Key Informants on the History of Anthropology: anthropology in a stormy pond

Author: Alex Weingrod

Source: Ethnos, Volume 69, Number 3, September 2004 , pp. 411-428(18)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The history of anthropology is a growing field of study within the discipline itself. Our series 'Key Informants on the History of Anthropology' contributes to the discussion of how anthropology, as it is understood and practiced today, evolved and took shape. In the following invited contribution Alex Weingrod traces the beginnings of anthropology in Israel half a century ago and compares the very different conditions for fieldwork in the country that existed at that time with present-day affairs. The relationship between being a professional and a citizen easily turn complicated in the Israeli setting. But the underlying issues may be much more general: How does the anthropologist's engagement in his own society influence his/her research? What contradictions may emerge from the contrasting perspectives of 'citizen' and 'social scientist', particularly when these relate to mobilized minorities? Can professional studies be carried out when violence is almost everywhere?

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0014184042000260044

Publication date: 2004-09-01

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