Paper short abstract:

The proposed paper offers an autoethnographically-based analysis of the possibilities for creating interdisciplinary approaches at the intersections between social/cultural anthropology and feminism-inspired gender/queer studies that have evolved over the last two decades in contemporary Poland.

Paper long abstract:

Considering that both social/cultural anthropology and feminism-inspired gender/queer studies have been to a high degree adapted in contemporary Poland in the course of the so called "systemic transition" since the late 1980s, it is not surprising that debates on appropriate forms that both disciplines should assume have been basically structured by some versions of the local (non-western) vs. global (western) categories. However, when the ongoing discussions are approached through the prism of gender/sexuality and politics, the essentialist vs. constructivist dichotomy appears equally important. The whole situation is further complicated by the fact that due to changing contexts (both locally and globally) various perspectives have been gaining or losing their prominence within both disciplines. Having participated in anthropological as well as in feminist/queer academic debates for almost two decades, in the proposed paper I investigate the possibilities for creating interdisciplinary approaches at the intersections of the above discourses, which all produce extremely dynamic, complex and heterogeneous settings. With this end in view I analyze in what ways various politics of identity formation; different meanings that concepts of gender/sexuality and politics assume; and varied ideas of legitimate public involvement work for and against actual and potential cooperation. As my hitherto experience shows, while both disciplines can (and occasionally do) effectively help each other with moving beyond their respective confinements, in the specific Polish contexts real interdisciplinarity taken as an integrated approach toward gender/sexuality and politics seems difficult to achieve.

Paper short abstract:

Collaborative anthropology is one response to the call to make Anthropology more relevant to a broader public. In this paper, I illustrate several community collaborative projects that reached beyond disciplinary boundaries to utilize a range of methodologies intended to respond to the needs of particular communities or "local publics."

Paper long abstract:

Collaborative ethnography, as defined by Luke Eric Lassiter, is "a very specific kind of ethnography that builds on the cooperative relationships already present in the ethnographic research process… and endeavors to engender texts that are more readable, relevant, and applicable to local communities of ethnographic collaborators (i.e. local publics)." Collaborative ethnography has emerged as one increasingly popular strategy for involving students in local ethnographic research projects and for enacting new expectations for carrying out what many now refer to as "public anthropology."

Working with what Lassiter calls "local publics" involves not only making anthropological methods and insights "user-friendly"; it also involves developing interdisciplinary strategies, including archival work, mapping and various uses of technology, in order to provide communities with products that are accessible and useful to them, in addition to utilizing those "traditional" methodologies that are the hallmark of cultural anthropology. In addition, the products we produce with our students now need no longer be strictly defined as "texts." In this paper, I discuss several community collaborative projects I have carried out, working with students in my home city of Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to illustrating how other disciplinary perspectives and methodologies contributed to the making of such ethnographic projects, I also discuss how those scholars were, in turn, influenced by their exposure to anthropology and ethnographic methods. Lastly, I give attention to how the "local publics" involved with each of these projects responded to the work we produced beyond the boundaries of Anthropology.

Paper short abstract:

The proposed paper discusses the topic of interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of healthcare and public sector innovation by examining industry practices, and explores the role of anthropology for making an impact in the wider world.

Paper long abstract:

While participating in the corporation with particular responsibilities, anthropologists/ethnographers in corporate settings have collaborated extensively with a wide range of experts in different fields, and played a critical role in navigating complex organizations and inspiring solutions (Cefkin 2009). One of the main characteristics of ethnographic praxis in corporate settings is how our knowledge is produced through collaboration based on dialogic engagements between an anthropologist/ethnographer and her stakeholders who come from different disciplinary backgrounds, ranging from designers, IT engineers to board members as well as various practitioners on the ground. Anthropological understanding we produce is a situated knowledge shaped by a context defined through a particular engagement with different collaborators. A challenge imposed on anthropologists is to open up the conversation for constructing ethnographic knowledge to non-anthropologists with different discursive frameworks.

In healthcare and public sector works, our interpretive context further involves different political agendas and social interests that evoke complicated ethical issues and power relationships embedded in our ethnographic praxis. While there are no straightforward answers to address those issues, anthropologists could play an important role in highlighting different presuppositions and on-going discourses implied in the context that need to be negotiated. Ethnography could provide us a co-creation platform for interdisciplinary collaboration to engage in designing possible solutions (Bason 2010). In the proposed paper, I will discuss dialogic engagements as a way of guiding ethnographic practices and knowledge production, and further consider the role of anthropology in addressing complicated issues implied in healthcare and public sector innovation works.

Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses an incursion into interdisciplinarity, drawing on an ethnography of moral experience of British doctors in England to address the Ethics/Sociology divide in medical education scholarship. It calls for an Anthropology of professions and of professionalism(s).

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses an anthropological incursion into an interdisciplinary research program of professional education in British medicine, and its attempt to bridge a gap in the scholarship of professionalism: the Ethics/Sociology divide. Ethical theories emphasize the philosophical basis of moral deliberation about (and for) professional practice and the moral aspirations assigned to (and by) practitioners of professions. Sociological theories emphasize the economic and political structuring aspects of professional work regimes and the moral actions rendered necessary to socially (re)produce forms of professionalism. A research agenda was set up for an integrated approach reconciling these two perspectives. They both reflect hegemonic Euro-American cosmologies, so this ethnocentrism should be addressed.

A Brazilian ethnographer immersed in a 14-month participant-observation fieldwork with British primary healthcare doctors - general practitioners [GPs] in Southwest England. Following a 'moral anthropology' project (Fassin 2008), it sought to understand ethical discourses and moral accounts framing GPs' moral context. It evolved into an ethnography of 'moral experience' (Kleinman 1999) of professionalism, the individual and collective moral agency of GPs and ethnographer alike (A & J Kleinman 1991).

Negotiating this methodology amidst interdisciplinarity eventually required resorting to anthropology's founding principles to guide a way forward for a relevant and valid ethnographic practice (Lewis & Russell 2011). Taking such a standpoint was a professionalism claim (Strathern 2006) that valued intersubjectivity and secured an analytical orientation towards cross-cultural comparison (J Good 1999). This process raised a call for an anthropology of contemporary professions and of emergent professionalism(s) worldwide.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the potential contribution of anthropology to recent theoretical and methodological perspectives, developed within different disciplines such as sociology, geography and nursing, on children and youth as moral agents(James and Prout 1990). Interestingly, the specific ethical concerns arising from conducting research with children and youth have scarcely been addressed within the discipline. By drawing on my experience of conducting ethnographic fieldwork with undocumented youth, this paper will argue that the history of anthropology and the ethnographic methods could valuably contribute to the ethical interdisciplinary debate not only adding a layer of complexity to issues of power in research with minors, but also tackling other relevant factors such as their social vulnerability and marginalization.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the potential contribution of anthropology to the interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological debate on children and youth as moral agents, so as to say subjects capable of assuming autonomous responsibility for their own actions, and conscious of their moral experiences (James and Prout 1990; Carnevale et al., 2008). Interestingly, even though a large array of ethical questions has been at the center of anthropological discussion since the late 1960s, the specific ethical concerns arising from conducting research with children and youth have scarcely been addressed within the discipline. By drawing on my experience of conducting ethnographic fieldwork with undocumented youth, this paper aims to fill that gap. Building on a review of how other disciplines within the field of social sciences have approached these concerns, I will argue that the history of anthropology and the ethnographic methods could valuably contribute to the ethical interdisciplinary debate not only adding a layer of complexity to issues of power in research with minors, but also tackling other relevant factors such as their social vulnerability and marginalization.

Paper short abstract:

In summer 2011 the disciplines of urban design, cultural anthropology and comunication design collaborated together during a 15 days workshop in the Po delta region (Italy). At the end of the workshop some of the results were presented in the form of graphics.

Paper long abstract:

During a 15 days workshop, a group of students who had been previuosly trained in the discipline of comunication and graphic design were collaborating with an anthropologist in order to gain a better understanding of the "Delta del Po" territory. Despite dealing with identity issues, in fact, the design discipline hasn't developed specific tools for gathering information on the fieldwork. The graphic results of this collaboration will be presented in the presentation, together with some reflections on this inter-disciplinary research.

Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the role of anthropology in public policy, administration and governance.

Paper long abstract:

This paper traces the role of anthropology in public policy with special reference to administration and governance of issues regarding indigenous communities in India from colonial to contemporary times. The relationship between anthropology and governance is rather skewed. The national discourses on use, location and implications of anthropological knowledge has undergone several shifts as it has been shuttling between several government departments like ministry of Home Affairs, Tourism, Human Resources and Culture signifying ambiguities in the minds of policy makers about its application. With globalization and the increasing role of international organizations, anthropology has re-entered the debates in significant ways especially with regard to development concerns. Based on my research in different parts of India both with government and civil society organizations, I critically look at the ways development practices are shaped by anthropology and anthropologists and how and why anthropology's contribution remains invisible. The paper seeks to examine the ways in which anthropologists as consultant or advisors work in an interdisciplinary team, interact and mutually inform each other in everyday practice.