Paper short abstract:

This paper explores ethnographically the teaching and learning of 'critical thinking' in anthropology, questioning its value and arguing instead for an affective understanding.

Paper long abstract:

'Critical thinking' has been valued significantly in the learning of anthropology as a way of knowing, being and doing. However, an ethnographic exploration of its meaning in daily pedagogical practice reveals potential limitations that may be of relevance beyond the specific teaching setting under study. The explicit cultivation of 'critical thinking' entails a particular view of personhood, a specific vision for anthropology and a set system of values. For example, individualised intellectual reasoning/thinking is prioritised over affective (relational) understanding; deconstruction becomes a goal in itself; and anthropology remains focused on a militant political project rather than on an emerging empathic understanding. Drawing on existential anthropology and recent studies of affect in resolving pedagogical dilemmas, I turn instead to 'relational reflection' - it presupposes an 'informed subjectivity', a 'capacity for inclusion' and an ontological and epistemological openness. It also allows for developing and practicing an ethic of care.