Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality,
and to see the links to virtual rooms.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Shukti Chaudhuri-Brill
(NYUParis)
Giovanna Guslini (Formerly of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research)
Annika Strauss (University of Münster)
Lorenzo Cañás Bottos (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Send message to Convenors
- Chair:
-
Giovanna Guslini
(Formerly of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research)
- Discussant:
-
Annika Strauss
(University of Münster)
Short Abstract:
This panel features students’ presentations of what to them constitute meaningful teaching and learning experiences of anthropology. The panel is conceived as a space where students can guide teachers, and teaching anthropology can become a more collaborative process.
Long Abstract:
Over the last few decades, exploration of the situated nature of knowledge and reflection on positionality has led to ethnographic knowledge products becoming more (self)-reflective, dialogical, collaborative, and polyvocal. Teaching methods have emerged that no longer understand the learning of socio-anthropological specifics as passive conglomerates of knowledge to be received solely through “instruction” and conveyed from a position of authority. Spaces can be created where it is ideally possible to recognize factors of disadvantage in the academic context and to address and reflect upon structurally unequal relationships among students and in their relations to educators. In this panel we would like to create such a communal reflexive space by inviting students of all levels, with their teachers, to share their experiences of learning anthropology. Your contribution might be a report or discussion of a particular teaching/learning method, projects, or student surveys, for example, and may concern one or more of the following questions:
• What are teaching models and methods you favour and why?
• In which innovative teaching projects and endeavors have you been involved that you think should become more common when it comes to learning anthropology?
• Which aspects do you think are missing in current teaching practices?
• How do you experience academic spaces like the classroom, the campus, conferences?
• What are your learning goals and how do you think your university courses could prepare you more for life outside of the university/academia?
We at TAN can assist students in preparing their proposals for presentation.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 28 June, 2024, -Francis Odoom (University of Münster) Zaitun Bako (University of Münster)
Paper short abstract:
Social anthropology graduates often practice in other fields, questioning its relevance and suitability for addressing societal problems. Restructuring teaching methods can motivate students, provide quality jobs, and address persistent community issues.
Paper long abstract:
This abstract explores the persistent challenge of aligning theoretical knowledge with practical applications in the field of social anthropology. Originating in the 1920s, social anthropology has been instrumental in imparting theoretical knowledge to students, yet there is a significant disparity between academic knowledge and practical application.
This presentation focuses on the issue of integrating social anthropology education into practical scenarios to bolster its applicability for students entering the job market. Two questions guide our inquiry: Firstly, we draw attention to how social anthropology can be restructured to attract students by establishing a direct link between academic pursuits and job opportunities. Secondly, we explore avenues for integrating social anthropology with ongoing societal interventions in areas such as livelihoods, education, health, and protection? Our aim is to discuss strategies that align academic knowledge with practical applications, equipping students with job creation and opportunity skills.
Till Jonas Krannich Viktor Eichmann (University of Münster) Emilia Bravo (University of Münster)
Paper short abstract:
How do we make Anthropology more approachable for future students? – Conducting qualitative interviews and seeking solutions
Paper long abstract:
As members of the student council for social and cultural anthropology at the University of Münster, our task and goal are to represent the students’ interests and requests. However, the engagement in class and the satisfaction with our curriculum and methods of teaching appear to be declining, creating organizational issues for our lecturers and complicating communal studying, which has been an ongoing problem for several semesters. Our goal with this paper is to present qualitative data from first and second semester students about the general satisfaction with the model of our bachelor’s degree program. We intend to carry out interviews and aim to include our students’ perspectives for a more approachable degree, shedding light on both the arising challenges and inspiring aspects of studying anthropology at our university. Furthermore, we seek to point out ideas and concepts that could pose a solution to the aforementioned issues with engagement in classes and that could additionally ease the cooperation between students and the institute for Ethnology itself.
Diana Zerda (University of Münster)
Paper short abstract:
Students don't just attend their teachers' lectures, but they also silently conduct participant observation. Yet, are teachers willing to accept and integrate this as part of an academic exercise in anthropology? What dilemmas emerge from the duality of being a teacher or student and anthropologist?
Paper long abstract:
Anthropologists are given an additional role to fulfill in educational contexts besides their own. Whether it is to be a teacher or a student, this implies a new adaptation to the tasks ahead. After having taught Social Sciences for two years I decided to go back and continue studying Anthropology. Quickly I saw difficulties in assuming my role as a student, and couldn't let go of my previous roles as a teacher or Anthropologist. As we went back to the basics of empirical research, I found myself being aware of the participant observation I conducted weekly throughout the lectures. This duality allowed me to both see from the veranda and walk the field of how anthropology was being taught to us. This participant observation was an opportunity to identify didactics used in the seminars and to address this in conversations with teachers. As a former teacher, I tried to exercise empathy toward the endeavor and understand the formative structure behind the modules and classes. As a student, I lived and performed the planned learning curricula and experienced the social, cultural, and political characteristics of the educational system and higher education institutions of Germany, in contrast to those of my country of origin, which I tried to reflect on using autoethnography. Last, I reflect on the methodology I conducted and the ethical aspects of conducting anthropological research on educational settings and institutions.
Polina Shablovskaia (Freie Universität Berlin) Maria Laurids Lazzarotti (Freie Universität Berlin) Isabel Bredenbröker (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) Sarah Wulbrecht (Humboldt University and Free University) Meycem Ceren Ulu (Freie Unversitat Berlin) Frederike Rebecca Nolte (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
Paper short abstract:
MA students, spanning diverse backgrounds and programs, share their transformative approach to anthropology in a two-semester research group seminar. This paper reflects on challenges and successes, offers insights into applying non-normative relations and speculative futures in museum studies.
Paper long abstract:
This paper presents the collaborative experiences of MA students from diverse backgrounds, programs, and countries participating in a two-semester research group seminar led by anthropologist Isabel Bredenbröker. The seminar series, titled "Non-normative relations wanted: Testing queer methods at the Berlin Ethnological Museum" and "Speculative futures wanted: Investigating queer temporalities at the Berlin Ethnological Museum," aimed to unpack theoretical approaches from anthropology, queer studies, museum studies, literature criticism, and global history to challenge the normative underpinnings of the museum.
In the first semester, students engaged in theoretical reflections and practical applications, presenting their projects at a student conference and curating an exhibition at the Humboldt Forum. The focus was on understanding and co-creating queer relations around objects, emphasizing the development of a queer methodology for the analysis and creation of non-normative relations within the museum context.
The second seminar explored speculative futures through queer temporalities and collective writing. The resulting narratives, intended for publication in the anthropological journal "Ethnofoor," attempt alternative ways of thinking, narrating, and envisioning heritage and archives in the past, present, and future by expanding the toolbox of anthropology with the creative potential of fiction.
Our contribution to this conference aligns with the theme of reflexivity in anthropology. We share our experiences of integrating theoretical reflections with artistic and curatorial practices, emphasizing the collaborative nature of our approach. This paper addresses the transformative potential of non-traditional and interdisciplinary learning journey, offering insights into the challenges and successes of applying queer methodologies.