The Optimistic Anthropologist Vol. 15

Trust & Gratitude, Favorite Podcasts of 2018, & 40+ New Opportunities!

January 24, 2019

January 2019, Volume 15View this email in your browser

Dear ,

Last month, I was catching up with to my brother-in-change, 

founder Eric Shih over video conference.  We were chatting about New Year's resolutions, and I shared with him that I never really felt a sense of renewal in the cold, short, dark days of December. In chatting with him, I realized that I've always found winter to be good time for connecting with and appreciating those I love. It's why I send holiday cards and cook for days and host a multi-cultural Hanukkah party each year.  While I enjoy these activities, looking at them through the lens of my work, I realize that they are behaviors for cultivating trusting relationships.  And trusting relationships are foundational for making positive and equitable change in the world!

Trust has been a theme in my work for over a decade.. In researching

. And, in the early days of Optimistic Anthropology I wrote about one of my favorite, simple tools --

(hat tip to my collaborator

for introducing me to it!)

Trust also makes doing the challenging work of complex social change a bit easier. It enables positive risk-taking, allows for honest communication, and creates different conditions for raising and working through conflicts. It also lets us express ourselves through silliness, joy, frustration, boredom, or anger.  When we trust one another, we don't need to keep up some facade.

I feel grateful that the Optimistic Anthropology community (which in case you weren't sure, includes you)  is made up of

, old friends and colleagues, as well as newer connections who I trust and learn from and even get to express my joy and frustration to each month through these notes. Thank you!  I feel fortunate to have you as part of the Optimistic Anthropology community and I'm excited to continue to learn and share, and spread joy and curiosity in 2019! 

Be well and do good,Alison

P.S. I'm currently traveling and working in Japan (until February 20)!  If you want to follow along on my travels, I'm trying to post a bit each day on

.

P.P.S. I'm exploring projects for Q2 and beyond in 2019!  If you're interested in collaborating or have a project you think I can be of help to you with,

We love podcasts and people keep making more and more great ones. So, we figured that the beginning of a new Gregorian calendar year was as good a time as any to round up some of our favorite podcasts that explored different points of view, eras, industries, and experiences in 2018.

In recent years, longstanding anti-semitic tropes have been used by white supremacists to create division and undermine POCs anti-oppression movements. We want to explore these and other topics, and share some Jewish traditions in the best way we know how -- by bringing together diverse people who are joyful and curious with knowledge, and homemade food! 

 (5 seats remain.)

Job, Consulting, and Fellowship Opportunities

is a monthly round up of job, consulting, and fully-funded fellowship and accelerator opportunities that people connected to Optimistic Anthropology are recruiting for. We’ve launched something new for 2019 - rolling submissions, so each month's post will be updated with new opportunities as they come in!

and

The 2018 Photo Collage

Each year, I put together a photo collage of some of my favorite images that help capture the year that was.  Here's the collage for 2018 which is filled with so much I love - nature, art, architecture, travel, community and local food!  Top Row (L to R): Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA; Donut Mural in Silver Lake, CA; Alison in the art at the Hirschhorn Museum, Washington, DC; Rooftop Asheville, NC.  Row 2 (L to R): Wheat pastes in Petworth, Washington, DC; artist's loft in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; blue door in Forres, Scotland; The Art of Burning Man at the Renwick Gallery in DC. Row 3 (L to R): Wall and man in Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany; pastel-windowed building, Alexanderplatz, Berlin, Germany; Puffin on Mykines, Faroe Islands; Art in the Free State of Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark. Bottom Row (L to R): AMC parked in Detroit, MI; Heidelberg Project, Detroit, MI; view of sunrise over the U.S.; Chicago style hot dog at O'Hare.

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