What's in Your Bag, Anthropologists?

 What’s in Your Bag, Anthropologists? Tammy Clemons, A.J. Faas, Taylor R. Genovese, Carol Hendrickson, Alejandro Ponce De Leon, Brooke Scelza, Nancy White, Laura Zanotti, Douglas Ba ord, Susan Mazur-Stommen, Claire-Marie Hefner, Michael T. Balonek, Ashley Stinnett, and Natalia Maksymowicz Mroz July 18, 2018 From the Andean highlands to Appalachia, anthropologists from across the discipline open their eld bags to reveal favorite pens, recording equipment, emergency granola bars, and—of course— scarves. What’s in your bag? Tammy Clemons My backpack often serves as a mobile o ce, so it always includes eldwork/travel essentials like basic o ce supplies, consent forms, a notebook with a stitched cover my mamaw made, and some combination of electronic devices. Depending on where I’m going and what I need, I have an iPhone (can you nd it in the picture?), a laptop, and, most recently, a tablet. I’ve used all as audio recording devices at some point, and the iPhone is indispensable for highresolution photos, recording voice memos, and scanning documents. Other digital accessories include headphones, chargers, ash drives, and an ethernet cable for high-speed internet connections. Survival tools include a multi-purpose knife, water bottle, and Tide-to-Go stick; and small comforts range from Emergen-C, mentholated lip balm, and a tea tree/peppermint oil “headache stick,” to a repurposed AAA mint tin for aspirins. Not pictured but equally important when travelling at night/overnight: headlamp (because cell phone ashlights are not handy or clutz- proof), menthol/camphor rub (night-time breathing relief/relaxant), and Calmes Forte (homeopathic sleep aid). Finally, I might not play for months or years at a time, but I almost always carry a hackysack, which can be a great way to meet people, have fun, and share mutual accomplishments. Tammy Clemons is a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky. Her dissertation research focuses on the cultural productions of young media makers in Appalachia. You can read more on her work here. A.J. Faas This is my daily bag and contents for eldwork in disaster-a ected villages and disaster-induced resettlements around Mt. Tungurahua, in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. After years of experimentation, I’ve settled on the research gear listed below, whether I’m doing eldwork in Ecuador, Mexico, or the United States, and I tend to keep things simple. In the Andean highlands, the weather changes drastically over short distances and short periods of time, so some additional eld gear is necessary. Bag: Camelbak Mule with three-liter water bladder (Timbuk2 messenger bag for urban contexts) Research gear: Sony PCM-M10 Digital Voice Recorder; two extra AA batteries; Google Pixel smartphone/camera (not pictured because I used it to take the photo); Muji 3 x 5″ lined notebook; Pilot G-2 .07 black pen; Muji .05 mechanical pencil; folder with interview scripts and informed consent forms Field gear: UNIQLO water-resistant, hooded windbreaker; Champion PowerCore tness sweatshirt; Nike Tailwinde Dri-Fit cap; Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and case; Cotton scarf; NASA compactable tote bag (for the market, but also because people frequently give me lots of fruit as gifts); OxyLED ashlight; basic rst aid (Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, and antiseptic wipes). A.J. Faas is associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Anthropology at San José State University. Taylor R. Genovese Aside from items that I keep in my pockets (keys, cell phone, pocket knife, charging cable, and lip balm), these items are always stu ed into my Timbuk2 Hudson briefcase. Four of these are my must-haves for eldwork: 1) my old, trusty Canon T2i with attached battery grip and 50mm prime lens (I also carry the standard 18-55mm zoom lens); 2) my Minolta X-370 35mm lm camera (with 45mm lens capable of f/2.8), usually loaded with Tri-X 400 ISO black and white lm; 3) the Midori traveler’s notebook, which is really just a strip of leather out tted to contain 3–4 notebooks—I usually install a lined notebook, a blank notebook, and a dot-grid notebook; 4) the Zoom H4N portable digital recorder for recording interviews, soundscapes, and notes to myself. My laptop is another item that is always nearby; I use it for photo editing, transcribing, and entertainment. Some periphery items include a bandana, ke yeh, business cards, writing utensils with spare lead and erasers, chargers, (sun)glasses, a small tin with ibuprofen, tissues, a pen light, and a book. Taylor R. Genovese is a doctoral student in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology at Arizona State University. Follow him at @trgenovese. Carol Hendrickson Opening my shoulder bag, I remove a notebook and black rollerball pen, locate a blank page, and begin to sketch. I tend to draw on the spot and like the challenge of catching di erent aspects of everyday life in thin, inky lines and painterly brushstrokes. Putting down lines that are not words also gives me a break from more conventional note-taking, and the drawings themselves—as well as ephemera glued alongside—are important sites of memory when I want to recall details or puzzle over ideas. As for the typical inhabitants of my bag, I have various rollerball pens and a notebook—purchased or handmade—with a sturdy cover that can serve as a work surface and pages that are thick enough to withstand enthusiastic writing and drawing on both front and back. In addition I carry a Winsor & Newton travel watercolor set (slightly modi ed to hold more pans of paint), water brushes (with water- lled plastic tubes that allow the brush to self-clean), pencils (graphite and watercolor), pencil sharpener, ruler, glue stick, and scissors. It’s not that any item is particularly special but rather that all the pieces are there, in my bag, ready to use. Carol Hendrickson is professor emerita of anthropology at Marlboro College. Drawing as part of eldwork has allowed her to nally gure out what to do with her art training. Alejandro Ponce De Leon Time is an integral axis of my works. My clock and watch are the rst things that I pack. I’ve been wearing Casio F91W watches since the early 1990s. I got this one the rst time I went to do eldwork in rural Colombia. It’s a good luck charm. My clock serves as a timer and daily alarm. I love how loud it is. To keep track of my schedule, I use a Moleskine daily planner. To track of my notes and ideas, however, I use a handmade notebook made by the Colombian bookbinder Ricardo Aguirre. I write with MUJI 0.38mm pens. Minimalist design, lightweight, ink that does not bleed on the page—it’s the perfect pen. I carry my readings in my Amazon Kindle. In my work, I have been exploring modes of grasping the ethnographic moment through instant photography. There is something in the uniqueness and immediacy of these cameras that cannot be replicated with their digital counterparts. My main camera is the Lomo’Instant Wide, which is great for experimenting with multiple exposures and apertures. The Kodak Printomatic, on the other hand, lets me make snapshots in a small format. Finally: my passport and sunglasses—because they need to be there. Always. Alejandro Ponce de Leon is an interdisciplinary ethnographer. His work is concerned with the experience of being-at-home in context of migration and forced displacement. Brooke Scelza Clockwise from top left: 1. rst aid kit 2. hat 3. water bottle 4. wallet and change purse 5. matches 6. pens, sharpies 7. local cell phone 8. leatherman 9. protein bars 10. sunscreen and hand sanitizer 11. eye drops (frequently requested by community members) 12. iPad and notebooks for data collection (including old census data for comparison) 13. baby wipes Brooke Scelza is associate professor of anthropology and vice chair of Graduate Studies at the University of California Los Angeles. Nancy White For archaeological eldwork, I empty my purse into my eld pack, a waterproofed bag that must be red so I can nd where I set it in the forest. Pointed and square trowel handles are also painted red (old nail polish). The eld pack already has compass, string, line level, leather work gloves, paint spatula or cheese spreader, pocketknife, folding pliers, sharpies, plastic spoon and bamboo skewers for digging, ziploc bags, tape measure, orange or neon pink agging (anything visible against the trees), emergency granola bar, waterproof notebook. Also important are waterproof mascara (you never know whom you might run into in the woods), since it rains a lot in the eld (though the waterproof kind clings to more spiderwebs than the regular); compact with mirror (for shiny nose and emergency signaling); and chapstick. My kid’s toy magnet is useful to see if an orange glob is rusted iron. Also included are a spare bandanna, tiny rstaid kit, ¼ roll of duct tape ( attened to save space), toilet paper half-roll (also attened). A bottle of kids’ liquid benadryl is great for stings; a couple swigs and it acts immediately, although of course you are useless for eldwork the rest of the day. Nancy White is professor of anthropology, University of South Florida, and researches the archaeology of the Apalachicola-lower Chattahoochee valley region. Laura Zanotti Instead of minimalism, I pack items wellsuited for reciprocal anthropology. I always have one notebook and a handful of others, extra pens and colored pencils, sharpies, highlighters, pencil sharpeners, paper clips, safety pins, tape, hairbands, lighters, rubber bands, zip ties, and other items that can be given, lent, and borrowed. I throw it all in a mesh case. I pack ear plugs, chapstick, tiger balm, green goo, a face mask, headlamp, poncho, scarf, and a thick, warm pair of socks—with these I can sleep and pee anywhere. I have copies of business cards, consent forms, project information, and family snapshots. I carry with me two recorders: one oral-history ready professional grade recorder and a smaller more portable one. I carry a smart phone, juice pack, cords, batteries, headphones, and earbud splitter. My smart phone acts as an extra recorder, notebook, camera, and assistant. I download favorite podcasts that make me laugh and cry—RadioLab, Still Here, and the Moth. My phone has ESRI collector, Adobe capture, iAnnotate, GeniusScan, and WhatsApp, along with music to share. I use a Canon DSLR. I pack external drives, SD cards and usb drives. I bring my laptop, and a rainready trash bag for the unexpected. Laura Zanotti is an interdisciplinary social scientist and engaged environmental anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at Purdue University. Douglas Ba ord When travelling to church services in the Johannesburg area, I always bring the same Bible I’ve had since I was a young boy. I can cross-reference biblical citations and read along with scriptural readings and exegesis, and I often pick up other literature from the congregations I visit, from evangelistic tracts to weekly service programs. I always carry at least one notebook—old-fashioned pen-and-paper works best for me, especially the small pocket-sized pad I’ve taken a special liking to for taking down contact information and important jottings. A handheld voice recorder is usually nestled somewhere in my backpack to take advantage of impromptu interviews. In this photo I also have two library books to keep abreast of South African scholarship, one by Jean and John Comaro and another by sociologist Sharlene Swartz. Finally, I always carry a supply of the hormone insulin and hypodermic needles required to inject it, as well as the accoutrements needed to correct for its iatrogenic e ects and to test my blood every day. Taken together, they form a medicinal complex akin to, in a phrase borrowed from Horace Miner, those “charms and magical potions without which [this author does not believe] he could live.” Douglas Ba ord is a doctoral student at Brandeis University, where he studies evangelical Christianity and its spread in post-apartheid South Africa. Susan Mazur-Stommen This is my everyday carry for anything further away from my house than the grocery store. Ipad Kindle Galaxy S9 (not pictured, son’s phone is standing in as a prop). Notepad Swiss Army knife with paracord and carabiner Black case is my mobile o ce Memory sticks Earbuds Auxiliary cord Business cards Pens Portable charger USB cord Tiny scissors Starbucks card Yellow pouch holds contact lenses, cases, solution Hand sanitizer Hand lotion Toothbrush Sewing kit Ibuprofen Vaseline Lens wipes Nail clippers Lipstick (2) Eyeliner Mascara I gure I can pretty much restart civilization with what is in my bag, and I can survive impromptu business meetings, long days at conferences, transit delays, even being stranded somewhere overnight. I used to have more, but my son is o to college in three weeks! Susan Mazur-Stommen is a practicing anthropologist and founder of Indicia Consulting. She also teaches at Goucher College. Claire-Marie Hefner I work in Islamic boarding schools for girls in urban Indonesia, which requires that I look modest and professional in the eld. A headscarf is a must—to pull on when entering school grounds or a mosque. Closed-toe shoes are the only acceptable footwear for o ces and classrooms but they also have to be easy to get on and o for shoe-free spaces like teachers’ homes and religious study groups (where they usually get trampled by students). Aspirin, a reusable cup, some make-up, a comb, tissues, and sunglasses help keep me fresh in the heat of tra c. I can’t forget a wallet with extra business cards for new contacts. I never leave home without my trusty Lumix for snapping pictures and taking videos around town. Despite the fact I often carry more than one phone (plus a charger) in the eld, I nd my digital voice recorder to be the most reliable for interviews. For eld notes, I stick to pens and a small notebook—I went through at least a dozen for my dissertation research. I would never use a phone for note taking since I wouldn’t want a teacher to think I was texting while observing their class! Claire-Marie Hefner, PhD is a visiting assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Manhattanville College. She works on Islamic education, morality, and women’s achievement in Indonesia. Michael T. Balonek Here’s my bag, used for my ethnomusicological/cultural anthropological eld research here in North India. All inside the very large BSA backpack. Contents: Zoom H4N audio recorder, with wind-shield, mic stand adaptor, and waterproof case (which goes inside the backpack) Flip Video camera Multiple sets of extra AA batteries for each of the aforementioned devices Extra SD card(s) Nikon D3200 (not pictured, because it was being used to take this photo), with case (also goes inside the backpack), extra battery, charging adaptor, external microphone, extra lens Reading material in case I am sitting around (today, it happens to be the New Testament in Hindi) Backpack’s rain cover BSA pocket knife (always good to Be Prepared) Band-Aids Toilet paper Snack (today: “Khatta Meetha namkeen) Water purity tester Field journal (AAA), and one extra notebook; multiple pens Manjeera (small cymbals), since I will invariably be asked to sing something at some point Not pictured: phone charger. Let’s hope I remember it! Why do I have a camera which takes still photos AND videos, and a video device, and an audio recorder, all at once? It pays to have backups or alternate devices to use in case of unanticipated, unexplainable equipment failure! Michael T. Balonek is a PhD candidate at the Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute in Allahabad, India. His research is looking at the music of Bhojpuri-speaking villages as a source of qualitative data for anthropological research. Ashley Stinnett This summer, I have been establishing a eldsite in Amsterdam where I am studying meat consumption and production. My eldkit is often dependent on what I am trying to accomplish for the day—meeting people, scoping neighborhoods for new butcher shops, or conducting interviews—but this image re ects the most typical contents of my bag. Equipment: Tripod (which sometimes gets strapped to the back of my bicycle, instead of in the bag), Canon camera, GoPro Hero and GoPro Fusion cameras and tripods, gorilla tripod, wireless microphone, digital recorder, and external hard drive. All of my extra batteries, SD cards, head phones, lens cloth, and GoPro attachments get put into a small black bag, and I carry 2 large ziplock baggies to keep my equipment dry from the rain (and other uids associated with meat). Research: Clipboard containing consent forms and interview protocols, business cards, pens, moleskin notebooks (orange for new Dutch words, gray for eld note jottings). Personal: Rain jacket, cell phone, sunglasses, lip balm, wallet, knife, water bottle and a snack. You might ask, why so many cameras?! The GoPro Fusion is a new addition to my kit; I have been experimenting with the intersections of sensory and immersive environment ethnography. My favorite 360 degree footage so far has been shot from my bicycle during a ride across busy Amsterdam foot and bicycle tra c. Ashley Stinnett is an assistant professor at Western Kentucky University with a focus in visual and linguistic anthropology. Natalia Maksymowicz Mroz on the Himalayan Lightness of Being I never use the service of local Sherpas, so usually I must carry all that is necessary on my own back. The convenience of quickly changing location took over the luxury of having things, and convenience became my little obsession. I often need to apply for permits that require me to submit passport- sized photos of myself. I prepare these in advance so that I spend less time to be spent on formalities. In places where regular washing is impossible baby wipes are useful. To sleep I use water resistant cape that I place on a straw mattress, to insulate me from eas. Just in case I always make sure to carry with me very strong painkiller Tramadol in EpiPen and NRC foil. My heavy camera was replaced by a smartphone, which is a recorder and camera. I pack clothes for summer and winter weather: sandals, wool socks (in case of snowfall). I also wear the waist bag that allows me to reach my camera without removing my backpack. And remembering what is really important, I always make sure to have these couple inches of free space that is reserved for local artifacts. Natalia Maksymowicz Mroz is assistant professor and chair of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Szczecin in Poland. Her researcher is on the anthropology of mountains. Cite as: Clemons, Tammy, A.J. Faas, Taylor R. Genovese, Carol Hendrickson, Alejandro Ponce De Leon, Brooke Scelza, Nancy White, Laura Zanotti, Doug Ba ord, Susan Mazur-Stommen, Claire-Marie Hefner, Michael T. Balonek, Ashley Stinnett, Natalia Maksymowicz Mroz. 2018. “What’s in Your Bag, Anthropologists?” Anthropology News website, July 18, 2018. DOI: 10.1111/AN.929 Last updated September 5, 2018, to include entry submitted by Natalia Maksymowicz Mroz. Related Categories Related Tags 765 Comments   Susan Mazur-Stommen says: August 2, 2018 at 11:32 am Enjoying the heck out of this. Sending it around to pals and also submitted my own. Great ideas! Reply G P Witteveen says: July 30, 2018 at 11:44 am Great concept article – a lot of functional overlaps, but individual needs expressed, too. Newcomers get lots of ideas, especially the ‘concrete’ thinkers who learn from real-life examples better than analytical discussion. And old-timers get a chance to re ect on the things that have shaped their own working kit, too. Reply Commenting Disclaimer  © 2019 American Anthropological Association • 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1301 • Arlington, VA • 22201 • TEL (703) 528-1902 • FAX (703) 528-3546