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Author Archives: jedstevenson
Spring mixtape
My stock-in-trade is ideas (mostly other people’s). As reflected in the book lists I’ve posted the past few years, many of them come from reading. But books aren’t the only place I find inspiration. Art and film are important too … Continue reading
Books of 2015
It’s taken me until Easter to get my stuff together. Here in any case are some of the books that made an impression on me this past year. A room of one’s own, by Virginia Woolf A beautifully written feminist … Continue reading
Rebooting democracy
In the New Scientist, Niall Firth channels a frustration with the democratic process that many in Britain are feeling in the wake of the general election. The system’s broken. Nothing changes. All politicians are the same. Why vote? It’s a … Continue reading
Posted in politics, UK
Tagged Ancient Athens, democracy, House of Lords, internet, politics
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Remembering Adwa
The defeat of a European invasion force by Africans 120 years ago presents challenges for how we remember. How are historical memories kept alive? And what meanings should we assign to them? Jed Stevenson This week in 1896, an army … Continue reading
Posted in africa, Ethiopia, history, Italy, lifespan, memory, war
Tagged Adwa, change the world, Ethiopia, First World War
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The year in 9 books
Some people send around a poem, a verse of scripture, or a pithy quotation at the end of the year. Not one to do things by halves, I hereby give you nine books. 1. Carbon democracy: Political power in the … Continue reading
Posted in books
Tagged anthropology, biodiversity, books, change the world, culture, energy, environment, global warming, poetry, politics
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Fighting for life and sight in Ethiopia
ABEL WAS BORN with one eye larger than the other. The difference wasn’t striking, but it caught the attention of the doctor who delivered him, and Abel’s father Getahun sought advice on what might have caused it. “There’s nothing wrong … Continue reading
Eye cancer in Ethiopia, revisited
My son suffers from a cancer of the eyes that is fatal if untreated. Now three years old, he’s leading about as close to a normal life as a child can with such a disease — thanks in large part … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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A distorted lens
Before They Pass Away, a project of the Anglo-Dutch photographer Jimmy Nelson, provides a window on some of the indigenous peoples of the world. His photographs — reproduced in a coffee-table book and a lavish website — are beautiful. But … Continue reading
Posted in anthropology, Ethiopia, indigenous people, justice, photography, politics, Westernization
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The EPA: A victim of its own success?
William Ruckelshaus was the first director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In a recent interview he reflected on what’s changed during the 43 years since the agency was established — and in particular since the passing of landmark … Continue reading
Posted in anthropology, climate, environmental science, health, politics, USA, water
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Top ten books of 2013
These are the books that marked the year for me.* Each resonated in one way or another with things I’ve learned as a researcher in Ethiopia and Congo, and as a dad. 1. The landgrabbers: The new fight over … Continue reading
Posted in anthropology, climate, education, environmental science, evolution, food, health, inspiration, medicine, politics
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A Human View 