The Practice of Anthropology: People and Ideas in Action

Drawing of people thinking

PROJECT IS COMPLETED
Project period: April 2015 - August 2018

The humanities and social sciences are being pushed to justify their relevance. Yet there is an increasing demand for them to respond to a wide range of scientific questions and societal problems. This also counts for anthropologists. But what do anthropologists actually do in the various kinds of collaborations they become part of? What is the impact of anthropology? How does collaboration with other professionals affect anthropology in return?

This project moved beyond the increasingly obsolete distinction between knowledge and its application - between theoretical and applied anthropology - by changing focus from anthropology as research to anthropology as a social practice inside and outside academia.

Since the 1980s anthropology has sought its object in new professional arenas and has been pulled towards and gains much of its vitality in other academic communities, e.g. medicine, science and technology, and business. It is also within these arenas that a majority of the graduates from the Department of Anthropology in Copenhagen are finding employment. What do anthropologists working in these arenas actually do? What is the impact of anthropology? How does collaboration with other professionals affect anthropology in return? And what can we learn from anthropology as a social practice that may be useful not only for anthropology itself but also for other disciplines within the humanities that engage with these new challenges and opportunities?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The project was funded by:

Danish Council for Independent Research

Danish Council for Independent Research (Det Frie Forskningsråd,  Kultur og Kommunikation), has given 5.974.806 kr. to the project.

Project: The Practice of Anthropology: People and Ideas in Action
PI: Hanne Overgaard Mogensen
Start: April 2015
End: August 2018