Musings of a Mobile Anthropologist

Tales of technology, anthropology, conservation and development.

Written by Ken Banks, the creator of FrontlineSMS, ‘Musings of a Mobile Anthropologist’ is the definitive collection of the most popular and impactful blog posts from the first 12 years of kiwanja.net. It is free to download, read, use and share.

About the book

Musings of a Mobile Anthropologist by Ken Banks: book cover

‘Musings of a Mobile Anthropologist: Tales of technology, anthropology, conservation and development’ brings together the most popular and impactful posts from the first twelve years of kiwanja.net, with an introduction by Ken Banks.

Written as the ideas, experiences and questions arose, the posts range across technology, anthropology, conservation and development, drawing on Ken’s work in developing regions of the world, particularly Africa. Together they trace how thinking evolved over more than a decade, from early observations in the field to reflections on what makes technology, and the people behind it, genuinely useful.

Each piece stands on its own, so the book can be read from cover to cover or dipped into at random, a chapter at a time. That makes it a natural source of conversation starters and discussion themes for students, academics and anyone curious about how technology, people and place come together.

Where the posts came from

Previously, some of kiwanja’s most popular articles were shared annually in a collection of favourite posts, and these turned out to be popular among students and academics who found them useful conversation starters and discussion themes. To build on this we decided to publish, in book form, over seventy of the most thought-provoking posts from the first twelve years of our blogging, all in one place.

About the author

Ken Banks

Ken Banks is a British award-winning social innovator, technologist and anthropologist with over 30 years’ experience working in developing regions of the world, particularly Africa, with a focus on technology, conservation and humanitarian relief. He is a PopTech Fellow, an Ashoka Fellow, a National Geographic Explorer and the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award for Humanitarian Contributions within Computer Science. He is best known as the creator of FrontlineSMS and is the founder of kiwanja.net and apathy to action.

How to get the book

‘Musings of a Mobile Anthropologist’ is free to download and share on the kiwanja website, in PDF format, via the button below. The eBook is also available for a small fee in the Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk Kindle stores, and as a paperback in all Amazon stores (regular book prices apply).

Download the free PDFGet it on Amazon

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