Antropolodzy wobec niespokojnych krajobrazów współczesnego świata w kontekście Cool Anthropology

  • Author: Natalia Maksymowicz-Mróz
  • Institution: Uniwersytet Szczeciński
  • ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1129-0536
  • Year of publication: 2023
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 41-54
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/em.2023.02.03
  • PDF: em/21/em2103.pdf

Anthropologists facing the unsettling landscapes of the contemporary world in the Cool Anthropology context

The article is a reflection on the place, tasks and purpose of cultural anthropology in the contemporary world. It was inspired by a discussion that took place during Ethnology Without Borders 2022 Conference. The 21st century shook the foundations of anthropology’s relationship with politics and society: from the devastating pandemic and the increasing effects of climate change, to the outbreak of war in Europe. The author ponders how anthropology should operate in the face of these crises. The presentation of various research concepts aims to bring closer where the problem is while everyone means well. The article presents the achievements of some anthropologists who criticize actions based on good intentions and draws attention to the achievements of Anthropology of Development, which the author illustrates with some examples from her own observations made during field research in Nepal and NATO training. The Cool Anthropology trend is potentially a right direction for development of contemporary anthropology. The questions posed in the article are intended to provoke reflection on the author’s thesis that as anthropologists who are part of a privileged social layer, should ask themselves the question: how to reconceptualize anthropological activities outside the resources of the academic spheres in order to become socially useful.

Artykuł jest refleksją nad miejscem, zadaniami i celem antropologii kulturowej we współczesnym świecie. Został zainspirowany dyskusją, która odbyła się podczas konferencji Ethnology Without Borders 2022 – Europe at Risk. Początek lat 20. XXI wieku wstrząsnął podstawami relacji antropologii z polityką i społeczeństwem: od niszczycielskiej pandemii i coraz bardziej obecnych skutków zmian klimatu, po wybuch wojny w Europie. Autorka zastanawia się, jak powinna działać antropologia w obliczu tych kryzysów, które jednocześnie zagrażają ludzkości i obnażają niepewność akademickiej przyszłości. Prezentacja różnych koncepcji badawczych ma na celu przybliżenie, w czym tkwi problem, skoro wszyscy chcą dobrze. W artykule przedstawiono dorobek części antropologów krytykujących działania oparte na tak zwanych dobrych intencjach i zwraca uwagę na dokonania Antropologii Rozwoju, co autorka ilustruje przykładami z własnych obserwacji poczynionych podczas badań terenowych w Nepalu i szkoleniach NATO. Nurt Cool Anthropology jest potencjalnie właściwym kierunkiem rozwoju współczesnej antropologii. Postawione w artykule pytania mają skłonić do refleksji nad tezą autorki, że jako antropolodzy będący częścią uprzywilejowanej warstwy społecznej powinni zadać sobie pytania: w jaki sposób zrekonceptualizować działania antropologiczne poza silosami sfery akademickiej i publicznej, aby stać się społecznie użytecznymi?

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expert anthropology aktywizm partycypacyjne badania w działaniu interwencja kryzysowa antropologia stosowana antropologia rozwoju dobre intencje antropologia ekspercka good intentions Cool Anthropology development anthropology applied anthropology crisis intervention activism Participatory Action Research

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