About Me

I’m Alex Golub, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai’i Manoa. I have a BA in Anthropology from Reed College (1995) and an MA (1997) and Ph.D. (2006) in anthropology from the University of Chicago. My dissertation, entitled “Making the Ipili Feasible: Imagining Global and Local Actors at the Porgera Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea,” examines the relationship between indigenous land owners and the world-class Porgera Gold mine. My second research project — tentatively being developed now — focuses on selfhood, property relations, and issues of governance and lesiure amongst World of Warcraft players in China. What else? “The recipient of a Fulbright-Hays research grant, he has spoken at institutions as diverse as the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the Max Planck Institute for Ethnography in Halle, Germany. His first book, Gold Positive, was a not-for-profit popular history of the Porgera valley written at the request of, and for the benefit of, the community in which he lived.” You can check out my publications (including my dissertation) on the “Things I’ve Written” page of this site.

Here is a picture of me:

I know, I know – it’s not cool to put a picture of yourself on your website unless it is really blurry and no one can see what you really look like. But this picture – for which Debby gets all the credit – just came out so well that I couldn’t resist. Taken outside my house in PNG during a welcome mumu for Debby (hence the bilas), I take a few moments out from the busy day of killing pigs and cooking sweet potato to double-check what exactly a communications-theoretic formulation of the lifeworld would entail. The Kings jersey indicates my alleigance to my home town. The marsupial fur, ferns, headband, plumage, facepaint, bow and arrows are all more or less what Porgerans wear when they are feeling nostalgic for the good old days.

  1. Andy Nelson’s avatar

    Andy Nelson on 20 Apr 2005 at 10:32 am

    hello sir,
    As a traveler to Ghana, to you by any chance know anyone or have any good contacts for people who speak Twi?
    Thanks,
    Andrew

  2. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 20 Apr 2005 at 11:28 am

    /me heaves a sigh.

    I’m only going to say this once: I have never been to Ghana, which is in Africa. Neither have I been to Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, or Equatorial Guinea, all of which are in Africa. I have not been to Guyana, or French Guiana, which are in South America. I have been to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, which is in the southwest Pacific. It is a former Australian colony and occupies the eastern half of a large island which is called “New Guinea”. The western half of the island is part of Indonesia. Specifically, it is a province of Indonesia referred to as West Papua.

  3. Gloria Yousha’s avatar

    Gloria Yousha on 30 Apr 2005 at 8:16 pm

    My late dad was named Alex Golub. His family was from Brooklyn, New York, where I was born.
    My middle son also married into the Golub family… Golub’s of Winnetka, Illnios.
    I’m just curious is all.

  4. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 01 May 2005 at 12:21 am

    Ah yes, another common question. “Golub” or “Gollub” or “Colum” or “Collumb” — all of these names are related. ‘Golub’ means “pidgeon” or “dove” in many Eastern European languages (hence ‘Columbia’). So my last name is just common enough that people see it and stop to check to see if I’m related, but not so common that I actually am.

    So: if your family came from Eastern or Central Europe in the last century or so and their point of emmigration was New York, then it is not surprising that we share a surname. Other than that, as far as I know, we’re not related.

    And no: I am not related to the painter Leon or the pianist David. I _am_ related to “Aharon”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1932687475/qid=1114976170/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-0103074-6522418?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

  5. JCD’s avatar

    JCD on 10 May 2005 at 4:43 pm

    Stumbled over your blog while tinkering PNG articles on Wikipedia. Interested to know (although I should really read indepth more) which part of the PNG highlands did you live in. Enga? You seem to mention Progera quite a bit.

  6. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 10 May 2005 at 4:50 pm

    Wow. This page is like a FAQ that writes itself. Yes, I lived in Porgera District of the Enga province for roughly two years from 1998-2001 doing Ph.D. research funded by a Fulbright-Hayes grant. I’ve also visted Southern Highlands Province, Western Highlands, Simbu, Eastern Highlands, Morobe, Madang, East Sepik, Central, and Milne Bay. This makes me a true ‘New Guinean’ — I haven’t spent much time in what they used to call ‘Papua’ or out in the islands.

  7. pipi kaye’s avatar

    pipi kaye on 23 May 2005 at 5:35 am

    hi golub,

    I, like you, am a serial blogger. Do you still live in papier guiness? If not would you like to visit my house in cornwall for some tea/warm milk and crumpets?

    p.s. I like your hair

  8. Chris Locke’s avatar

    Chris Locke on 23 May 2005 at 9:48 am

    funniest picture I’ve seen on the net, which is saying something. super kudos. btw, and not to be too critical (theoretically speaking), but as you should know better than most, pidgeon is not a bird. did you mean pidgin or pigeon? heh…

  9. Stas Feldman’s avatar

    Stas Feldman on 29 May 2005 at 7:28 pm

    Am enjoying your contributions on Wikipedia. Have added into [[Bakhtin ]] myself. Thanks especially for the Henry Hubert article. What do you think of Ivan Strensky and Bruce Lincoln?

  10. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 29 May 2005 at 7:37 pm

    Chris: Oops. Thanks. My spelling and grammar are terrible. I just recently learned the difference between “its” and “it’s” so it’ll take me some time to work up to pigeon/pidgeon/pidgin.

    Stass: Thank you :!) I have no idea who Ivan Strensky is. Lincoln and I moved in similar circles in Chicago, but I’ve read a little of his work, but never had an engagement with him. Honestly, the only firm opinion I have of him is that he looks EXACTLY like Emile Durkheim.

  11. Gloria Yousha’s avatar

    Gloria Yousha on 02 Jul 2005 at 5:11 pm

    I wrote to you a few months ago as my late dad was named Alex Golub. I know the name Feldman is also in my family… my grandmother’s maiden name on both maternal and paternal sides.
    I am a singer/entertainer and very curious to know if we are related. My dad was born in NYC of Russian/Polish parents. I was always told that Golub meant “dove” in Polish.

  12. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 02 Jul 2005 at 5:35 pm

    Gloria — I am fairly sure we are _not_ related. My family is close knit and has done some pretty comprehensive genealogical work, so I know all of the Golubs in your neck of the woods that I am related to. ‘Golub’ is a common surname for Jews from the Russia/Poland area and it does mean ‘pigeon’ or ‘dove’ (a dove is a kind of pigeon), and New York City is, as you may know, a popular point of immigration for Russian/Polish Jews. There are actually lots of Golubs out there, but not all of them are related. It is just coincidence that we have a similar name.

  13. Alex Levites’s avatar

    Alex Levites on 04 Jul 2005 at 9:25 am

    To Alex to Alex (btw, I am a Russian jew too:)

    My name is Alex Levites and I am an international student from Israel, currently enrolled in State University of New York at Buffalo. Biochemical Pharmacology major. I happened to surf an Internet one day and ended up reading online presentation about educational possibilities of MMVW with great excitement. http://www2.kumc.edu/netlearning/SLEDUCAUSESW2005/SLPresentationOutline.htm
    Now, advice of yours, possibly…
    I am thinking about applying for Special Major. I want To explore the field of integrating Second Life into the education process. And vise versa. I need to take 30 credits in order to graduate. What courses would you recommend to me?
    Shalom:)

  14. Gloria Yousha’s avatar

    Gloria Yousha on 24 Aug 2005 at 5:35 pm

    Okay, Alex, so we are not related. It is just so odd for me to meet a Golub… they may be many but I haven’t had the opportunity to meet them when I was living in NYC (the first 27 years of my life). Although my son and his spouse (her maiden name is Golub as is mine but we are not related as far as I can tell) are both psychologists. His website is and mine is if you find the time. I am a singer. I will be appearing in NYC at Danny’s Skylight Cabaret, 346 W 46th St (between 8th and 9th Aves) in Manhattan on Saturday night, Sept.17,2005 for the 9:30 p.m. show. Be my guest if you are in the Big Apple at that time.

  16. Bethe Hagens’s avatar

    Bethe Hagens on 11 Dec 2005 at 2:15 pm

    Well actually, my website is under construction. . .which seems about right. I was totally, completely blown away by your essay in AN on AnthroSource and spent the rest of the day moving between the sites and setting things up. Just read some in SavageMinds and am so glad to have missed the AAAs. I fall somewhere in the middle on the age spectrum, but I am so envious of the parties. Gets pretty deadly the older you get. I’m one of the editors of Anthropology of Consciousness. Please, write something for us. I just can’t tell you how clear your essay is on where we need to go. AAA in general seems stuck in the Selectric Era.

    Dark Age of Camelot is running a lot of the time around here (on two of boyfriend’s three computers). He is a master at it. He now has two memberships and pairs characters on two computers. It’s pretty funny. I think he has 11 level 50+ characters. Or something like that. I don’t know the technicalities of his guild. It would be so cool if somehow you could explain to me the intersection between our two worlds. I still maintain the illusion that anthropology is “real” :)

    Check out John B. Corliss, if you haven’t. He talks about complexity and reflexivity in mathematical terms, but seems to me a close companion to what you are implying for social science via this information processing and free sharing of information. I just found JBC yesterday, and I think you have a major piece he is looking for.

    My anthro PhD is from UChicago in the 70s (committee was Fogelson, Schneider, and Cohn), and I did brief fieldwork in PNG and Australia in the 90s. In fact, I have a couple of the artifacts from Dead Birds hanging downstairs in my shop–presents/purchases from one of the Leay brothers’ daughter. Right now I’m making replica bullroarers and trying to put them together with Paleolithic artifacts, infrasonics, and public policy by way of Plato, Buckminster Fuller, and arts-based research.

  17. Mark Chen’s avatar

    Mark Chen on 21 Mar 2006 at 1:10 pm

    Wow! I was looking at info about the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, linked off of a course I’m taking this coming quarter at UW. I saw your name as one of the profs involved with the center and thought to myself… I knew an Alex Golub at Reed and we worked on the Quest together… There can’t be more than one Alex Golub can there?? And lo and behold… here you are. :)
    Been doing a lot of World of Warcraft research. What kinds of research did you do with DoAC? Anything going on nowadays?

  18. marina’s avatar

    marina on 14 Jul 2006 at 1:38 pm

    my last name is not Golub, im not related to pigeons (though i am to Herons- what is it with the russian jewish immigrants from new york all being related to birds? anyway) i dont need advice on my career, and i have no idea who you are.

    but for some reason your page came up on top when i googled “trials and tribulations- origin of phrase”

    so, tell me, DO YOU HAVE THE ANSWER- the linguistic/literary history of the phrase?

  20. jenny’s avatar

    jenny on 07 Aug 2006 at 7:16 am

    I have just linked to your erudite musings on Foucault’s love of the Insane Clown Posse. Was I surprised to find out you’re a Reedie? Not at all. :)

    A Darius student, perchance?

  21. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 07 Aug 2006 at 9:15 am

    Mark: Hello! Sorry it took me six months to notice your comment :(

    Jenny: No. Gail Kelly. Check out the “Shooting Snowy” paper on the “Things I’ve Written” page.

  22. Samantha Gillison’s avatar

    Samantha Gillison on 16 Sep 2006 at 11:15 am

    Hi, Dr. Golub

    nice picture. I’m writing an article about conservation and its discontents in the EHP for the nytimes mag…just wondering if you could a) send me you email address so I can ask you some questions in private and b) enlighten me on when the first patrols in the Highlands were by the Leahy brothers, Taylor et al. In Leahy’s book it says 1930, but you’ve said they started in 1926…I’m only interested in the ‘first contact’ patrols in the Highlands not anywhere else in png or west papua.

    thank you so much

    Sam Gillison

  23. Lisa Batsford’s avatar

    Lisa Batsford on 04 Oct 2006 at 8:08 am

    Alex,

    I ran across your blog while searching for (of all things) pictures of St. Francis of Assisi. Did you know that your corgi w/ St. Francis is #4 on Google Image search?

    It’s been years since I connected with anyone from Reed, let alone a fellow 1995 Gail Kelly student, so I thought I’d say hi.

    Congratulations on both the appointment and the marriage!

    Lisa Batsford

  24. Solomon’s avatar

    Solomon on 07 Dec 2006 at 11:02 pm

    Yu mangi Enga stret ya. Mi wokim sampla web search long indigenous responses to globalization na lukim name blong yu. Mi hamamas stret. Yu luk olsem wanpla mangi Enga ya! lol

  26. Lily Hope Chumley’s avatar

    Lily Hope Chumley on 22 Dec 2006 at 3:19 am

    Hi Alex,
    I was puttering around Savage Minds avoiding my proposal and thought I’d see what you are up to…golly gee planning research in China! I’m in Beijing for the forseeable future (2 years+) dragging myself slowly out of illiteracy and doing research, so if you pass through here let me know. .best, lily

  27. meg’s avatar

    meg on 16 Jan 2007 at 8:44 am

    you should write a book about d spink

  28. Tali’s avatar

    Tali on 20 Apr 2007 at 4:56 pm

    Hi Alex

    I am trying to remember the name of an anthropology documentary film I watched while doing an Anthropology paper and hoping you could help me.

    The film was about two Australian explorers (they were quite famous and were possibly brothers, I’m not sure), who made their way to PNG around about 1900s maybe and found gold. They paid the locals with seashells for their labour of gold mining.

    One thing I particularly remember about the film is a shot where one of the indigenous people who’d come in cotact with the Australians was wearing a cereal box on his head as a sign of decoration. He’d come acorss it or they had given it to him and, thinking it was a valuable artefact, he was wearing it on his head.

    Does this film ring a bell at all? Do you know which one I mean and can you hopefully remember the name of it or the name of the two Australian explorers?

    Many thanks!
    Tali

  29. Elizabeth’s avatar

    Elizabeth on 24 Apr 2007 at 3:39 pm

    Just to answer Tali. They were the Leahy Brothers and it was around the 1920′s or 30′s I think. I know the documentary you’re talking about but just can’t remember the title. It was done by the ABC.

  30. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 24 Apr 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Sorry I answered Tali in a private email but I’ll answer the question here as well: the movie is “First Contact” by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson.

  31. Robert Searson’s avatar

    Robert Searson on 31 Dec 2007 at 4:42 pm

    Hi Alex,

    Just wanted to let you know you put my name as Steven Searson instead of Robert Searson in your book about popular Ipili history. Steven Shmidt is my first cousin from my mother’s sister.

    P.S. I was suprised that a white man could come and live like us Porgerans in such a remote location without modern conveniences. Thanks for writting a history for us Porgerans.

  32. Alex’s avatar

    Alex on 02 Jan 2008 at 1:27 pm

    Thanks for this Robert –

    These sorts of typos are the reason I really want to revise the book and catch other errors before I post it online!

  33. James’s avatar

    James on 10 May 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Hello thanks for the great links on Gadamer! Just wondering if you knew why the subtitle for Truth and Method was dropped when it was translated into English?

    Cheers

    James

  34. Bear Wilner’s avatar

    Bear Wilner on 30 May 2008 at 7:20 am

    Alex,

    You were a dork back at Reed, and I see that nothing has changed. Nice mention on Boing-Boing. Your parents must be very proud.

  35. Peter Timmins’s avatar

    Peter Timmins on 02 Jul 2008 at 8:29 pm

    Alex,
    I am trying to find an Australian, David Evesson who I know was in PNG years ago. A Google search throws up a reference in your 2006 dissertation to someone by that name. We were school friends in the 1950s and a big reunion is planned this year. Any lead you can provide would be appreciated. Peter Timmins

  36. Rex’s avatar

    Rex on 05 Jul 2008 at 3:12 am

    Peter,
    I know that Evesson worked in the public service in PNG at one point, but I have never met him and do not know where he is currently. You might want to try to contact the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (google it) which might have a member directory or at least have many members who remember him.

  37. Peter Timmins’s avatar

    Peter Timmins on 06 Jul 2008 at 2:25 pm

    Thanks Alex, will give it a try.Peter

  38. christian’s avatar

    christian on 03 Aug 2008 at 5:09 pm

    Interesante la tematica desarrollada en este blog. Pienso que tenemos intereses comúnes. Saludos desde la Ciudad de México. (¡Excelente fotografía!)

  39. Nancy McDonald’s avatar

    Nancy McDonald on 05 Aug 2008 at 2:40 pm

    May I use your essay cartoon on my Distance Learning website, please?

  40. Bear Wilner-Nugent’s avatar

    Bear Wilner-Nugent on 08 Oct 2008 at 2:54 pm

    The “Bear Wilner” above is an impostor, yo.

  41. Riccardo Oldani’s avatar

    Riccardo Oldani on 20 Nov 2008 at 11:34 pm

    Dear Alex, I’m an italian journalist writing for a popular science magazine called Focus (one of the best known in our country). I’m currently writing an article about “isolated people” in the World and I know there are many “uncontacted” clans or tribes in Irian Jaya. I tried to mail a few questions for you about this topic to your university address. I hope you can answer.
    Please let me know if I must forward my questions to another email.
    Congratulations for your work!
    Riccardo

  42. isaiah’s avatar

    isaiah on 14 Jan 2009 at 12:49 am

    Hello Alex,

    Forgive me for not asking a more interesting question like some of those from above, but I’m trying to get into your anthropology 300 this spring 09, but I can’t find your email and such. Could you help me out?

    Mahalo,
    Isaiah

  43. Jed’s avatar

    Jed on 23 Feb 2009 at 9:25 pm

    SCDS Alex Golub? As a middle school pup I was influenced by you to enjoy Lovecraft and Leiber and runes and oddly enough I got my BSC in anthropology (archaeology). Good times . . .

    Jed

  44. jedidiah shepler’s avatar

    jedidiah shepler on 25 Feb 2009 at 7:40 pm

    I swear I commented earlier. . . Alex Golub from SCDS? Surely, it must be you. Dad the famous Kenpo (Kempo) practitioner, etc. . You were a big influence on me back in middle school– sparking an interest in Cthulhu, Leiber and the runes. . . Ah, what days those were. Interestingly, I ended up with a BSC in anth. (archaeology) ah the wheels of convergence turn. I must say that you and Tom Giguiere were two of the most intelligent people I knew in my young life. You have accomplished much. . .I have engaged in dilletantry. Cheers!

  45. Jillian’s avatar

    Jillian on 27 Feb 2009 at 1:40 pm

    Hi Alex,
    I am currently looking into the study of anthropology and it seems quite interesting. I am however concerned as to if anthropology is in fact the right career choice for me. What would you reccomend people that are looking into anthropology? What are the rise and down-falls of this intriguing study?

    Thank You,
    Jillian

  47. Dennis’s avatar

    Dennis on 07 Feb 2010 at 11:45 am

    Alex,
    It was interesting to read what you have done. Well….done… and congratulations.
    Dennis

  48. Robert Searson’s avatar

    Robert Searson on 24 Jun 2010 at 5:35 pm

    Congratulations to your wife and yourself on becoming parents!