Engaged Anthropology in 2011: A View from the Antipodes in a Turbulent Era

Abstract

Like any particular year, 2011 proved one that provided engaged anthropologists with many issues with which to grapple. These included the aftereffects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Wikileaks, the "Arab spring", and the Occupy movement. In this review article of engaged anthropology, I highlight the work of anthropologists as manifested in (1) published books and articles and (2) presentations at selected conferences and public events, some of which touch upon the above mentioned events as well as others that occurred in 2011. My essay focuses on the following themes: (1) corporate globalization, power, and inequalities in the world system;(2) global health; (3) climate change; (4) disasters; and (5) indigenity and indigenous rights in Australasia. I end my essay by revisiting the notion of "public anthropology" and juxtaposing this to what I view the much broader notion of "engaged anthropology." [engaged anthropology, public anthropology, 2011]

“Fata Morgana”: ancora su strabismi e asincronie

“…Già nei suoi due saggi di fine secolo scorso sopra ricordati, Sahlins (1999a: 403;1999b: V) equiparava la critica culturale ad una «emancipatory social science», considerandole entrambe partecipi di uno «slittamento retorico verso la moralità e la politica» che già all'epoca avrebbe caratterizzato la disciplina. Presente, secondo alcuni, nella lunga durata nella storia disciplinare (Bennet 1996, Patterson 2001, Sanjek 2014, una simile propensione all'impegno e al sostegno delle prospettive e delle istanze dei gruppi con i quali l'antropologo lavora, nel corso dell'ultimo ventennio ha preso sempre più piede, suscitando dibattiti, discussioni e polemiche (Checker 2009, Low, Merry 2010, Baer 2011, Jobson 2020. Che la si sostenga (tra i molti riferimenti possibili MacClancy 2002, Eriksen 2006, Sillitoe 2015, la si critichi (ad esempio Carrier 2016, Dullo 2016, la si problematizzi (Hale 2006, Fassin 2008, Herzfeld 2010) o si cerchino strade per coniugarla con la dimensione critico-politica dell'antropologia contemporanea (Osterweil 2013, Ortner 2016) tale spinta all'impegno e al coinvolgimento (etico e politico) si è andata in qualche modo radicalizzando, portando a quel tipo di etnografia militante il cui interesse, insieme alle problematicità, sono stati sottolineati anche in un recente volume italiano (Boni, Koensler, Rossi 2020).…”

Linguistic Anthropology in 2012: Language Matter(s)

“…At this point, I turn to the third meaning of “language matters.” Here I refer to the idea that the ways people talk and the languages we speak have broad sociopolitical significance that is revealed through close analysis of language and communication. I adopt the term engagement in the service of promoting dialogue with sociocultural anthropology's turn toward an “engaged” anthropology (Baer ; see below). There have long been scholars of language and culture who have focused on inequality and power and oriented their work explicitly toward public institutions and discourses .…”

“…“Engagement” is a noted theme in current sociocultural anthropology. Here, the term engaged has operational meanings associated with it that are linked to public anthropology (Baer ). According to current definitions of engagement , engaged (sociocultural) anthropologists draw from, critique, and contribute to texts and discourses circulating in the public sphere.…”

“…Second, I identify and explore a trend in current scholarship on embodiment, objectification, and the senses. Third, I examine the increasing amount of work that could be categorized as engaged anthropology, using engagement in a narrowly defined way that focuses on researcher collaboration with research participants, advocacy on their behalf, and commitment to social critique, teaching, and public education (Baer ; Low and Merry ) . Note that although the second and third topics are discussed as emerging trends, they are nonetheless also expansions of previously developed concepts.…”