Welcome to our Blog!

This new blog emerges from the need to bring the theoretical discussions developed in the Journal Anthropological Theory to a wider audience, global in its scope, diverse in its horizons. We especially seek theory that speaks to the pressing issues facing humanity and the planet.

ATC aims to be a home for theoretical discussion —a place for long and short pieces and interviews, a space for shared topics— seeking participation in ongoing debates in significant areas of theory and its history; seeking new voices to forge new directions in the production of an Anthropological Theory from and for everybody.

In the context of a ‘toss and turn’ dynamic, ATC encourages discussions that give shape to an epistemological turn, one that seeks to understand, and improve, the conditions of anthropological knowing, so that what gets saved is robust theory or that which can be made more robust, and what gets tossed is theory that is either wrong or unknowable.

We have organized the blog in different sections, but this is just a starting point. The blog aims to mirror the emergent character of anthropological knowledge, and as such, it is open for future changes and readjustments as it develops with your ideas and proposals.

The Debates section is an open space where discussions about a common topic of interest to anthropological theorizing will take place. Convened by Guest Editors, we will encourage them to gather voices from everywhere, seeking to produce and historicize an anthropological theory that is globally embedded in different localities. The Interviews section will include interviews with anthropologists working on topics of theoretical and epistemological relevance, especially —but not only— AT authors, editorial board members of the Journal, and editors of Special Issues. The section Truth and its consequences follows from the Panel we organized at the last IUAES Conference in Poznan and aims at bringing together different pieces discussing the political economy and epistemology of truth making in the current conjuncture of ‘factlessness’; and the History of Anthropology section doesn’t need much introduction. Finally, in our Oldies but goodies we’ll rescue articles published in the Journal since its inception in the year 2001.

We are inaugurating our blog with a piece by Veena Das —member of our editorial board— titled ‘Where is Democracy in India? Asking Anthropological Theory to Open Its Doors’. This will be followed by a discussion on solidarity by two of our editors —Nina Glick Schiller and Julia Eckert— with sociologist and activist Shana Cohen. Then, some more pieces will follow: a reflection on the current socio-political situation in Chile with a call to ‘think with people’ rather than ‘about people’, a post on Sign Language, another on the Semiotics of Halal, one more on ‘legality as a commodity’, a guest edited debate on Creative Destruction, a set of pieces on Truth, and more to come…

This is an exciting moment for us and we are looking forward to continue the conversation in our blog. With this welcome statement, we would like to invite and encourage anthropologists from all over the world and at different career stages to submit proposals for individual or collective pieces, guest edited collections, interviews and other surprises you might have for us to be considered for publication at Anthropological Theory Commons.

See you in the blog!