Applied Anthropology: Disciplinary Oxymoron?

Authors

  • Regna Darnell University of Western Ontario

Keywords:

applied anthropology, history of anthropology, collaborative anthropology, Cree, Ojibwe, interdisciplinarity

Abstract

This essay argues that the term applied anthropology is an unnecessary oxymoron because the discipline of anthropology itself entails application of anthropological knowledge. Examples from the author's personal experience are used to argue for the application of anthropology as a process of seeing in a particular way, rather than as a mechanical expectation of particular changes embedded in research design. Collaboration of anthropologists with individual consultants and their communities is long established at the centre of applied anthropology. The Canadian Anthropology Society/Société canadienne d'anthropologie (CASCA), in part through its recognition of the significant applied work of Sally Weaver and Marc-Adélard Tremblay, privileges an anthropology of application through dialogue and based in a relational ontology.

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Published

2015-04-30

How to Cite

Darnell, R. (2015). Applied Anthropology: Disciplinary Oxymoron?. Anthropologica, 57(1), 1–11. Retrieved from https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/473

Issue

Vol. 57 No. 1 (2015): Kinship Travel: Relatedness through International Tourism and Travel Networks

Section

Address - Weaver-Tremblay Award

License

Copyright (c) 2015 Regna Darnell

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