Today I received an email from another scholar calling for efforts to begin forming sessions for the 2007 Society for Applied Anthropology conference. Sounds good to me. I also need to begin the search for graduate schools for the fall of ’07. Maybe I can write a theoretical paper that discusses my potential dissertation work since I have no true university affiliation to conduct my own research.

The possible topics in anthropology would most likely be dealing with either Wal-Mart, obesity, cognitive anthropology, or some sort of medical anthropology work involving pharmaceutical drugs. As usual I have my research interests whittled down to around three topics. Somehow I need to get my focus pointed once and for all. Perhaps writing theoretical papers in one or more of these topics would help to solidify my interests.

Tonight I moved closer to a thesis for continued graduate studies. By carefully considering theory and firsthand experience I sit poised to introduce a descriptive and prescriptive suggestion for the woes of capitali$tic society.

My medium-length term goal is to describe cultural factors influencing obesity in the U.S. and other capitalist-industrial societies. In this post I attempt to make a brief argument for the functional position of Phish tour enthusiasts.

One possible explanation for the behaviors that are observed among those seeking membership in Phish summer tour is the temporary medication of social ills. Individuals seeking a sense of meaning and fulfillment among those seeking similar goals fit well with this argument. The atmosphere that is provided serves to assuage basic components that are missing from the individuals’ lives. Beyond the medicating substances that each individual may partake in the “scene” often provides the feedback and cohesion of group solidarity that the inner being of humans seeks.

To the Point, an NPR program from KCRW in CA, featured one of the authors of Selling Sickness which is a volume discussing the landscape of pharmaceutical sales in the U.S. Central to the thesis of this book is a critique of the drug industry’s intent to market many pharmaceutical products to North America.

Recent ads on television have introduced medication for restless legs syndrome which was one of the medical conditions questionably mentioned by the hosts of the To the Point which illustrates that a number of dubious conditions have emerged in the North American ethnomedical vernacular. Although this condition may have legitimate roots it stands to reason that the specificity and focus of the wide variety of pharmaceutical products available speaks to an aggressive effort on the part of drug companies to “create� consumers of niche drugs.

It may be that restless leg syndrome cannot be contested as a bona fide ailment. The question that should be asked is “where did this ailment come from?�…�Why does it occur?� Obviously there exists nascent health or medical issues that deserve attention and medication, but what are the social, political, and economic roots of such sickness?

I normally would not invoke a physical anthropological topic but I couldn’t help noticing a phenomenon this evening. Thinking of “public pathogens� in the contemporary human landscape I have to imagine that in ancient times the substrates harboring viral infectious (i.e., doorknobs, counters, other surfaces) were notably absent. The question at the fore is “to what extent do contemporary fixtures have on the spread and propagation of infectious diseases?�

Of course many know that increased population density equals increased infection occurance based on increased contact with other humans. Straightforward enough, but I still insist that living behind closed doors has much to do with increased suffering in the present human age. More on this condition in later conjecture.

“World on the Edge� is the theme for the Society for Applied Anthropology’s 65^th meeting held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Unlike the AAA meetings I volunteered at, (mentioned in the previous post) I will actually present at the upcoming meeting.

My paper will be based on the research I conducted for my master’s thesis project. Although the core discussion of my thesis could directly plug into the meeting’s theme, I have retooled some of my data in order to participate Paul Durrenberger’s session titled “Class and Collective Action.�

The upcoming SfAA meeting will likely provide a better opportunity for networking than that of the AAA meetings based solely on the increasingly smaller size. It will be interesting to see the dynamics of a much more manageably-sized meeting.

This is the first post on this emerging blog. There are no advertisements and the format is straightforward in terms of posting and publishing. I want to thank zemote for turning my attention to wordpress.

The goal of this blog is to develop meaningful conversations about social science, philosophy, teaching, the practice of science, and academia. One can expect a continuing dialogue of epistemological inquiries connected to the social sciences and efforts to reach some sort of “truth� in the above areas.

I will volunteer at the AAA meetings next week and should be interesting to see what networking and social opportunities arise.