Author Archives: jedstevenson

Talking shit

Posted on October 27, 2017 by jedstevenson

Last week at UCL, Sjaak van der Geest of the University of Amsterdam gave a stimulating talk on the topic of faeces. His point of departure was the great 16th-century humanist Erasmus’ observation that his own shit was “bland” to … Continue reading →

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*New paper* ‘Do our bodies know their ways?’ Villagization, food insecurity, and ill-being in Ethiopia’s lower Omo valley

Posted on July 13, 2017 by jedstevenson

Some results from my research in Ethiopia are now available, ahead of publication in African Studies Review. The paper, co-authored with Lucie Buffavand, is a product of several years work in the lower Omo valley, where a massive hydroelectric dam … Continue reading →

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Living on a fault-line

Posted on June 16, 2017 by jedstevenson

Or, the challenge of thinking geologically. Last week I attended the Oxford Desert Conference, to bang the drum about work my colleagues and I are doing in the Turkana basin (stay tuned for more on that). I came away reminded … Continue reading →

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Afterlife

Posted on April 20, 2017 by jedstevenson

One of my favourite works of anthropology is a study of infancy among the Beng of Cote d’Ivoire. For people in this West African community, children are understood to come from the Afterlife. In their way of thinking, people’s spirits … Continue reading →

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Maps and the twentieth century

Posted on March 8, 2017 by jedstevenson

There is no internationally agreed map of the world. This is one of the more memorable things I took away from a recent exhibition at the British Library. The exhibition, entitled “Maps and the Twentieth Century: Drawing the Line,” reviewed   … Continue reading →

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Books of 2016

Posted on January 23, 2017 by jedstevenson

These are the books that have made the greatest impression on me this year. 1. The idealist, by Justin Peters Aaron Swartz was an IT prodigy who hacked the scholarly literature database J-Stor.  Brought to trial for doing so, he … Continue reading →

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Evidence for zombies

Posted on October 12, 2016 by jedstevenson

Last Friday I came home from Edinburgh, head buzzing with ideas after a 2-day meeting on evidence in development and global health. ‘How is evidence defined?’ the speakers from universities and NGOs asked. ‘How is it generated and used?’ Or … Continue reading →

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A tribute to Clive Hart

Posted on September 4, 2016 by jedstevenson

What sense can we make of a life? Granted, there may not be any single meaning. But is it possible we might find something robust to hold on to? Perhaps a family of meanings? These questions grip me as I … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, inspiration, UK | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Leave to Remain

Posted on June 27, 2016 by jedstevenson

Why I cried about Brexit. I cried about the referendum. Explaining why is hard. It’s not that I was committed to the EU as such. I admire some of the values associated with the project of European integration: cosmopolitanism and … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, UK | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The end of alchemy?

Posted on May 13, 2016 by jedstevenson

Is it prudent to orient our societies around the goal of achieving ‘20 years of growth and prosperity’ if, in the process, we are causing catastrophic climate change?  That’s the question I asked Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank … Continue reading →

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