Op-Ed

Op-eds are one of the most common ways for researchers to become public intellectuals.  For this assignment, you will be writing an op-ed for a publication of your choice.  You can choose a newspaper, a blog, a magazine – it’s up to you.  But please choose a specific media outlet.  You will write differently for The Wall Street Journal than you would for a blog on Vice News.

 Your op-ed should use an anthropologist’s toolkit to persuade your readers to think differently about a conflict in the news.  You should avoid using jargon that you do not explain in the piece, but you should absolutely draw on anthropological concepts.  You could use your op-ed to challenge a hegemonic interpretation of an on-going crisis, or to call attention to a conflict that you think should be more prominent in your readers’ minds. You do not need formal citations.

 500 words