Open AccessTeaching Public Anthropology
Author(s) -
Mihailescu Vintila
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
teaching anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2053-9843
DOI - 10.22582/ta.v10i2.566
Subject(s) - applied anthropology , outreach , sociocultural anthropology , anthropology , context (archaeology) , sociology , ideology , political science , history , politics , archaeology , law
Utilising George Stocking's distinction between empire-building and nation-building anthropologies, Mihăilescu situates the status of anthropology in Romania in the predominant national ideologies in the countries of Southeast Europe. He acknowledges the precarious position of the discipline in the national context and points to the fundamental question anthropology should be preoccupied with: "anthropology, what for?". He then advocates for a kind of public-friendly anthropology that can increase its community outreach by blending the anthropological gaze with the needs of the general public to produce an informed and broader demand of the discipline in the public space.