3.

Introduction Anthropology is a field that has been extensively criticized for allowing its research to be influenced by the agendas of colonial governments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However though we like to imagine that we live in a world or free academic thought and pure research for the betterment of humanity unfortunately this is not the case. Just as the anthropological field in the past has come under the influence of state governments attempting to further their own agendas, the same occurs today. In this paper we will examine the role that state governments play in cultural knowledge production and its relation to various state agendas, using both the Cold War and Post 9/11 periods. In order to do this we will firstly examine how organizations use outside control in order to shape the cultural production of knowledge to conform to state agenda. This is done through the use of McCarthyism and New McCarthyism and their inherent tactics of pressure and intimidation. Secondly we will explore ways in which the state has gained control of the production of knowledge from within institutions themselves. Specifically we shall examine the use of state funds, both covertly and publicly, and the placements of government agents within Anthropological Research Organizations.

Control from the Outside We shall begin with an examination of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was about finding communists those who pose a national security threat (Sieber, 8) however it went beyond this group to target anyone who fought against the Status Quo. Unfortunately due to the nature of anthropological research many anthropologists fell into this second category. During the Cold War the FBI acting on the behest of the government and in

complete support of McCarthyism secretly met with and leaked information to employers, officials, and managers with control over anthropologistsin order to destroy professional careers and opportunities (Sieber, 9). A large groups of anthropologists were persecuted and careers ruined because of their alleged communist ties and unwillingness to name names in investigations. These allegations and outside pressure on institutions caused many anthropologists to lose their jobs and those who survived these McCarthyist witch hunts learned to censor themselves.

New McCarthyism is as devastating to anthropology today as traditional McCarthyism had been during the Cold War Era. The point at which Traditional McCarthyism and New McCarthyism find commonality is that they target people who question the wisdom of the state, however living in a post 9/11 society the realities of such questioning are quite different.

In the Post 9/11 world one of the main ways in which the production of knowledge is shaped by state agendas in the New McCarthyism is through the use of campus watch groups these groups are connected to vestiges of the George W Bush Administration and other Republican and neo-conservative groups. Today instead of the FBI, a clear agent of the government, the states interests are represented by organizations who while appearing to be independent have deep roots within government administrations. These watch groups seek out academics who do not fall into line with the state agenda and accuse them of a lack patriotism, disloyalty, rigid ideological orthodoxy [and] antiAmericanism(Sieber, 10). The fear is that these academics will indoctrinate their

radical beliefs into their students. These groups use tactics of intimidation hoping that these renegade professors will either be dismissed by their institutions or fall into line. In the case of Abu al-Haj a set of Right wing groups set to create controversy using false claims and misconstrued information placing pressure on her institution to discipline her, however while in this case their attempts failed and she received tenure this is not always the case, under pressure from these assaults, some academic institutions buckle and a professor's career is derailed; in other cases it is permanently stained (Sieber, 11). Many anthropologists, including Ward Churchill and Normal Finkelstein, have been denied tenure while some have been dismissed from their institutions.

While it is the anthropologists who are under the microscope of these groups it is everyone who ultimately loses. What these measures effectively create is a censure of ideas and the creation of knowledge that is not free or in the interest of human betterment, but instead knowledge which falls into line with the current state agenda. Thus it is clear that during the Cold War and Post 9/11 world the creation of knowledge is shaped by state agendas.

Control from Within However McCarthyism and outside control is not the only way in which the production of knowledge is made to conform to state agendas, there is a much more direct way in which this occurs. Cultural knowledge production is still shaped by state agendas directly from within the institutions themselves.

One disturbing aspect of the cultural production of knowledge is that it is shaped by state agendas directly in intuitions through the use of government funding. The foundations of this lie in the Cold War when the CIA covertly funded anthropological research using several organizations as fronts, specifically the Human Ecology Fund. The CIA gave money to anthropologists, under the guise of the Human Ecology Fund, for research that could be used to understand the enemy, the problem was that the anthropologists did not know the money was coming from the government and more significantly the ethical rights of the unwilling refugee participants from eastern bloc nations who were used in these studies. A significant problem also occurs in that the CIAs historical actions are drastically opposed to representing the needs of those studied.

This situation is mirrored today with the creation of Minerva. Minerva is a government funded program that would fund the creation of cultural knowledge in order to combat security threats. However the fear is that such a program will seek to assign any created knowledge with that of current state agenda. Much of this funded research will undoubtedly be classified and closed to the peer review process. With the dispersion of funds from the Pentagon, the money would undoubtedly go to anthropologists whose views are in line with the current administration and not anyone who would challenge the current state agenda. Thus in funding anthropological research the State tacitly ensures that the cultural production of knowledge is shaped by the its agenda.

The case of the Russian Research Center at Harvard offers a case study in which it is clear that the production of knowledge is shaped by state agendas. This President of this

organization had deep ties to both the CIA and FBI and directed the research of the Russian Research Center. Among this research was a study titled Project Troy which was determined to get to the truth of the Iron Curtain (Price, 405). In such cases as these not only is academic integrity compromised but also the freedom of research. Such organizations would also hire only anthropologists who would shape the production of knowledge to the current state agenda.

Conclusion In conclusion we can see that during the Cold War and Post 9/11 world state agendas have continued to shape the production of knowledge in the Anthropological field in a number of ways. Whether through McCarthyism during the Cold War or New McCarthyism more recently, the intimidation and intended censorship ensure that cultural knowledge production is in line with state agendas. The use of government funding also ensures that the State is able to shape anthropological research and thus the creation of knowledge to benefit its own agenda. Such efforts go against the spirit of Anthropological research and ensure that any knowledge produced is shaped in the interests of the State agenda.