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.