Paper short abstract:

Anthropologists are increasingly using 'intimacy' as a frame of reference in our work. But what do we mean by it and, as a conceptual lens, does it capture something that other more traditional frames of reference miss?

Paper long abstract:

This paper considers the extent to which a conceptual focus on intimacy is useful in anthropology. As global mass media, capitalism and consumerism are reshaping ideals of how we should relate to one another, anthropologists are increasingly concerned with intimacy. In this paper, I probe the concept, asking such questions as: How might we define 'intimacy' for the purposes of anthropological study? Is the concept discrete enough to be conceptually useful (or is it perhaps its broadness that makes it useful in examining varied cultural contexts?) How does intimacy articulate with more established anthropological rubrics for exploring similar issues - such as gender, kinship, reciprocity and affect - and as an alternate or complementary frame of reference, is it able to add something to our data collection and analysis that these other frames may overlook? Can a focus on intimacy be particularly revealing for enduring anthropological concerns with relationality, personhood and agency - particularly, as we seek to make sense of intimacy's paradoxes, such as domestic violence?