Short Abstract

This Lab invites anthropologists with a regional focus on Africa to critically reflect on developing a practice-oriented discipline. Beyond applied approaches, we want to explore how knowledge production rooted in practice can generate social and local relevance beyond the boundaries of academia.

Long Abstract

The Lab takes the question ‘What moves us?’ as its point of departure and calls for a reflexive examination of the discipline itself by asking, what moves our discipline and how it can move others. In this context, the anthropology on Africa faces a fundamental paradox. On the one hand, its bodies of knowledge are historically shaped by colonial power relations. Especially applied anthropology has been criticized in the context of decolonial endeavours so that many scholars no longer follow this path. On the other hand, our discipline possesses considerable epistemological potential to critically understand contemporary social processes, challenge dominant narratives, and make alternative forms of social life visible. Therefore, anthropological knowledge can be seen as highly relevant for practitioners, and we would like to ask how it can be produced and communicated in ways to become relevant beyond academia?

Taking this as a starting point, the Lab seeks to develop the idea of a new, practice-oriented anthropology. This would not simply be one-sided ‘applied anthropology’, where knowledge produced in academia is transferred into local practice. Rather, practice itself would become a site of knowledge production. We aim to facilitate open and critical discussions about what such an anthropology might entail and would like to ask for short impulse contributions to address research experiences, critical reflections and theoretical thoughts, or examples of practice-related projects and collaborations. At stake, ultimately, is not whether anthropology can be socially relevant, but what kind of anthropology we need to develop to make it so.