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.
Bolsonaro and the Unmaking of Brazil
Recently Brazil became an example of the destructive forces of populist extreme-right-wing governments. Indigenous and traditional populations, the environment,... More
Europe in the Balance
Europe seems to be plunging into crises of demographic and economic displacements, heightened nationalism, and general unrest. Wealthy countries that have enjoy... More
Behind the Migrant Caravan: Ethnographic Updates from Central America
(Con traducción al español)Central America is again in the news as a region in crisis. In October 2018, a group of migrants gathered in a bus station in San Ped... More
From Reciprocity to Relationality: Anthropological Possibilities
Recently, the discipline of anthropology has faced much-needed critique from a chorus of young and dynamic scholars. These critiques emerged in the face of the ... More
Lessons for Liberalism from the “Illiberal East”
The cumulative effects of Brexit, the resurgence of populist politics in Europe, and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States have given r... More
Im/migration in the Trump Era
One year into the Trump presidency, when our core values of multiculturalism, cross-cultural understanding, international diversity, and racial inclusion are un... More
Demonetization: Critical Responses to India’s Cash(/less) Experiment
On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetized 86 percent of the cash circulating in India. While citizens were allowed to deposit and exchange n... More
Cuba as Dreamworld and Catastrophe
This Hot Spots series attempts to interrogate how Cuba is interpellated by diverse audiences to think with and about the complexities and paradoxes of everyday,... More
The Rise of Trumpism
The rise of Donald Trump caught many off-guard. What happened? And what comes next? At least one thing is clear: stark divides are being exposed in social order... More
Standing Rock, #NoDAPL, and Mni Wiconi
Thousands of Water Protectors from more than three hundred Native nations, as well as allied supporters from a range of social movements, gathered at the Standi... More