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ARENS_101

                                             December 27, 2018

Once upon a time, circa-1980, I took Anthropology 101
with a W.S. Arens-- the author of "The Man-Eating Myth"--
as the main lecturer.
                                                              APOCRYPHA
This class had a fair amount of influence of my         
view of the world and the intellectual landscape,      
but it was many years pre-doomfiles, and not much
of it has been written up here.                  
                            
Arens was an interesting smart-ass, but unlike many
of his disposition he appeared to be doing his best
to maintain a standard for intellectual honesty and
integrity.  He was very careful about what he claimed
to know and why, and was trying very hard not to
over-reach.

But then, he also was willing to indulge in attempts at
insightful interpretation which you wouldn't be able to
prove in any rigorous way.

One of his claims to fame is that he had published an article in
the NYT-- that was an attempt at Anthropological analysis of
American Football.  He created quite a bit of controversy by
arguing that the various shoulder pads and such that the players
wear had the primary function of exaggerating male secondary
sexual characteristics-- broad shoulders, budging chests-- He
argued that these pads didn't really work as safety armor and
were used offensively as much as they were defensively.

     He mentioned in passing that he'd written this
     to try to make some use of the embarassing amount
     of time he'd spent in his life watching football--
     he estimated he'd spent more time on football than
     he had reading.


https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/16/archives/an-anthropologist-looks-at-the-rituals-of-football.html

    "... consider the extent to which football gear accents
    the male physique. The donning of the required Items
    results in an enlarged head and shoulders and narrowed
    waist, with the lower torso poured into skintight pants
    accented only by a metal codpiece.  The result is not an
    expression but an exaggeration of maleness. Dressed in
    this manner, players can engage in hand holding, hugging
    and bottom patting that would be disapproved of in any
    other context ..."

    "Admittedly there are good reasons for Wearing the gear,
    but that does not mean that we should dismiss the
    symbolic significance of the visual impression. The game
    could just as easily he played without the major items
    such as the helmet, shoulder pads and cleats. They are
    as much offensive as defensive in function. Indeed, in
    comparison, Rugby players seem to manage quite well in
    the flimsiest of uniforms."





More interesting though were his writings on a different
subject: on the subject of cannibalism, he argued that the
anthropological record was so weak it would make more sense
to presume it didn't exist...


                            MAN-EATING_MYTH


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