sunny patio perched on a ridge just north of Darjeeling’s central plaza, Chowrasta. After another day of ... More

The Naturalization of Work

Theorizing the Contemporary

The Naturalization of Work

The naturalization of work usually refers to social processes that make a life underpinned by labor seem unquestionable, inevitable, and even desirable. This ki... More

Introduction: The Naturalization of Work

Theorizing the Contemporary

Introduction: The Naturalization of Work

The essays in this Theorizing the Contemporary series emerged from a 2016 School for Advanced Research seminar and three panels held at the 2017 annual meetin... More

Sickness

Theorizing the Contemporary

Sickness

On a Sunday in January 2016, I was at Stellabarrie Tea Estate in the Dooars, West Bengal. Stellabarrie’s owners had ceased operations and stopped paying wages... More

Monoculture

Theorizing the Contemporary

Monoculture

Agriculture—or more accurately, horticulture—marks human settlement. Growing plants is both a means of making place and a reason to stay there. When agricultur... More