Since the launching of the first satellites into orbit and the start of the Internet, the telecommunications revolution has changed how humans interact, work, entertain, and even make and maintain friendships. Can you imagine a world in which cyberspace and social media are supervised and censored by the government? How would you and your friends adjust to that new media environment? What steps would you take if you felt impelled to help prevent or reverse such control?
Reflecting on the human condition before and after the start of the Anthropocene epoch that began with the industrial revolution two centuries ago, how do the pre-Anthropocene challenges our species faced compare to those of today?
Considering the relationship between structural power and structural violence, does your own lifestyle— in terms of the clothing and food you buy, the transportation you use, and so on—reflect or have an effect on structural violence in the globalization process?
The World Health Organization, UNESCO, Oxfam, and Amnesty International are global institutions concerned with checking structural violence and human rights violations. Confronted with genocidal conflicts, famines, epidemics, and torture of political prisoners, activists in these organizations try to improve the human condition. Do you think an anthropological perspective might be of practical use in solving such worldwide problems? Can you think of an example?