Short Abstract

This roundtable critically examines doing anthropology ‘at home’ and ‘abroad’ as opposing modes of ethnographic inquiry, questioning this binary and exploring more reciprocal forms of collaboration across different stages of research and knowledge production.

Long Abstract

Anthropology has traditionally been associated with travelling elsewhere: entering unfamiliar places, learning new languages, and spending time with communities different from one’s own. Research conducted within a researcher’s own society or community has been identified as ‘native’ anthropology and for a long not always received the same recognition. Cultural proximity and familiarity with the setting was sometimes understood as a limitation rather than an advantage as it potentially would lead to uncritical blind spots or biased reporting.

These questions have become even more important with current efforts to decolonize anthropology. This has opened a broader discussion about the purpose of fieldwork, the responsibilities of researchers, and the ways local communities can become active partners in producing knowledge rather than simply sources of information.

Engaging with the question of what moves us prompts methodological reflection and raise the following questions: Does meaningful anthropological research necessarily require cultural distance? Could working within one’s own or nearby communities offer different insights and create more equal relationships without producing monolithic voices? What might anthropology lose if fewer researchers travel to unfamiliar places, learn other languages, and develop long-term relationships across cultural and geographical boundaries? In a world shaped by migration, global connections, and authoritarian turn, even the distinction between “home” and “elsewhere” is becoming increasingly difficult to define.

Instead of treating anthropology at home and abroad as opposing approaches, this roundtable considers how different forms of collaboration in the field, data processing and knowledge production can complement one another.