Holy Cross Anthropology Professor Lends Expertise to The Atlantic

Why is talking about money such a taboo subject for Americans? The Atlantic called upon renowned anthropologists nationwide to shed some light on the issue.

In the recent article, Jeremy Jones, assistant professor of anthropology at College of the Holy Cross, discussed how time and our own personal conceptions of our futures can weigh into conversations about money.

According to Jones, "people's openness about a particular expenditure or investment might have to do with the time horizon associated with it." This, he explains, is why we may be more comfortable disclosing to an acquaintance how much we spent on a meal today, but not how much we make in a year.

Jones, an anthropologist who has studied cultures of money in Zimbabwe, believes this is one of the reasons debt is such a sensitive topic. "The ramifications of [it] can extend far beyond the here and now."

To read the full article, go to TheAtlantic.com.