Short Abstract:

In this roundtable, we engage in reflections on how social crises the world over have an impact on how anthropology is perceived, and how, as linked to this, governments and regimes the world over erode the legitimacy of the discipline. We seek WCAA delegates to participate in this debate.

Long Abstract:

In the contemporary world, where regimes defending social inequalities and persecuting refugees and migrants are thriving, and individuals seeking to counter this may be arrested for defending the rights of minorities, anthropology as a discipline is also under attack. In the midst of a general disregard for the social sciences, many countries’ governments reject the legitimacy of anthropological reflection and action, often using justifications related to the discipline´s past and confusing a scientific discipline with a political ideology. This has been happening, under various forms and guises around the world, having as triggers innumerable issues in multiple countries. This roundtable, sponsored by the WCAA and APA, brings together anthropologists from around the world to discuss the relation of social crises to perceptions of anthropology, and how governments, reacting against anthropological efforts to address these crises, are criticizing and undermining anthropology. This session will discuss these interrelated issues in a range of societies around the world, and explore how they may be addressed, untangled, and potentially solved.­­­­ We invite delegates from Anthropology associations from all over the world to gather and participate in this roundtable.