What is it about?
Public anthropology is a collective aspiration shaped by generally shared values and intentions within significant sections of social and cultural anthropology. How can anthropologists be more relevant to the broader society? We need raise our public profile, we need make clear to the larger society anthropology's value in addressing the problems that concern them.
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Why is it important?
Public anthropology makes evident the ability of anthropologists to engage in key issues of social life in a variety of significant ways. Public anthropology emphasizes the anthropologist’s role as an engaged intellectual. It continues anthropology’s commitment to being an ethnographic witness, to describing, in human terms how life is lived beyond the borders of many readers’ experiences. But it also adds a commitment, through ethnography, to reframing the terms of public debates – transforming received, accepted understandings of social issues with new insights, new framings – and fostering social and political change that benefits others, especially those anthropologists work with.
Perspectives
In demonstrating anthropology’s value, anthropologists should speak up and speak out about the dangers and the dilemmas we collectively face in ways that is understandable and effective. Being a public intellectual and constructing a public anthropology requires an engagement with both ethics and politics.
Antonio De lauri
Chr Michelsen Institute
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Public Anthropology in Changing Times, Public Anthropologist, January 2019, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/25891715-00101002.
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