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Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa
This personal account by a biocultural anthropologist illuminates not-soon-forgotten messages involving the sobering aspects of fieldwork among malnourished children in West Africa. With nutritional anthropology at its core, Dancing Skeletons presents informal, engaging, and oftentimes dramatic stories that relate the author's experiences conducting research on infant feeding and health in Mali.
Through fascinating vignettes and honest, vivid descriptions, Dettwyler explores such diverse topics as ethnocentrism, culture shock, population control, breastfeeding, child care, the meaning of disability and child death in different cultures, female circumcision, women's roles in patrilineal societies, the dangers of fieldwork, and facing emotionally draining realities. Readers will laugh and cry as they meet the author's friends and informants, follow her through a series of encounters with both peri-urban and rural Bambara culture, and struggle with her as she attempts to reconcile her very different roles as objective ethnographer, subjective friend, and mother in the field.
Through fascinating vignettes and honest, vivid descriptions, Dettwyler explores such diverse topics as ethnocentrism, culture shock, population control, breastfeeding, child care, the meaning of disability and child death in different cultures, female circumcision, women's roles in patrilineal societies, the dangers of fieldwork, and facing emotionally draining realities. Readers will laugh and cry as they meet the author's friends and informants, follow her through a series of encounters with both peri-urban and rural Bambara culture, and struggle with her as she attempts to reconcile her very different roles as objective ethnographer, subjective friend, and mother in the field.
172 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1993
33 people are currently reading
1096 people want to read
About the author
Katherine A. Dettwyler
8 books3 followersShe is the author of Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa, and the co-editor of Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, which includes her own two chapters "Beauty and the Breast: The Cultural Context of Breastfeeding in the United States," and "A Time to Wean: The Hominid Blueprint for a Natural Age of Weaning in Modern Human Populations." In 2003 she co-edited an anthropology reader with Vaughn Bryant, titled Reflections on Anthropology: A Four-Field Reader. Initial results of her research on extended breastfeeding in the United States were published in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, Volume 47, Number 3, pp. 712-723 ("When to Wean: Biological Versus Cultural Perspectives"). She is the author of many other scholarly articles. She is a frequent speaker at universities, La Leche League conferences, and lactation consultant conferences. She lives in Delaware with her husband Steven, her sons Peter (22) and Alexander (16), Truman the standard poodle, and four cats. Her daughter Miranda (who was breastfed until she was 4 years of age) completed her Master's degree in gravitational physics at the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2004. Miranda and Mark Douglas Hannam, Ph.D., of New Zealand, were married on June 11, 2005 in Newark, DE. They spent 2.5 years in in Jena, Germany, during which time Miranda became fluent in German and became a mommy to Henry Graham Hannam, born July 3, 2006. In March of 2008, the moved to Cork, Ireland. At 20 months, Henry is a healthy and happy breastfed toddler.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 10, 2009
An assignment for my medical anthropology class, this book infuriated me on so many levels that I feel compelled to write a pretty lengthy review on it.
First and foremost, my major complaint about this book is that throughout reading it, I could not figure out what the point of the book was... is it an ethnography? An autobiography? A how-to guide for surviving fieldwork? A treatise on the importance of nutrition? A work of fiction? (I know it's not, but I'll get to why I ask that later.) The schizophrenic nature of the writing left me shaking my head and throwing my hands up in frustration as I read further and further into it. Once I thought I had it figured out, she'd changed personalities again. I realize that she was writing for an undergraduate audience with the hopes of inspiring them to further explore the world of anthropology, so she likely did not wish to weigh down the book with heavy amounts of data and academic discourse. But! But! But! She IS an academician and this book IS written for academic purposes, so I expect the book to discuss things at a higher level, not the dumbed-down and pointless version she published... especially if I'm required to read this book for an academic class.
As a student of anthropology, I'm being taught to "remove my cultural biases" when encountering new and different cultural values, norms and mores than my own. I'm being taught to try and take a non-ethnocentric view on others. It's a difficult task because no one can truly remove themselves entirely from the culture in which they were raised; it's just not humanly possible. But, you do the best you can to keep your eyes and your mind open to view practices in their own cultural context. This is called cultural relativism, and as a student, I am taking this to heart. The fact that Dettwyler, a trained, educated, practicing and teaching anthropologist, has written a book in which she freely writes her negative views and opinions on the Malian people - some of them so ethnocentric, it's astounding - and doesn't apologize for her inability to separate her beliefs from her profession shocks and appalls me. Even as a student, I see the anthropological "crime" in her words and the actions she writes of, and I'm left with the bitter taste of hypocrisy in my mouth.
As someone who used to make a living writing professionally, I am dismayed and disappointed at several cardinal rules of writing being broken throughout the book, the most disturbing one being the use of whole dialogues between the author and several other characters in her book. I call them characters because that is exactly what whole bits of dialogue written like this conjure up. The conversations are written as if the author transcribed them word-for-word during their discourse, which is highly unlikely. So, I am left wondering... is this really what was said? Is Dettwyler portraying these people's words and the situations accurately as they happened? Or, is she shaping the conversations in a way that suits the point she is trying to make or to elevate the story just a bit? And, that makes me wonder just how REAL her story is... is this a work of fiction or non-fiction?
There are several other complaints and issues I have with "Dancing Skeletons" but then I fear my opinion of her book might end up being as long as the book itself. So, to end this on a positive note, I will say that if I were to find one positive aspect of the book, I would say that it's an excellent tool for teaching anthropology students what NOT to do as they further their studies in the field.
First and foremost, my major complaint about this book is that throughout reading it, I could not figure out what the point of the book was... is it an ethnography? An autobiography? A how-to guide for surviving fieldwork? A treatise on the importance of nutrition? A work of fiction? (I know it's not, but I'll get to why I ask that later.) The schizophrenic nature of the writing left me shaking my head and throwing my hands up in frustration as I read further and further into it. Once I thought I had it figured out, she'd changed personalities again. I realize that she was writing for an undergraduate audience with the hopes of inspiring them to further explore the world of anthropology, so she likely did not wish to weigh down the book with heavy amounts of data and academic discourse. But! But! But! She IS an academician and this book IS written for academic purposes, so I expect the book to discuss things at a higher level, not the dumbed-down and pointless version she published... especially if I'm required to read this book for an academic class.
As a student of anthropology, I'm being taught to "remove my cultural biases" when encountering new and different cultural values, norms and mores than my own. I'm being taught to try and take a non-ethnocentric view on others. It's a difficult task because no one can truly remove themselves entirely from the culture in which they were raised; it's just not humanly possible. But, you do the best you can to keep your eyes and your mind open to view practices in their own cultural context. This is called cultural relativism, and as a student, I am taking this to heart. The fact that Dettwyler, a trained, educated, practicing and teaching anthropologist, has written a book in which she freely writes her negative views and opinions on the Malian people - some of them so ethnocentric, it's astounding - and doesn't apologize for her inability to separate her beliefs from her profession shocks and appalls me. Even as a student, I see the anthropological "crime" in her words and the actions she writes of, and I'm left with the bitter taste of hypocrisy in my mouth.
As someone who used to make a living writing professionally, I am dismayed and disappointed at several cardinal rules of writing being broken throughout the book, the most disturbing one being the use of whole dialogues between the author and several other characters in her book. I call them characters because that is exactly what whole bits of dialogue written like this conjure up. The conversations are written as if the author transcribed them word-for-word during their discourse, which is highly unlikely. So, I am left wondering... is this really what was said? Is Dettwyler portraying these people's words and the situations accurately as they happened? Or, is she shaping the conversations in a way that suits the point she is trying to make or to elevate the story just a bit? And, that makes me wonder just how REAL her story is... is this a work of fiction or non-fiction?
There are several other complaints and issues I have with "Dancing Skeletons" but then I fear my opinion of her book might end up being as long as the book itself. So, to end this on a positive note, I will say that if I were to find one positive aspect of the book, I would say that it's an excellent tool for teaching anthropology students what NOT to do as they further their studies in the field.
November 21, 2016
***NO SPOILERS***
Ignore that ugly blue cover. Dancing Skeletons offers a fascinating peek into one anthropologist's extensive work in West Africa. The stories are detailed, intimate, educational, and most of all riveting. Dettwyler somehow managed to make anthropology interesting to all--from those who can't get enough of the subject to those who couldn't care less. Perhaps this is because Dancing Skeletons is a deeply human book; these are not merely tribal "others." This author hammered home how no matter where we are in this world, and no matter our circumstances, at our core, we're the same.
Ignore that ugly blue cover. Dancing Skeletons offers a fascinating peek into one anthropologist's extensive work in West Africa. The stories are detailed, intimate, educational, and most of all riveting. Dettwyler somehow managed to make anthropology interesting to all--from those who can't get enough of the subject to those who couldn't care less. Perhaps this is because Dancing Skeletons is a deeply human book; these are not merely tribal "others." This author hammered home how no matter where we are in this world, and no matter our circumstances, at our core, we're the same.
January 12, 2013
A combination memoir and anthropological study. The author spent several years in the West African nation of Mali, researching malnutrition in infants and toddlers. She came to the conclusion that the problem is not so much inadequate food as inadequate education about food: the children were being fed, but they weren't getting a balanced diet and the adults believed "good" food (like meat, for example) was wasted on a child and was better off eaten by those who had worked to produce it. I don't know much about Africa and its myriad of problems, but Dr. Dettwyler's idea about nutrition education seems very sensible. She did her study back in the eighties though; I wonder if the food situation in Mali, in terms of what's available, has changed in the twenty years since.
The author truly loved the Malian people and spoke about them with a lot of affection, telling funny stories about them as well as about her own misadventures. There's also a very tense, poignant chapter where she talks about how her daughter nearly died of drug-resistant malaria.
Definitely a win, especially for anthropologists (of course) and those interested in the problems associated with Africa.
The author truly loved the Malian people and spoke about them with a lot of affection, telling funny stories about them as well as about her own misadventures. There's also a very tense, poignant chapter where she talks about how her daughter nearly died of drug-resistant malaria.
Definitely a win, especially for anthropologists (of course) and those interested in the problems associated with Africa.
December 13, 2011
I had to write a paper based on certain aspects of this book but instead turned it into an old fashion book report.
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Upon being assigned Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, I was thrilled to read an anthropologist’s first-hand view of field work, as well as being given the chance to discover real life in Africa that is so creatively hidden in mass media. However, upon finishing the book, I was sorely disappointed and repeatedly flipped the book over to reread the synopsis and practical praise for the book. The story described on the back of the book was what was inside, naturally, but how I felt about the book and Dettwyler’s experiences were completely different.
Every anthropologist knows the idea of holism and how important it is to be aware of it in every aspect of life, regardless of personal biases in foreign territory. While Dettwyler discussed the importance of holism throughout her book, she didn’t follow it, nor did she fight against ethnocentrism. In fact, she was constantly falling into her white-American mindset, shedding the formal anthropological robes she should have been wearing. Disguised in boorish laughter, she mocked her “friends” on obvious cultural differences. It is widely known that there are cultures around the world that practice clitoridectomy, and yet, after having spent months and years with such cultures, she still laughs of the idea and natives’ shock that she had not undergone the procedure. Laughing to make light of a situation is common, however, she made no comments in her book on actually understanding the practice, which ruffles my metaphorical feathers. You should not joke or ridicule anything that you do not yet understand. The moment that conversation was over, her integrity as an anthropologist diminished in my mind’s eye.
While Dettwyler does indeed try to keep her emic and etic views separate while conversing with the persons she encounters, she constantly switches between the two. No anthropologist is perfect, obviously, but when you’re already submerged in the culture and pride yourself on the knowledge you’ve obtained from this culture, the emic view should never become condescending, as it becomes very obvious that it is the etic view that consumes your thoughts. More directly, Dettwyler’s participant observations in Magnambougou are a prime example. Through her thoughts and comments outside of the conversation taking place, she becomes obviously frustrated with interviewing residents about ideas of what to do with more money. She believes her questions are structured when in fact they are quite the opposite. Her unwillingness to adapt to the cultural differences in Mali versus the United States made the interviewing process, and the answers received, practically invalid since she resorted to asking leading questions, expecting certain types of answers instead of having an open mind and ears.
Another example of the stark contrast in ways of thinking was how Dettwyler simply couldn’t understand why women didn’t know that proper nutrition was the key to most of their problems. Her assumptions that they would have the knowledge of proper nutrition, both for adults and children, was brash, and she seemed to poke fun at their “naivety” within her own comments in the book. Her disregard to the differences in what’s important in other cultures was appalling. After students learn and understand holism, cultural relativism is next on the list, but it appears these two concepts were misinterpreted by Dettwyler, as it surely is reflected in this book.
Like all anthropologist, Dettwyler originally set out to make a difference in the lives of people across the world, though more directly, the people of Magnambougou. Dancing Skeletons shows her obvious determination and desire to help “those that cannot be helped” but her methods did not reflect her thoughts. Pity and despair were constantly in her mind, which was expected, yes, but superfluous in anthropological research. It is folly to have expected Dettwyler to dehumanize herself while in Africa, but due to her raw emotions dripping from every single page of her book, it was hard to take the story seriously, regardless of the benefits she’s offered to the Magnambougoun and other impoverished communities. Had her research been published as just that – research – instead of a story, it would have been more easily to digest. As it stands, I’m shocked that something so overall trifling and emotionally-biased would be given the Margaret Mead Award.
__
Upon being assigned Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, I was thrilled to read an anthropologist’s first-hand view of field work, as well as being given the chance to discover real life in Africa that is so creatively hidden in mass media. However, upon finishing the book, I was sorely disappointed and repeatedly flipped the book over to reread the synopsis and practical praise for the book. The story described on the back of the book was what was inside, naturally, but how I felt about the book and Dettwyler’s experiences were completely different.
Every anthropologist knows the idea of holism and how important it is to be aware of it in every aspect of life, regardless of personal biases in foreign territory. While Dettwyler discussed the importance of holism throughout her book, she didn’t follow it, nor did she fight against ethnocentrism. In fact, she was constantly falling into her white-American mindset, shedding the formal anthropological robes she should have been wearing. Disguised in boorish laughter, she mocked her “friends” on obvious cultural differences. It is widely known that there are cultures around the world that practice clitoridectomy, and yet, after having spent months and years with such cultures, she still laughs of the idea and natives’ shock that she had not undergone the procedure. Laughing to make light of a situation is common, however, she made no comments in her book on actually understanding the practice, which ruffles my metaphorical feathers. You should not joke or ridicule anything that you do not yet understand. The moment that conversation was over, her integrity as an anthropologist diminished in my mind’s eye.
While Dettwyler does indeed try to keep her emic and etic views separate while conversing with the persons she encounters, she constantly switches between the two. No anthropologist is perfect, obviously, but when you’re already submerged in the culture and pride yourself on the knowledge you’ve obtained from this culture, the emic view should never become condescending, as it becomes very obvious that it is the etic view that consumes your thoughts. More directly, Dettwyler’s participant observations in Magnambougou are a prime example. Through her thoughts and comments outside of the conversation taking place, she becomes obviously frustrated with interviewing residents about ideas of what to do with more money. She believes her questions are structured when in fact they are quite the opposite. Her unwillingness to adapt to the cultural differences in Mali versus the United States made the interviewing process, and the answers received, practically invalid since she resorted to asking leading questions, expecting certain types of answers instead of having an open mind and ears.
Another example of the stark contrast in ways of thinking was how Dettwyler simply couldn’t understand why women didn’t know that proper nutrition was the key to most of their problems. Her assumptions that they would have the knowledge of proper nutrition, both for adults and children, was brash, and she seemed to poke fun at their “naivety” within her own comments in the book. Her disregard to the differences in what’s important in other cultures was appalling. After students learn and understand holism, cultural relativism is next on the list, but it appears these two concepts were misinterpreted by Dettwyler, as it surely is reflected in this book.
Like all anthropologist, Dettwyler originally set out to make a difference in the lives of people across the world, though more directly, the people of Magnambougou. Dancing Skeletons shows her obvious determination and desire to help “those that cannot be helped” but her methods did not reflect her thoughts. Pity and despair were constantly in her mind, which was expected, yes, but superfluous in anthropological research. It is folly to have expected Dettwyler to dehumanize herself while in Africa, but due to her raw emotions dripping from every single page of her book, it was hard to take the story seriously, regardless of the benefits she’s offered to the Magnambougoun and other impoverished communities. Had her research been published as just that – research – instead of a story, it would have been more easily to digest. As it stands, I’m shocked that something so overall trifling and emotionally-biased would be given the Margaret Mead Award.
November 30, 2012
This book was on my reading list for the Cultural Anthropology course I took this past semester.
While "Dancing Skeletons" provided interesting meat for discussion in class, I was decidedly not fond of the book.
Dettwyler starts out her book with lots of complaining and whining, and seems to be begging the reader to have sympathy for her or to pity her. If you manage to get past the first few chapters of this (which is difficult, but possible), then it definitely becomes more interesting.
It was an interesting look into the life in, and the culture of Mali. However, Dettwyler (who is supposed to be a professional anthropologist) expresses a shocking amount of ethnocentric views and seems to view herself as superior to the people she's serving and studying.
Additionally, she has mountains of conversation that is put between quotes, which implies that she has written, word-for-word, precisely what was said. I am skeptical of this as she never mentions having a recorder with her or transcribing as she talks with the people. So...how does she remember precisely what was said? Does she take her memories and impressions from the conversation and transcribe them into conversations? I am unconvinced, and took all of what she said with a grain of salt.
I walked away from this book with the impression that Dettwyler thought/thinks she is the bees kness, and that she was some sort of savior for the people of Mali. I really was unimpressed.
Two stars because of the excellent discussions that surrounded this book during class time.
While "Dancing Skeletons" provided interesting meat for discussion in class, I was decidedly not fond of the book.
Dettwyler starts out her book with lots of complaining and whining, and seems to be begging the reader to have sympathy for her or to pity her. If you manage to get past the first few chapters of this (which is difficult, but possible), then it definitely becomes more interesting.
It was an interesting look into the life in, and the culture of Mali. However, Dettwyler (who is supposed to be a professional anthropologist) expresses a shocking amount of ethnocentric views and seems to view herself as superior to the people she's serving and studying.
Additionally, she has mountains of conversation that is put between quotes, which implies that she has written, word-for-word, precisely what was said. I am skeptical of this as she never mentions having a recorder with her or transcribing as she talks with the people. So...how does she remember precisely what was said? Does she take her memories and impressions from the conversation and transcribe them into conversations? I am unconvinced, and took all of what she said with a grain of salt.
I walked away from this book with the impression that Dettwyler thought/thinks she is the bees kness, and that she was some sort of savior for the people of Mali. I really was unimpressed.
Two stars because of the excellent discussions that surrounded this book during class time.
January 19, 2014
Extremely boring, but even worse, it's completely lacking in compassion. The author and her daughter are clearly the most important people in the universe, according to what I got out of the book. Be prepared to read about mentally disabled people getting yelled at and disabled kids getting mean nicknames.
March 4, 2013
Absolutely terrible... I gave it one star for her occasional rants on the benefits of breast-feeding and vaginal (as opposed to elective c-section) births. Aside from the utterly rude and patronizing manner in which she describes her "subjects," what I found most troubling was the blatant omission of any mention of the history of french colonialism within Mali as a possible contributing factor to malnourishment. The idea that "the mothers just need to be educated about how to feed their children" is not only complete bullshit, but also recalls the days of anthropology as an outgrowth of the "white man's burden." About as vapid and useful as Jared Diamond's excrescences concerning economic collapse through ignorance.
February 25, 2010
can the author complain a little more? i was so annoyed the whole time i was reading this book and the only reason why i read the whole thing is because my professor assigned it and put questions on the test. the funny thing is my anthropology professor did not care for the book either. glad i got it for $2 would not have spent anymore than that!
April 24, 2018
"Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa" is an amazing ethnography that covers many aspects of life in Western Africa. The detailed account of the relationships the author has with everyone from children and their parents to complete strangers in the street provides a very easy read while also giving the reader an excellent and in depth look at the everyday life of the people in this third world country. Through multiple different methods of information gathering, she is able to touch the lives of people who suffer from disease and illness. Showcasing the variety of life and lifestyles in the nation of Mali with a concentration on child nutrition and development is the core value of this book. With plenty of emotional drama tied into it, whether it be Kathy's own personal struggles or those of the people she is conducting research on gives this book a sense of intimacy that is lacking in normal ethnography's which only aim to present facts of the research in a boring manner that leaves the reader disliking anthropological studies. Listening to the Kathy Dettwyler expand her own world view through the accounts of the people she interacted with for nearly a decade made for an extremely interesting book. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Anthropology, Africa, or simply a good book with educational value.
November 10, 2008
I read this book as an assignment for my cultural anthropology class. Some of the students in my class had raved about it,so I was pretty excited to read it. Well, I ended up hating it. The author did a very poor job of writing this book. Most of the book was Dettwyler whining and complaining. There are a few interesting parts of the story, but I felt overall it was a waste of time.
March 15, 2019
Read this while looking for a fourth ethnography to add to my high school IB Social and Cultural Anthropology class. It is a quick, engaging read (rare among ethnographries) that focuses much on the experience of the anthropologist balancing her roles as mother, friend, and anthropologist in Mali where too many children die not only of malnutrition (the focus of Dettswyler) but also diptheria, neonatal tetanus, and malaria.
For all the snarky reviews I read about this book. . . eye roll. For starters this fieldwork was done 30 years ago - much has changed. And do you really think Dettswyler - an anthropology professor - doesn't understand ethnocentrism? This feels to me like a very honest reflection of the challenges of doing fieldwork. Only in fairyland are anthropologists no longer humans with preferences and experiences and biases. Recognizing your biases and feelings is key - pretending they aren't there is dishonest. I think this ethnography would give my students a lot to discuss about ethics, the realities of fieldwork, and most importantly how exactly "we" should go about "helping" others. Yes I agree with the one criticism that I wish she had given us more background about how Mali got into the food situation they are (French colonialism). I can do some of that research on my own she certainly acknowledges it, and acknowledges that the Bambara do not like being millet farmers, that this is not their traditional way of life or traditional subsistence.
I think this book would give my students a great place to start discussing the point of "AID." Dettwyler expresses her frustration with CARE workers who are understandably proud of the work they have done providing clean drinking water, reducing neonatal tetanus, diphtheria and malaria - but to what end if they don't also address the devastating impact of feeding toddlers and growing children millet and rice all day every day. And to get over the idea that moms who know they are likely to lose several children in their lifetime must have some magical way of getting over it, or not mourning their losses. Of course they mourn, of course it hurts like hell.
I appreciated that Dettwyler isn't afraid to show her mistakes, her ethnocentric reactions, her fear and disgust and worries along with her love. She is vulnerable and human and pretending like anthropologists have some magical way to be emotionless robots with no personal history or experience is unrealistic.
For all the snarky reviews I read about this book. . . eye roll. For starters this fieldwork was done 30 years ago - much has changed. And do you really think Dettswyler - an anthropology professor - doesn't understand ethnocentrism? This feels to me like a very honest reflection of the challenges of doing fieldwork. Only in fairyland are anthropologists no longer humans with preferences and experiences and biases. Recognizing your biases and feelings is key - pretending they aren't there is dishonest. I think this ethnography would give my students a lot to discuss about ethics, the realities of fieldwork, and most importantly how exactly "we" should go about "helping" others. Yes I agree with the one criticism that I wish she had given us more background about how Mali got into the food situation they are (French colonialism). I can do some of that research on my own she certainly acknowledges it, and acknowledges that the Bambara do not like being millet farmers, that this is not their traditional way of life or traditional subsistence.
I think this book would give my students a great place to start discussing the point of "AID." Dettwyler expresses her frustration with CARE workers who are understandably proud of the work they have done providing clean drinking water, reducing neonatal tetanus, diphtheria and malaria - but to what end if they don't also address the devastating impact of feeding toddlers and growing children millet and rice all day every day. And to get over the idea that moms who know they are likely to lose several children in their lifetime must have some magical way of getting over it, or not mourning their losses. Of course they mourn, of course it hurts like hell.
I appreciated that Dettwyler isn't afraid to show her mistakes, her ethnocentric reactions, her fear and disgust and worries along with her love. She is vulnerable and human and pretending like anthropologists have some magical way to be emotionless robots with no personal history or experience is unrealistic.
March 30, 2025
Interesting read about rural africa from an ethnocentric anthropologist. Her very biased views got in the way of her writing at times, but brought back some fond memories for me
July 16, 2011
It has been several years since I read this non-fiction book, but it remains with me. Dettwyler is an anthropologist describing her experiences among the peoples of Mali, in Western Africa. It was one of the first books that opened my eyes to nonwestern ideas and practices. As I read of new perspectives, I considered them equally valid and sources of knowledge/wisdom from which I can learn. A passage about the unquestioning acceptance of an obviously syndromic child stuck out. My feelings about social and economic demands on the normal range of cognitive abilities in our industrial world found some influence here. Another passage that caught me included the line, "If we don't laugh, we would cry," in the face of all-too frequent heartbreak (in this case, infant/maternal mortality). It is among the first nonfiction books I ever appreciated and I recommend it to anyone interested in the world - in culture and how others live.
August 9, 2013
You either love it or hate it, either agree with the author or totally disagree with her. But I learned a lot a lot from reading it. Not only about Malian culture, American culture, it even made me think a lot about my own culture. I start to appreciate more my life, my birth, my being able to grow into an adult, Siting around in my cozy apartment, drinking my tea while reading book about people suffering. Not saying I am better than them, or my life is better. they deserve the same love I have, they have their own desire, dream and everything. Every life is worth of living. Admire them!!!!
I love this book. I am tired of reading fake stories , tired of stories trying too hard to grasp my attention.
I love this book. I am tired of reading fake stories , tired of stories trying too hard to grasp my attention.
January 19, 2016
More memoir than ethnography. I would have preferred more anthropological discussion and more insights from the women of Mali rather than those of the anthropologist herself. I understand, by nature, it's impossible to truly be an objective observer, but this took that to one extreme. Very personal and subjective account.
March 30, 2024
This is not an ethnography. This is a glorified memoir. If it is good for one thing, it really makes me appreciate ACTUAL ethnography. You know, with data and descriptions and theory and footnotes? It's clear from the Q&A section included in my edition that the woman seemed to have practically no information on other areas of study in Mali, and the heap of statistics thrown in at the end is clearly meant to compensate for the lack of data included in the narrative.
Look, if it's a memoir, it's a memoir, and it's fine, but don't continue to lecture and get people to teach this book for years when it's clearly not up to the standards of undergraduate academia.
Her biases and cultural assumptions coming through came to be very annoying, especially as she seemed to try and balance it out with some good ol' whataboutism with U.S. culture. It almost reads as willful blindness and naivete due to cultural relativism.
Multiple times she compares female genital mutilation to breast augmentation surgeries, specifically in the U.S., which she repeatedly calls 'mammary mutilation'. It stuck out as extremely misguided coming from someone who's presumably been immersed in modern theory, and maybe doesn't want to body shame people while trying to appear academically neutral, and also still probably making money from classes teaching this. To even insinuate that the two issues are comparable is mind-boggling.
Also, this is the lady that got fired from U of Delaware for making a Facebook post about how the student who died after visiting North Korea "got what he deserved" and then tried to relate it to a generalization about priviliged white college students raping women and getting away with it.
Stop teaching this book, professors.
Look, if it's a memoir, it's a memoir, and it's fine, but don't continue to lecture and get people to teach this book for years when it's clearly not up to the standards of undergraduate academia.
Her biases and cultural assumptions coming through came to be very annoying, especially as she seemed to try and balance it out with some good ol' whataboutism with U.S. culture. It almost reads as willful blindness and naivete due to cultural relativism.
Multiple times she compares female genital mutilation to breast augmentation surgeries, specifically in the U.S., which she repeatedly calls 'mammary mutilation'. It stuck out as extremely misguided coming from someone who's presumably been immersed in modern theory, and maybe doesn't want to body shame people while trying to appear academically neutral, and also still probably making money from classes teaching this. To even insinuate that the two issues are comparable is mind-boggling.
Also, this is the lady that got fired from U of Delaware for making a Facebook post about how the student who died after visiting North Korea "got what he deserved" and then tried to relate it to a generalization about priviliged white college students raping women and getting away with it.
Stop teaching this book, professors.
July 15, 2025
Had to read this book and write an essay on it for my Cultural Anthropology, which in of itself as strange considering how horrifically outdated it was. Honestly, the author just has no idea how to write a book. Like another review said, I couldn’t even tell what the point of it was. At some points, it read like an autobiography, at others an ethnographic study, at some a field guide, etc etc. The author would have been better off hiring a ghost writer and just feeding her the details of her work. It’s honestly just all over the place. Perhaps most concerningly is the way she talks about her subjects. Why does her personality change like every section? Sometimes she is incredibly rude and judgy, and at other points she is seeing more through the eyes of a cultural anthropologist. At some points she is just so ethnocentric especially for someone who’s meant to be experienced in fieldwork. The subject of the book is meant to be her study on breastfeeding but you can tell she’s completely forgotten about that and at some points just goes on and on about bottles of pee in her bag? Little to no actual information on her study, just a lot of the seam repeated description on her process of measuring people. Overall I did not like her attitude one bit. Maybe that was a bit more acceptable back when this was written but in a field as progressive and open-minded as Cultural Anthropology I doubt it 🤦♀️ . Giving two stars because there were some beautifully written passages but most of it was dogwater.
October 12, 2021
i think the high rating of this book is largely due to the fact that it facilitates really amazing discussions in my 'health and culture' anthropology class. otherwise, i find dettwyler's conversations to be really strange because it feels like she's writing them as she remembered them, not as they actually happened, so they give the feel of very intensely constructed conversations. also, for an anthropologist, there are a lot of body and health-related things that i felt she was insensitive to, or things she was surprised to see during her time in mali that I've literally seen growing up in my poor neighborhood... i was just really surprised by her reactions and then her account of some of the things she was seeing, but it was still an interesting and insightful read, and i did enjoy my time with it.
February 7, 2020
A cultural Anthropologist Katherine speaks about her time in West Africa. She discusses the female circumcision, the dying babies from malnutrition and the challenges she faced. Although it had some dark areas, there was a bunch of culture and richness experience throughout her fieldwork, that makes me the reader yearn to see those parts of Africa myself. I never viewed or thought about anthropology until after reading this book,now anew world has been opened to me and I want more. Thanks a bunch Dettwyler.
#Book6of2020 #bookworm #whatsnext
#Book6of2020 #bookworm #whatsnext
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2024
Very informational but it reads a little like Magic Treehouse (which is also very informational👀). Sometimes she tries to be kind of deep and fails. There’s a paragraph in the book where she describes the sunset in three or four different ways, as if she’s trying to get all her feelings about the sunset across but can’t do it in just one description, and it’s really quite sloppy. But I’d still definitely recommend it
January 13, 2019
I read this book for my Nutritional Anthropology class. Although well written, I was fairly frustrated that it didn’t explain in much detail the reasons behind these cultural food choices. It was also sometimes confusing to read as it implies that the reader knows a fair amount about Anthropology or nutrition in other areas of the world.
July 23, 2020
I use this in parallel with Pathologies of Power to 1. illustrate what not to do; 2. introduce structural violence; and 3. have students pick a topic from this book and rewrite it using a SV lens. It was an effective way to critique the book that they initially really like and learn to apply a new framework too their thinking.
November 17, 2024
Such a random read. Had to for my anthropology class. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It kind of made me tear up. We are so lucky to live in America and to have more autonomy over our bodies compared to the women in mali. It really offers a new perspective of the way people in third world countries live.
October 25, 2025
This is an incredibly short read, but I recommend this to anyone who is unfamiliar with the conditions in West Africa. It was so eye opening as someone who doesn't take in a lot of media from this part of the world. Think of it as a short documentary with incredible journalism. Worth the read if it sounds like your cup of tea.
September 18, 2018
I was recently reminded of this excellent read, now available in a new edition. Time for me to read again for the sheer love of reading something joyful.
By the way, I think our Shelf choices should have a "read again for pleasure".
By the way, I think our Shelf choices should have a "read again for pleasure".
February 13, 2019
I read this for a class and was surprised by how much I liked it. I hadn't researched Africa before reading this book and I couldn't put it down. Dettwyler is able to research these people while keeping her humanity and not becoming desensitized to their hardships.
January 17, 2021
4/5 this book was very good and made me very emotional. The only reason it didn’t get five stars is because I couldn’t exactly tell what the point of it was. Like it was kinda all over the place but it was super informative and a good experience to read.
April 27, 2021
I had to read this book for my college anthro class, I actually really enjoyed it. I thought it was super interesting and eye opening. I would read this book again on my own. An easy read, but some content may be too graphic to think about.
June 25, 2021
Incredibly informative and insightful book. This isn't a light read that you pick up on Saturday morning for funsies. However, it is important, especially to anyone considering working/volunteering/researching/living in sub-Saharan Africa. Tough but good, and it's not too dense or overly academic.
May 1, 2023
she had some good points but the strange superiority complex and fake wokeness before “woke” was even a buzzword is just too much. it overshadowed anything good she had to say. i read this for school so i couldn’t stop but i probably would have dnf’d lmao
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