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Paper short abstract:

'Pupil-Voice' aims to understand mental-health challenges from youth-perspectives, but predominantly English text-based Pupil-Voice may exclude SEND/ESOL student priorities from decision-making about them. Robinson proposes 'ABC', a multimodal, ethnographic Citizen Science approach as the solution.

Paper long abstract:

Following austerity measures, Covid, and the cost-of-living-crisis, children’s mental health stats have worsened: 1.7million+ UK-based children are persistently absent from schools, with heightened anxiety and depression the most common mental health symptoms experienced by disadvantaged young people in deprived areas. Statistics are worse for children w/Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, unsettled/refugee status, or in Alternate Provision/Pupil Referral Units. Though government-endorsed 'Pupil-Voice' initiatives aim to understand these alarming statistics from youth-perspectives, the predominance of English-centred/text-based Pupil-Voice excludes many vulnerable pupils' pressures/priorities from decision-making about them. Children impacted by trauma show higher rates of anxiety, ADHD and disruptive disorders; 11% of excluded children with ADHD have been excluded permanently (O'Regan 2010). Once permanently excluded from mainstream education they have statistically worse health and social outcomes, getting stuck in a kind of social/educational ‘enclosure’ (Perera 2020), which leads to a Sisyphean state from which excluded young people may never leave. Choices are either unknown or unavailable to them and they often go unseen by the decision-makers who determine their care and support.

During 3-years of Leverhulme-supported pilots, Robinson has co-constructed with young people/educators a creative, largely non-textual autoethnographic 'Anthropology By Children' curriculum to unpack how embodied in-schools/extracurricular experiences generate children's baseline health/self-advocacy/future-thriving. Through centring children’s voices in the design and data that emerges from this work, the ABC project aims to shift normative expectations of what health advocacy looks/sounds like and ensuring rigorous re-contextualisation of what knowledge (both of oneself and of others) and transformation is possible through amplifying young people in research.

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Paper short abstract:

Creative approaches to ethnography do not merely hold promise in making anthropology more relevant, they also have tremendous educational potential in intervening in public debates around the world's future. This paper argues that creative and artful ethnography is key to regenerative anthropology.

Paper long abstract:

Building on the work of anthropologists who have utilised creative and artistic approaches, from Ruth Behar to Sienna Craig to Paul Stoller, this paper argues for the potential of such approaches to help realise the regenerative potential of anthropology. The paper explores two key mechanisms through which this potential might be realised. On the one hand, it considers the movement towards participatory methods facilitating co-creation of knowledge in the field -- reflected in developments in visual anthropology and elsewhere -- as a way of minimising the extractive nature of research and addressing some of the demands of decolonisation. On the other, it spotlights efforts at creative expression of ethnography when shared with wider communities of people within and outside the academy, from "flash ethnography" to ethnographic film. Whereas the use of creative methodologies in the field has the potential to generate novel insights and understandings, creative approaches to sharing ethnography with audiences can help stimulate debate (and the public imagination) about the world's collective futures. Through creative approaches, anthropology can help fulfil its educational potential as a space of learning, reflection and imagination, allowing the discipline to (re)discover its regenerative edge.

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Paper short abstract:

This multi-media presentation discusses ‘mixtape scholarship,’ a multimodal practice that brings into proximity, archives, voices and epistemologies that are undervalued, to convey sonic and visual narratives of the disenfranchised and marginalised, to realise anthropology’s regenerative potential.

Paper long abstract:

Academia provides a unique vantage point from which to respond to injustice, a position from which to influence theory, policy, and politics. Getino and Solanas (1969) state “the intellectual must find through [their] action, the field in which [they] can rationally perform the most efficient work… find out within that front exactly what is the enemy’s stronghold and where and how [they] must deploy [their] forces.” This statement, offered in the context of art-making amidst anti-neo-colonialist uprisings in the 1960s and 70s, advocates for embracing the multicultural and polyvocal, and encourages academics to be imaginative, creative, boundary-pushing, and system-challenging. If anthropology is to realise its regenerative potential, then it must embrace “alternative” practices and engage meaningfully in alternative solutions and social action.

Using my research practice which focuses on social justice using multimodal and experimental methodologies as an example, this multi-media presentation discusses ‘mixtape scholarship,’ a curation and reprocessing of multi-media materials to convey narratives that privilege the sensory. This curation articulates an acoustic and visual environment of resistance and resilience, conveying narratives of the disenfranchised, under-represented, and marginalised, embedded in a commitment to bringing into proximity, archives, voices, epistemologies and methodologies that are undervalued. The presentation will share excerpts from the visual mixtapes The Imagined Things: On Solange, Repetition and Mantra (2019) and Lovers Rock Dub: An Experiment in Visual Reverberation (2023), and the audio mixtapes “The People Who Keep on Going” from The Futures of Black Radicalism (2017) and “The Mixtape as Maroon” from Black Ephemera (2022).

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Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes that “decolonial anthropology" should be in dialogue with "decolonizing academia" or “decolonizing knowledge” as I argue that “colonial anthropology” is not the disease but a symptom of the disease, hence, the disease needs to be diagnosed critically.

Paper long abstract:

The inextricable linkage between European colonialism/imperialism and anthropology has been scrutinized by many scholars in the late 20th century (Asad 1973; Lewis 1973; Stauder 1974; Stavenhagen 1971; Remy 1976; Pathy 1981; Said 1978; Fabian 1983; Owusu 1979). In the last few decades, we have been observing new shifts or transitions in anthropology, to name a few, “transformative anthropology” and “decolonizing anthropology” (Harrison 1991), “antiracist anthropology” (Mullings 2005), “abolitionist anthropology” (Shange 2019), “historicizing anthropology” (Trouillot 2003), “fugitive anthropology” (Berry et al. 2017), “letting anthropology burn” (Jobson 2019) and so on. The aim of this paper is threefold: first, it traces the history of the relationship between colonialism/imperialism and anthropology; second, it engages with the shifts in anthropology within the last few decades especially with the discourse of the decolonial move. Lastly, this paper proposes that “decolonial anthropology” should be in dialogue with “decolonizing academia” or “decolonizing knowledge” as I argue that “colonial anthropology” is not the disease but a symptom of the disease, hence, the disease needs to be diagnosed critically. In this symptom-disease analysis, I view anthropology as one of the products (such as sociology, economics, political science, etc.) of modern academia rooted in “scientific” hierarchization of knowledge and without a revolutionary change in our epistemic orientation, anthropology cannot be radically transformed or reformed so as not to serve neo-colonial and imperialist ideology.

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Paper short abstract:

Current Western education is overly reductionist, emphasizing knowledge transfer. Anthropology counters this neglect of holistic human development, offering regenerative insights that can enrich both secondary and higher education for resilience in a crisis era.

Paper long abstract:

Contemporary Western education, often state-supported, is notably reductionist, focusing on transmitting knowledge, information, and, to some extent, competence. However, this neglects other dimensions of human existence that a holistic perspective should cultivate: learning not just how to learn, but also how to be with people (as well as non-humans), among people, and simply how to be. These skills are increasingly crucial in the current era of poly-crisis and expected partial breakdowns of societal functions. Anthropology enhances its regenerative role by leveraging its accumulated knowledge of indigenous cultures and methodological principles, including a holistic approach to the individual and his or her functioning in communities and societies. This approach can contribute to expanding the educational forms necessary for such critical times. Modern education shall seek inspiration from anthropology extending beyond mere knowledge transmission. Emphasis should not only be on developing critical thinking but also on nurturing critical, social, ecological, and psychological sensibilities. Fostering social responsibility and intercultural competence should intertwine with developing the whole person in each student, covering mental, physical, and moral resilience. The paper focuses on practical examples illustrating anthropology's potential to regenerate these skills, with a particular focus on contemporary secondary and higher education.

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Paper short abstract:

The presentation explores how critical anthropology reshapes perspectives and ways of living. The focus includes examining which aspects of indigenous knowledge are regarded as having the potential for radical transformation and the decolonization of Western thought.

Paper long abstract:

The desire for change is deeply ingrained within the Western imaginary, manifested through various discourses of growth, transformation, and enhancement across personal and societal realms, all seeking to transcend the present reality. This pursuit is evident in aspirations ranging from economic and technological dreams to societal justice, personal development, and spiritual enlightenment. Anthropology, since its inception, actively contributed to reshaping Western perspectives, with critical anthropology playing a pivotal role. As emphasized by Gassan Hage, critical anthropology enables us to recognize that we have the potential to be radically different from what we are (Hage 2012: 289). Throughout the discipline's history, anthropologists have employed diverse modes of critical analysis to demonstrate that Western ways of being in the world are not universally fixed but rather open to transformation. This presentation explores how anthropology is involved in "decolonizing thought," presenting evidence of alternative lifestyles and interactions with the world. The focus will particularly be on reflecting upon which aspects of indigenous knowledge are considered transformational and the premises guiding such selectivity. My focus is therefore on recognizing what we desire to become and how anthropology is helping us in achieving it.

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An exploration of how we teach/learn ecology with attentiveness towards (re)generative classrooms as “locations of possibility” that engage the “re-enchantment of the world.” Situated knowledge as praxis of critical eco-pedagogy to support the flourishing of kinship, community, and emergence.

Paper long abstract:

The ways we educate in the age of the so-called Anthropocene will dictate how we move through the emerging polycrisis. Pedagogical choices are part of shifting away from dominator cultures of supremacy into partnership with the living earth. As such, classrooms and educational experiences that revitalize our notions of care, commitment, reciprocity, and belonging are part of unlearning the nature/culture bind that has been fueling the current ecocide.

What is the value of education in this current time of systemic and ecological upheaval? What do we need to un-learn and re-learn about education, ourselves, and each other in order to thrive? How can we hold liberatory classroom spaces in ways that honor pluralism and challenge the hegemony of human exceptionalism, racial capitalist hetero-patriarchy, settler colonialism, and the rhetoric of empire as we engage with ecology?

This is an exploration of how we teach/learn about and with the earth, with attentiveness towards (re)generative classrooms as “locations of possibility” that engage the “re-enchantment of the world” and honor situated knowledge and diverse ways of knowing. Inspired by the work of Paulo Freire and bell hooks, I explore engaged eco-pedagogy that seeks to reconstitute the commons through participatory and liberatory education. Students and teachers are constantly learning from each other, and more-than-human agents, including place, are included among those teachers. I will discuss how we engage critical eco-pedagogy as a re-worlding practice to embody decolonization and multispecies justice and support the flourishing of kinship, community, and emergence.

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This paper explores how anthropology can contribute to regenerative SolarPunk world-building through historical ecology research into past and ongoing sustainable, biodiversity-enhancing land management practices.

Paper long abstract:

SolarPunk is one of several emerging creative “Punk” movements, one that - through art, literature, lifestyle experiments and inventive zero-carbon technology - seeks to provide an eco-socialist, optimistic imagining of the future. Positive and necessarily as this kind hopeful imagining is, it can be prone to both Euro- and “Future”centrism. In fact, through historical ecology we know that collectively we already have an incredible wealth of experience with sustainable, symbiotic, bio-diversity enhancing, low-carbon modes of farming and living, developed by communities throughout the world over thousands of years. This paper briefly describes some examples of such regenerative practices (drawn from my own research in Nigeria and Tanzania as well as Amazonia, Japan and the UK) and outlines how historical ecology as a whole provides useful approaches to imagining regenerative futures. It then attempts to think through, firstly, some practical ways that anthropologists can help to insert these existing knowledges and practices from all corners of the world into not just SolarPunk imagining but transformative world-building as a whole; and, secondly, how the justice and equity questions such learning or, indeed, appropriation raises, might be addressed through reflexive, decolonial anthropological approaches.

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Paper short abstract:

Drawing on my experiences and experiments teaching anthropology, I suggest that the process towards regenerative anthropology must provoke and confront some of the taken-for-granted frames and ideologies which dominate education, at least in the specific context of my teaching in Singapore.

Paper long abstract:

Few would disagree that the classroom is a productive site to do some of the work of animating the regenerative potential of anthropology. While this is not in doubt, I draw on my experiences and experiments over the past decade teaching a cluster of university courses through an anthropological lens to suggest that the process must provoke and confront some of the taken-for-granted frames and ideologies which dominate education, at least in the specific context of my teaching in Singapore. As an example, the infrastructural and discursive resources for STEM education have produced a hierarchy of knowledge and ways of knowing – most notably, a positivistic bend. What is observed is to be described and analyzed - objectively. Anthropology, on the other hand, allows for radically different ways of knowing; where we could also be witnesses or change agents. By diversifying our interlocutors, including the marginal and those ordinarily overlooked, taking them seriously, anthropology explores alternatives and reveals the contingency of our ways – a productive stance for producing alternatives. In this paper, I will consider how the forementioned dominant ideologies played out in the context of my experiments in a course on race and ethnicity as well as how anthropological approaches were employed creatively, allowing students to generate, sometimes collaboratively, and reaching out to a broader audience.