The Anti-Politics of World Heritage

In the late 1990s, Mt. Kenya obtained World Heritage status for its unique natural features. Natural-scientific rhetoric underpinned the designation - and covered up the politics at play.

Marlous van den Akker • May 23, 2016 • 1 comment

Why anthropology matters: a critique on De Social Club’s take on hunting safaris

Anthropologists study difference: We go to other places to examine how, and why, people do things differently. However, the insights of these studies do not only teach us about other places and peoples - they can also shine a light upon our own society

Marlous van den Akker • February 21, 2014

Carrying a talisman: a valid fieldwork method

Some fieldwork encounters radically change our perspective. However, it often seems that such encounters depend more on a dose of good luck than on careful planning. My research as well took a radically different turn after one such lucky rendezvous.

Marlous van den Akker • December 02, 2013

The urge to forget: collective amnesia as a byproduct of the Westgate Mall attacks

On Saturday 21 September the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was taken over by militants. They killed and injured a shocking number of visitors and occupied the building for days. Kenya fought back by emphasizing the unity and solidarity among its citizens.

Marlous van den Akker • October 02, 2013 • 2 comments

Is the UNESCO Office in Paris falling to pieces? Musings on Picasso

In 1958 Pablo Picasso painted a mural for the UNESCO office, but after its installation he refused to sign it. Is this unfinished, soulless work of art perhaps emblematic for the state the organization is in?

Marlous van den Akker • June 10, 2013

My days as a cyborg: how I (temporarily) became the Kenyan elections

Between March 4 and 9 I lived in a vacuum. My sole companions were my laptop and my smartphone; together we merged into one grand news-consuming machine. Kenya was at the centre of my universe, the Kenyan elections my sole concern.

Marlous van den Akker • April 14, 2013

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