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Autoethnography—a methodology that foregrounds personal experience both during research and in writing about it—is a useful keyword for scholars working in Africa and the diaspora. Mara and Thompson argue that by exploring new forms of writing and engaging in critical self-reflexivity regarding (shifting) positionalities, autoethnography—particularly collaborative approaches—is vital to ongoing efforts to decolonize African Studies. Mara and Thompson propose changes necessary for the development of Africanist autoethnography as a Keyword, and some hopeful indicators that these changes are already underway, including a small but growing body of Africanist autoethnographic work.

This book presents analysis of language shift among the Northern Arapaho of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Employing a multi-scalar ethnographic approach, the book is based on Cowell's study of natural Arapaho discourse, daily shifts in linguistic practice, and historical changes occurring in Arapaho society. It examines diverse language practices and attitudes about naming, cultural metaphors, new word formation, and the practice of folk etymology; in so doing, it moves away from the notion of a singular 'Arapaho culture' and instead advocates for an understanding of multiple communities of practice within that particular society. Cowell argues that framing language shift in regard to continuity and discontinuity is problematic, because it relies on the visibility of standard linguistic features in the past and/or present as its grounds for comparison. Instead, he suggests that language shift should be addressed as both a synchronic and diachronic issue. Whereas he recognizes changes in linguistic practice and ideology, which are often treated as forms of discontinuity, Cowell proposes that there is actually more continuity within Northern Arapaho society than is often recognized; however, analysis must be conducted within a community or between communities of practice rather than as a study of one operative culture or one based on identity categories that are likely present in all communities of practice (e.g. gender, age, etc.). Within Northern Arapaho society, Cowell points to five distinct communities of practice. He insists that members can participate in multiple communities, for each is comprised of members with shared goals at certain times and in certain spaces. Although he argues membership is not mutually exclusive, he insists that communities of practice are built around competing ideas regarding knowledge and interpersonal relationships which, in turn, inform their language ideologies and practices. The idea that language is sacred is central amongst various Arapaho communities of practice; however, motivation to use and preserve Arapaho language and the results of its usage varies. Some communities of practice seek to deepen solidarity amongst each other or potentially with other Native Americans, whereas others, Cowell argues, may be trying to emphasize divisions between Indian and Euro-American groups or, alternatively, seeking continuity between the Arapaho past

Since the mid-1990s, the Diversity Visa Program, or the DV lottery, has drawn millions of applicants worldwide for an annual allotment of 55,000 visas. While this figure represents a small percentage of U.S. immigration, the program has drawn significant criticism from lawmakers who wish to end the lottery and even from former President Donald Trump, who questioned why the U.S. was taking in immigrants from "shithole countries." The second-prize winner of the 2020 Victor Turner Prize, The Fixer: Visa Lottery Chronicles, offers a more humanistic perspective on this topic. In this compelling ethnographic account, anthropologist Charles Piot explores the multi-million-dollar enterprise surrounding the DV lottery in the small West African nation of Togo and, in particular, broker Kodjo Nicolas Batema's experience as an unsuccessful lottery applicant turned adept "fixer," coaching other Togolese people through the application process.The Fixer is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one offers background on the DV lottery and details Kodjo's methods for signing up and funding applicants. Without a "fixer" like Kodjo, the lottery would be out of reach for most Togolese, due to exorbitant fees. Some of Kodjo's interventions include sponsoring winners himself and arranging marriages between visa winners and people who can pay or whose families can pay the necessary fees. Chapter two is focused on the applicant's interview at the consulate-the kinds of questions asked, how Kodjo prepares clients, and, ultimately, how the consul determines whom to give a visa. In chapter three, Piot explores marriages of convenience and how, in some cases, "fake marriages" become real. In doing so, he outlines differences between U.S. and Togolese conceptions of marriage, thus critiquing consular metrics for distinguishing between the "real" and the "fake." In chapter four, Piot discusses money-how the State Department determines fees, how Kodjo funds his clients, and the economic exchanges the lottery creates between Togo and its diaspora. He points out that though the lottery is based

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