Collaborations and contestations in publicly engaged anthropologies : an exposition

Abstract

Collaborations and contestations have always been present in collaborative research, and many case studies illustrate related conundrums. Yet, we argue that the concrete challenges emerging within dynamics of collaborations and contestations deserve much more focused attention, especially in contexts of publicly engaged anthropological work. This essay introduces a special issue of seven highly diverse contributions that are all animated by, and oriented towards, this common concern. Against the backdrop of situating this problematique within broader developments in increasingly diverse anthropologies of recent decades, we discuss the different contributions in light of their specific insights regarding collaborations and contestations. Based on these fine-grained case studies, we draw four transversal conclusions that we see as relevant also for publicly engaged anthropologies beyond the individual contributions that are assembled here.