Standing with Sol: The Spirit and Intent of Action Anthropology

Authors

  • Joshua J. Smith Western University

Abstract

This paper reflects on Finding a Place to Stand by Michael Asch (2001) in drawing out the political philosophy of Sol Tax's action anthropology with emphasis on Asch's "self-relational other," as a means to understand how Canadian anthropologists might eschew the distant position of neutrality and thus, "find a place to stand" within the ongoing struggle for self-determination between Indigenous peoples and Canada. I argue that Tax's action anthropology is a viable foundation for a relevant anthropology, if not an urgent one, in fostering just relations in Canadian anthropology today. This, in turn, acutely shows how action anthropology is philosophically, politically and historically divergent from other engaged methodologies, such as applied and collaborative anthropologies.

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Published

2015-11-30

How to Cite

Smith, J. J. (2015). Standing with Sol: The Spirit and Intent of Action Anthropology. Anthropologica, 57(2), 445–456. Retrieved from https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/424

Issue

Vol. 57 No. 2 (2015): Shamanism, Religious Renewal and Empowerment in Indigenous Societies / Consent, Collaboration, Treaty: Toward Anti-Colonial Praxis in Indigenous Settler Research Relations

Section

Thematic Section: Consent, Collaboration, Treaty

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Joshua J. Smith

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