Contribution short abstract:

Following Bhambra’s (2022) call, we propose a move toward a reparatory anthropology. Drawing on case studies, we explore what it means for the discipline to reckon with imperial and colonial histories, creating a framework for responsibility-taking that is anchored in an anti-racist imperative.

Contribution long abstract:

In the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movements of 2020, calls for a ‘reparatory social science’ have become more pronounced. For Gurminder Bhambra (2022), a historical sociologist, a reparatory social science is a social science that understands present-day inequalities as the outcome of global histories of colonialism, slavery, and extractivism. This, for her, not only requires a reconsideration of the histories taken to be central to the ‘modern’ social sciences but a reorientation of our conceptual frameworks, such as a decentering of the all-too-often taken for granted framework of the nation state. Here, we ask what the call for a reparatory social science means for anthropology itself. Thus, we explore how reckoning with imperial and colonial histories creates a framework for responsibility-taking that aligns with anti-racist imperatives.

Drawing upon two contemporary case studies – the emerging jurisprudence of 'modern slavery’ in the UK, and Germany’s narrative of ‘Verantwortungsbewusstsein' - we argue that responsibility-taking not only implies a critical rejection of liberal logics of salvation and guilt that have infused the political discourses of our times, but calls for new methodological toolkits that move beyond classical participant observation. By presenting concerns, provocations and ideas for a reparatory anthropology, we directly contribute to the panel’s objective to work towards a more inclusive community of anti-racist practice within academia and beyond.