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I think it’s the professor who cheapens her own work by seemingly counting the ways to work gender politics into everything. Textiles, Ur, and the social struc
by FredPret 5y ago
I think it’s the professor who cheapens her own work by seemingly counting the ways to work gender politics into everything.
Textiles, Ur, and the social structure of ancient societies are legitimate and informative fields of study. It deserves an even-handed treatment.
What if the author had an obsession with, say, democracy, or the colour red; and looked high and low for evidence of it in the world of textiles in ancient Ur. It would detract from her main work.
- AlotOfReading 5y agoHalf of the population is a different sex. It seems like understanding gender might be somewhat important in studying ancient societies.
- FredPret 5y ago…which is why I said she should be studying the social structure, not finding ways to bring as many points of gender politics into every facet. It reads like medieval Christian literature, where every last thing is meant to portray the glory of god in some obscure way.
- AlotOfReading 5y agoShe does study social structure. That's what being an anthropologist means. Have you read anything Wright's written? I couldn't find anything recent that could remotely be described as "finding ways to bring in as many points of gender politics". The books she edited in the 90s about studying gender in archaeology focus on the subject out of necessity. If all you're going on is TFA, you might have missed the context that it's a pop history interview by a writer at Atlas Obscura who focuses on historical women. It's not the entirety of Wright's area of study.