Activist, Public, and Engaged Anthropology

1 Course Unit

What are the broader goals, public impacts, and political commitments of social scientific research? Not only with whom, but for whom and with what purpose do we engage in fieldwork and ethnographic practice? Growing numbers of scholars have questioned and responded to the asymmetrical privileges built into Western science by carrying out research in ways that partner with the political aims of their local interlocutors and communities. This course examines what can we learn from public, activist, “engaged,” and decolonial approaches to anthropology as well as the politics of the field, the written page, and the classroom. Terms such as collaboration, advocacy, social criticism, accompaniment, public engagement, and anthropology for liberation are important historical and contemporary trends in the field. During this course, we will discuss the methods, contradictions, and potential impacts of research that claims to take stands on issues of inequality, social and environmental injustices, and structural transformations. Students will not only interact with written and visual materials on these topics but will also engage with practitioners regarding how they navigate the relationship between academia, community partnerships, political struggles, and the practical and ethical necessities of attending to local priorities as well as to concrete issues occurring in the world. Fall Mutually Exclusive: ANTH 2807 1 Course Unit