Paper short abstract:

In this paper we explore the possibilities offered by interdisciplinary collaborations between forensic anthropologists and social anthropologists, and present our experience of researching DVI following natural disasters, specifically the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Thailand.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper we explore the possibilities offered by interdisciplinary collaborations between forensic anthropologists and social anthropologists, and present our experience of researching DVI following natural disasters, specifically the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Thailand. While a strong focus on interdisciplinarity punctuates contemporary academic rhetoric on fostering research grant applications and outputs, the practice of teaming up forensics and social anthropologists is still seldom witnessed, partially due to respective theoretical frameworks and specialist languages that create a challenge to reciprocal enrichment and communication. DVI is a field of study that offers a unique possibility to foster and explore more collaborations of this kind. Basing our reflection on our study of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami DVI processes, we conceive our collaborative endeavour as inscribed in the field of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM), one of the most promising subfields in Medical Anthropology. By investigating the technical and organizational difficulties encountered by multi-national DVI teams, we come to an appreciation not only of the diversity pertaining to the scientific techniques available but also of how these differences translate more complex dynamics related to diverse forms of politics.