why sexual life, why savages/neden cinsel hayat, neden vahsiler

I am misanthropic, I have mistrust in and fear of humans. Should I had the opportunity, I would have been a vicious and ruthless dictator. Instead, I have preferred studying anthropology, the so-called science of humans, or cultures if put it better.

A life in north midwestern US, and suggestions from famous anthropologists and anglo-american friends initiated this blog. Indeed, it is a life of constant fieldwork for me, everyday, all the time.

One would rightfully ask why the blog is called sexual life of savages. The answer is easy: it's the title of the world famous work by Bronislaw Malinowski -- the founding father of social anthropology and participant observation, which is the observation of other cultures by living with peoples of those cultures. I will only write vignettes that I participantly observe by simply following the steps of the very classics of my emerging profession: Malinowski, Boas, Evans-Pritchard, Mary Douglas, Ruth Benedict and more.

Sexual, because I strictly follow Lacan's primary notion of sexuation, that's, there is no sexual relationship. What is sexual is antagonistic -- with the self. Moreover I supplement it with Zizek's argument that "if there is nothing sexual between two things, there is no relationship between them."

Savages, because our most savage, animal like drives, violence and sex, are the ones that make us humans. There is nothing derogatory against anglo-americans here. Maybe there is... but it comprises all humanity equally.

One final thing: this is gonna be a bilingual stack of fieldnotes without being literal translations. you better enjoy it!

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Ben misantropigim, bende insanlara yonelik guvensizlik ve korku var. Imkanim olsa eli kanli ve acimasiz bir diktator olurdum. Ama bunun yerine antropoloji calismayi tercih ettim. Hani su "insan-bilim" ya da daha dogrusu kultur-bilim.

Amerika'nin ortabatisinin kuzeyindeki yasamim ve bir kac unlu anthropolog ile amerikali arkadaslarin onerileri bu bloga vesile oldu. Yasadigim hayat saha calismasi yapmaktan farksiz, her gun, her an.


Hakli olarak soracaksiniz neden blogun adi ilkellerin cinsel yasami diye. Cevabi basit: sosyal antropolojinin ve katilimci gozlem denen metodun babasi Bronislaw Malinowski'nin bi eserinin adi da ondan. Burada yapacagim sey icinde yer aldigim gozlemleri calisma sahamin Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard, Boas, Mary Douglas gibi klasiklerinin izinden giderek aktarmak olacak.

Cinsel, cunku Lacan'in cinsellesme teorisinin ilk dusturu olan "cinsel iliski yoktur" -- yani mevzu bahis olan "kisinin kendisi ile kurdugu antigonistik bir bagdir"a siki sikiya bagliyim. Dahasi bu dusturu Zizek'in "iki sey arasinda cinsel bir iliski yoksa, hic bir iliski yoktur" savi ile destekliyorum.

Vahsiler, cunku bizim en vahsi, en hayvansi oldugunu dusundugumuz durtulerimizin en insansi olduklarina inaniyorum. Burada amerikalilari asagilan birsey yok. Belki de var ama bu butun insanligi esit derece de kapsayan bir sey.

Son olarak coktan farkettiginiz uzere bu blog iki dilli bir saha notlari derlemesi olacak, ama birebir ceviri bulamayacaksiniz. Keyfini cikarsaniz iyi olur!