Popanth: Hot buttered Humanity
The website Popanth: Hot Buttered Humanity uses anthropological ideas to describe and explain aspects of contemporary human behavior (htpp// popanth.com/). The website is divided into four sections that more or less correspond to the traditional four fields of anthropology: contemporary culture, archeology, language and communication and human body. Each section presents articles that are equivalent to about two pages. The articles include a side bar on the author that features a photograph, university affiliations, and a brief biography. For the non-anthropologist, having a photograph of the author and a small amount of information puts a human face behind the anthropological explanations of everyday human behaviour. The result is that the website is less intimidating for those who are not familiar with the academic environment.
The language used in the website would be comfortable for a High School student and therefore it is accessible for most people. Most of the articles were underpinned with serious anthropological content. However, a few of the articles had a tenuous connection to anthropology, but they were still interesting. The fact that the website picks up contemporary issues and discusses them in everyday language means that the website could serve as a portal to encourage younger readers to take a more serious look at anthropology later on.
Other sections on the website included book reviews and “Featured Pop Stars.” The book reviews were overviews of the material without delving into theory. The “Featured Pop Stars” were short biographies on a variety of different anthropologists and a description of their research interests. The website is colourful and easy to navigate. The intention of the website is to popularize anthropology. Although it is hard to be certain, the website content choices and language style indicates that the website is targeting sophisticated High School Students.
References
Popanth: Hot Buttered Humanity. Retrieved from http://popanth.com/
