Short Abstract:

Can karaoke maximize impact? The aim of this lab is to think creatively and critically about the global impact regime. Following an introductory musical meltdown, participants will be invited to come up with subversive and humorous interventions that both comply with and challenge the impact agenda.

Long Abstract:

Can karaoke maximize impact? This lab will consider the potential of karaoke as a medium through which anthropologists could communicate their work and foster change in others' behaviour. Following an introductory musical meltdown, participants (working in teams) will be invited to come up with subversive and humorous interventions that both comply with and challenge the impact agenda. The aim of this lab is to think creatively and critically about the global impact regime, and how it affects future anthropological legacies. Put simply, how can we play with impact? We start in the shared knowledge that the requirement to change people's behaviour is antithetical to anthropological theory and practice, and is intimately embedded in neoliberal conceptions of value and epistemology. How might we comply with impact requirements in ways that questions the commodification of research outputs and creates new modes of engagement between anthropology and broader publics? In a moment where formats like "pechakucha" are attracting attention, how might anthropologists go beyond the PowerPoint and out into the world?