http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110037 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:29:04 GMT 2026-04-09T10:29:04Z http://hdl.handle.net/10150/113560 Arizona Anthropologist Number 13, Fall 1998 Front Matter, Table of Contents, for Arizona Anthropologist #13 Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10150/113560 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110216 Defining Aging and The Aged: Cultural and Social Constructions of Elders in the U.S. Talarsky, Laura This paper presents a critical analysis of the cultural and social constructions of aging and the aged which pervade public discourse around the growing population of elders in the U.S. Elders are socially 'othered' through processes of medicalization and categorization as an "at risk" group. Furthermore, elders are culturally constructed as unproductive and overconsumptive collective resources. As elders become increasingly central in social and political discourse surrounding health care and the division of resources, these culturally and socially constructed stereotypes have a real impact on social identity and policy decisions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of anthropology in contributing a critical perspective to the study of elders. Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110216 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110215 Anthropologist as Anti-Christ: Positioning and Reciprocity in San Miguel Acatán, Guatemala Jafek, Timothy B. The accusation by some villagers that I was an Anti-Christ provides an opportunity to reflect on the production of anthropological knowledge. The production of knowledge by anthropologists must not only take into account the personal characteristics of the anthropologist but also the ways in which the culture the anthropologist studies classifies that anthropologist, thereby making available to him or her certain ways of knowing. I my case, as an unmarried man with no visible means of economic support, I appeared similar to others, like Earthlords, and priests, who offered villagers Faustian bargains. The deals' dangers lay in the fact that the exchanges occurred outside of the moral and social frameworks which undergird the community. Thus, their accusation of me as antithetical to the community opens an opportunity to consider the nature of that community. Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110215 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110214 The Fit and the Unfit: The Presentation of "Fitness" in Everyday Life Miczo, Nathan This paper examines the ways in which individuals attempt to present themselves as healthy and fit human beings, according to the principles of dramaturgic self-presentation. Accordingly, Goffman's notions of face work, teamwork, and stigma are used to develop a framework for understanding how self-presentation impacts human interaction. This framework is then applied to a brief examination of the stigma of AIDS. Next, the framework is applied to the presentation of a healthy and fit self. Three issues are considered: what is common to the definition of fitness, what are some of the dimensions that become salient in light of that common definition, and, what strategies for presentation are possible based on the definition and dimensions. Finally, four variables that might affect which presentation strategy is adopted are considered: attractiveness, gender, age, and class. It is suggested that none of these variables operates in isolation and some of the implications for presentation are considered. Thu, 01 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10150/110214 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z