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Plenary2
- Convenor:
-
David Shankland
(Royal Anthropological Institute)
- Chair:
-
Michael Banton
- Formats:
- Plenaries
- Location:
- BP Lecture Theatre
Plenary.
Panel Plenary2 at conference RAI2012: Anthropology in the World.
https://nomadit.co.uk/conference/rai2012/p/1602
Short Abstract
Plenaries will be given by Stephanie Schwander-Sievers and Veronica Strang.
Accepted papers
Session 1
Selling complexity: the limits of anthropology applied
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers
(University of Roehampton)
Paper short abstract
I run a small consultancy firm titled Anthropology Applied Limited, registered in the UK. Based on years of ethnographic research in Albania and Kosovo and with translocal Albanians, who have been subjected to either national or international policies and law, I have advised, conducted training and/or produced reports for many international and national agencies. This presentation will raise ethical, methodological and economic questions arising from the conflict between the aim of maintaining an independent academic identity as a social anthropologist and the selling of a particular specialisation in one of the many powerful worlds outside academia. Reflecting on some cases in which my work was accepted and on cases that I rejected, or in which my work was rejected, I ask under what conditions selling complexity works and when it doesn’t.
Anthropology and interdisciplinarity: making use of social skills in collaborative research
Veronica Strang
(Oxford University)
Paper short abstract
This paper calls for a positive rethink of anthropology’s involvement in interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary research. It suggests that our discipline has considerable and largely untapped potential to assist interdisciplinary collaborations within and outside the academy. It proposes that – with holistic and inclusive theoretical models, a deep appreciation of diverse perspectives, skills in cross-cultural translation, and an underlying concern for equity – anthropology is particularly well equipped to help bring different disciplinary approaches together. Furthermore, it argues that making greater use of these strengths in collaborative research is strategically important for the discipline as a whole.