Jeffrey T. Martin

Anthropologist of policing at the University of Illinois. Interested in culture. Focus on East Asia (Taiwan, China, & Hong Kong) and USA.

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

What if the job of police is to cultivate the political will of a community to live with itself, rather than enforce law, keep order, or fight crime? https://t.co/TsUC1fEVyr

[michaelturton @michaelturton]

YMCA in Mandarin from Taiwan, 1979.
https://t.co/8bbKjNrIV3

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

#AAS2026 panel on policing Friday morning

[khalid yousef @khalidsyossef]

#OpenAccess
The Encounter of Chinese and Western Philosophies: A Critique
Benoît Vermander, De Gruyter 2023
PDF 🎯
https://t.co/h1XI07blrT

[Colin Gorrie @colingorrie]

Written English has barely changed in 300 years. If you can read Harry Potter, you can read Robinson Crusoe (1719).

The Spelling of our Tongue was in the main ſettled ere the eighteenth Century, & the Grammar has ſuffer'd but little Alteration ſince. Yet before this happy Settlement, things were exceeding ſtrange.

In Shakeſpeares dayes, ſpelling was much more variable, & you ſhall finde notable differences in the grammar: "thou" could bee intimate or inſulting, depending vpon whom you ſayd it to; to chooſe amiſse had conſequences.

Wende we now tuo hundred ȝeer bifore, to Chauceres tyme. It seemeth ȝit as Englisshe, but it nis nat esy to reden withouten greet connynge.

Yet tuo hundred wintre er, sone after þat the Normans comen to þis londe, is Englisch on muchel wandlunge. Þe tunges work is tobroken, Frensce wordes comeþ in, and þe writunge is al totwemed.

Þy furðor þu underbæc færst, þy gelicor biþ Englisc gesewen þære Deniscan spræce. Englisce bec þæs m. geare ne mæg nan mann rædan buton he sundorlice geleornad sy.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

“The Department of Justice has removed a study showing that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the United States.”

https://t.co/wgckwPp8Fn

[Keith Sakata, MD @KeithSakata]

I’m a psychiatrist.

In 2025, I’ve seen 12 people hospitalized after losing touch with reality because of AI. Online, I’m seeing the same pattern.

Here’s what “AI psychosis” looks like, and why it’s spreading fast: 🧵

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

He finds anthropological accounts of ‘other’ cultures fascinating and intellectually thrilling. He finds most discussion of American culture to be unconvincing arguments against ’straw man’ positions lacking traction with his own experience.

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

Had an interesting conversation at the American Anthropology Association conference with a chemical engineer who attends scholarly conferences in different disciplines (history, philosophy, social sciences, & religion) as a recreational pastime. He said:

[Springer Criminology @SpringerCrim]

The article "Restoring Justice or Maintaining Control? Revolutionary Roots and Conservative Fruits in Chinese Police Mediation" was announced Best Paper 2024 of the Asian Journal of Criminology. Kudos to Jeffrey T. Martin & Lingxiao Zhou!
https://t.co/VXOkMHHDcr
@AJOCriminology

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

@bazaarofwar @threadreaderapp unroll

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

@bazaarofwar @threadreaderapp unroll

[The Bazaar of War @bazaarofwar]

Among the most promising military applications of AI is staff work. Tons of routine products—intel summaries, orders, etc.—can be generated much faster by machine. Does this mean staffs will reverse the historic trend and begin to shrink?

No: they’re about to explode in size.🧵

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

@jamestwotree Flash forward a few generations, and Tsai Ing-wen campaigns by remixing the Beatles Abbey Rd cover into 農工商士

[Jerry Ratcliffe @Jerry_Ratcliffe]

“You get into policing to change the world. You get out of policing changed by the world”

- retd @AusFedPolice commander Grant Edwards @StrongCmdr

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

Syllabus for my new class on The Anthropology of Martial Arts https://t.co/gc4YrxKU46

[Andrea Gibson @andreagibson]

even when the truth
isn't hopeful
the telling of it is

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

@SkinnerPm Learning how to do good less dumb, and teaching that, would be pretty heavy.

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

@raulpacheco @alixabeth https://t.co/TsUC1fEVyr

[Jeffrey T. Martin @jematica]

These are times which call for gast above and beyond the flabber.