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Body tech / edited by Jennifer L. Croissant -- Information technologies / edited by Ron Eglash -- Environments / edited by Giovanna di Chiro -- Invention / edited by Rayvon Fouché

Long before the internet provided us with a networked digital system, music exchanges had created a global networked analog system, built of recordings, radio broadcasts, and live performance. The features that allowed some audio formations to go viral, while others failed, fall at the intersection of three domains: access, culture, and cognition. We know how the explosive growth of the hip hop recording industry addressed the access problem, and how hip hop lyrics addressed cultural needs. But why does hip hop make your ass shake? This essay proposes that hip hop artists were creating an innovation in brain-to-brain connectivity. That is to say, there are deep parts of the limbic system that had not previously been connected to linguistic centers in the combination of neural and social pathways that hip hop facilitated. This research is not an argument for using computational neuroscience to analyze hip hop. Rather, it is asking what hip hop artists accomplished as the street version of computational neuroscientists; and, how they strategically deployed Black music traditions to rewire the world's global rhythmic nervous system for new cognitive, cultural, and political alignments and sensibilities.

Long before the internet provided us with a networked digital system, music exchanges had created a global networked analog system, built of recordings, radio broadcasts, and live performance. The features that allowed some audio formations to go viral, while others failed, fall at the intersection of three domains: access, culture, and cognition. We know how the explosive growth of the hip hop recording industry addressed the access problem, and how hip hop lyrics addressed cultural needs. But why does hip hop make your ass shake? This essay proposes that hip hop artists were creating an innovation in brain-to-brain connectivity. That is to say, there are deep parts of the limbic system that had not previously been connected to linguistic centers in the combination of neural and social pathways that hip hop facilitated. This research is not an argument for using computational neuroscience to analyze hip hop. Rather, it is asking what hip hop artists accomplished as the street version of computational neuroscientists; and, how they strategically deployed Black music traditions to rewire the world's global rhythmic nervous system for new cognitive, cultural, and political alignments and sensibilities.

Ethnomathematics can consider recursion in two senses of the word. Mathematically, recursion consists of iterated functions, a kind of discrete feedback loop. Anthropologically, recursion is used in reflexive ethnographic description in which modern analytic methods become part of their own investigation. By comparing the recursive structure of Bamana divination techniques to recursion in modern mathematics, we can investigate some of the complex relations that bind technology and culture in both modern and traditional contexts.

Ethnomathematics is a relatively new discipline that investigates mathematical knowl edge in small-scale, indigenous cultures. This essay locates ethnomathematics as one of five distinct subfields within a general anthropology of mathematics and describes interactions between cultural and epistemological features that have created these divisions. It reviews the political and pedagogical issues in which ethnomathematics research and practice is immersed and examines the possibilities for both conflict and collaboration with the goals, theories, and methods of social constructivism.

In this paper, we introduce the phrase "cultural robotics" to refer to the interdisciplinary analysis of autonomous machines and their mutual construction with society: as culture constructs robots, they are (re)constructing us. The objects we study range from industrial manufacturing devices to socially-intelligent robots (SIRs), and our disciplinary frameworks include humanities-oriented approaches –cultural anthropology and graphic design in particular—as well as cybernetics and computational sciences. We will examine the cultural significance of two SIRs portrayed in pop culture, analyze the socio-technical history of autonomous devices such as the master-slave circuit, and explore the ways in which such observations might contribute to efforts such as participatory design (discussed here in terms of Bennett's "interactive aesthetics"). We conclude with a recent case study in which racial identity and robot design had direct intersections. Like Haraway and Latour, we aim to prevent either technocentric or human-centric perspectives from dominating the analysis. It is our hope that more democratic and sustainable ways of designing and using robots can emerge from this view of hybridity and co-evolution between social and technical worlds. ; En este artículo utilizamos el término "robótica cultural" para aludir al análisis interdisciplinar de máquinas autónomas y el modo que se construyen conjuntamente con la sociedad, en el sentido que la cultura construye robots y estos nos reconstruyen. Las temáticas que abordamos van desde la fabricación industrial de artefactos a los robots socialmente inteligentes o interactivos. Nuestro marco teórico se circunscribe a la antropología cultural y principalmente al diseño gráfico además de la cibernética y las ciencias computacionales. El texto incluye un análisis del significado cultural de dos robots socialmente interactivos o autónomos (socially-intelligent robots – SIR) con un cierto acervo en la cultura popular. Asimismo analizamos la historia tecno-social de dispositivos autónomos como el circuito biestable "maestro-esclavo", y exploramos el modo en que este tipo de apreciaciones puede contribuir en el desarrollo de diseños participativos (a los que aludiremos a partir del concepto "estética interactiva" acuñado por Bennett). Concluimos con un estudio de caso reciente que muestra imbricaciones evidentes entre la identidad racial y el diseño de robots. Al igual que Haraway y Latour, sugerimos alejarnos de determinismos tecnocéntricos o humanistas, con el deseo de contribuir a fomentar la aparición de diseños y usos de robots más sostenibles y democráticos desde este tipo de perspectivas hibridas y de co-evolución entre lo social y lo técnico. ; Neste artigo utilizamos o termo "robótica cultural" como referência à análise interdisciplinar de máquinas autônomas e a maneira como se constroem junto à sociedade, num sentido de construção cultural dos robôs e nossa reconstrução a partir deles. As temáticas que abordamos vão desde a fabricação industrial de artefatos até os robôs interativos e socialmente inteligentes. Nosso marco teórico se circunscreve à antropologia cultural e principalmente ao desenho gráfico, além da cibernética e das ciências de computação. O texto inclui uma análise do significado cultural de dois robôs socialmente interativos ou autônomos (Socially-Intelligent Robots – SIR) já presentes na cultura popular. Além disso, analisamos a história tecno-social de dispositivos autônomos como o circuito bi-estável "mestre-escravo" e exploramos o modo como este tipo de exames pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento de desenhos participativos (referidos desde o conceito de "estética interativa" cunhado por Bennett). Concluímos com um recente estudo de caso que mostra as sobreposições da identidade racial e os desenhos de robôs. Assim como Haraway e Latour, sugerimos a distanciação de determinismos tecnocêntricos ou humanistas, aplicando uma perspectiva híbrida e de co-evolução entre o social e o técnico e desejando fomentar a aparição de desenhos e usos mais sustentáveis e democráticos destes artefatos robóticos.

In this paper, we introduce the phrase "cultural robotics" to refer to the interdisciplinary analysis of autonomous machines and their mutual construction with society: as culture constructs robots, they are (re)constructing us. The objects we study range from industrial manufacturing devices to socially-intelligent robots (SIRs), and our disciplinary frameworks include humanities-oriented approaches –cultural anthropology and graphic design in particular—as well as cybernetics and computational sciences. We will examine the cultural significance of two SIRs portrayed in pop culture, analyze the socio-technical history of autonomous devices such as the master-slave circuit, and explore the ways in which such observations might contribute to efforts such as participatory design (discussed here in terms of Bennett's "interactive aesthetics"). We conclude with a recent case study in which racial identity and robot design had direct intersections. Like Haraway and Latour, we aim to prevent either technocentric or human-centric perspectives from dominating the analysis. It is our hope that more democratic and sustainable ways of designing and using robots can emerge from this view of hybridity and co-evolution between social and technical worlds. ; En este artículo utilizamos el término "robótica cultural" para aludir al análisis interdisciplinar de máquinas autónomas y el modo que se construyen conjuntamente con la sociedad, en el sentido que la cultura construye robots y estos nos reconstruyen. Las temáticas que abordamos van desde la fabricación industrial de artefactos a los robots socialmente inteligentes o interactivos. Nuestro marco teórico se circunscribe a la antropología cultural y principalmente al diseño gráfico además de la cibernética y las ciencias computacionales. El texto incluye un análisis del significado cultural de dos robots socialmente interactivos o autónomos (socially-intelligent robots – SIR) con un cierto acervo en la cultura popular. Asimismo analizamos la historia tecno-social de dispositivos autónomos como el circuito biestable "maestro-esclavo", y exploramos el modo en que este tipo de apreciaciones puede contribuir en el desarrollo de diseños participativos (a los que aludiremos a partir del concepto "estética interactiva" acuñado por Bennett). Concluimos con un estudio de caso reciente que muestra imbricaciones evidentes entre la identidad racial y el diseño de robots. Al igual que Haraway y Latour, sugerimos alejarnos de determinismos tecnocéntricos o humanistas, con el deseo de contribuir a fomentar la aparición de diseños y usos de robots más sostenibles y democráticos desde este tipo de perspectivas hibridas y de co-evolución entre lo social y lo técnico. ; Neste artigo utilizamos o termo "robótica cultural" como referência à análise interdisciplinar de máquinas autônomas e a maneira como se constroem junto à sociedade, num sentido de construção cultural dos robôs e nossa reconstrução a partir deles. As temáticas que abordamos vão desde a fabricação industrial de artefatos até os robôs interativos e socialmente inteligentes. Nosso marco teórico se circunscreve à antropologia cultural e principalmente ao desenho gráfico, além da cibernética e das ciências de computação. O texto inclui uma análise do significado cultural de dois robôs socialmente interativos ou autônomos (Socially-Intelligent Robots – SIR) já presentes na cultura popular. Além disso, analisamos a história tecno-social de dispositivos autônomos como o circuito bi-estável "mestre-escravo" e exploramos o modo como este tipo de exames pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento de desenhos participativos (referidos desde o conceito de "estética interativa" cunhado por Bennett). Concluímos com um recente estudo de caso que mostra as sobreposições da identidade racial e os desenhos de robôs. Assim como Haraway e Latour, sugerimos a distanciação de determinismos tecnocêntricos ou humanistas, aplicando uma perspectiva híbrida e de co-evolução entre o social e o técnico e desejando fomentar a aparição de desenhos e usos mais sustentáveis e democráticos destes artefatos robóticos.

Ethnomathematics is the study of mathematical ideas and practices situated in their cultural context. Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs) are web‐based software applications that allow students to create simulations of cultural arts—Native American beadwork, African American cornrow hairstyles, urban graffiti, and so forth—using these underlying mathematical principles. This article is a review of the anthropological issues raised in the CSDT project: negotiating the representations of cultural knowledge during the design process with community members, negotiating pedagogical features with math teachers and their students, and reflecting on the software development itself as a cultural construction. The move from ethnomathematics to ethnocomputing results in an expressive computational medium that affords new opportunities to explore the relationships between youth identity and culture, the cultural construction of mathematics and computing, and the formation of cultural and technological hybridity.