Public Anthropology in a Borderless World

Sam Beck is Senior Lecturer in the College of Human Ecology and Director of the Urban Semester Program at Cornell University. His publications include Manny Almeida’s Ringside Lounge: The Cape Verdean Struggle for Their Neighborhood (1992) and Toward Engaged Anthropology (2013, ed. with Carl A. Maida).

• List of IllustrationsIntroductionCarl A. Maida and Sam BeckChapter 1. Community-Based Research Organizations: Co-constructing Public Knowledge and Bridging Knowledge/Action Communities through Participatory Action ResearchJean J. SchensulChapter 2. Crossing the Line: Participatory Action Research in a Museum SettingAlaka Wali and Madeleine TudorChapter 3. Monitoring the Commons: Giving “Voice” to Environmental Justice in PacoimaCarl A. MaidaChapter 4. Political-Ethical Dilemmas Participant ObservedJosiah McC. HeymanChapter 5. Public Anthropology and Structural Engagement: Making Ameliorating Social Inequality Our Primary AgendaMerrill SingerChapter 6. Public Anthropology and the Transformation of Anthropological ResearchLouise LamphereChapter 7. Public Anthropology and Its ReceptionJudith GoodeChapter 8. Anthropology for Whom? Challenges and Prospects of Activist ScholarshipAngela StuesseChapter 9. “We Are Plumbers of Democracy”: A Study of Aspirations to Inclusive Public Dialogues in Mexico and Its RepercussionsRaúl AcostaChapter 10. What Everybody Should Know about Nature-Culture: Anthropology in the Public Sphere and “The Two Cultures”Thomas Hylland EriksenChapter 11. Reimagining the Fragmented City/Citizen: Young People and Public Action in Rio de JaneiroUdi Mandel ButlerChapter 12. Urban Transitions: Graffiti TransformationsSam BeckChapter 13. Recreating Community: New Housing for Amui Djor ResidentsTony Asare, Erika Mamley Osae, and Deborah PellowNotes on Contributors

“[This] collection fruitfully examines how the turn to public engagement is transforming the discipline, leading anthropologists to reconsider the researcher's subject position and to use new techniques for conducting, communicating, and applying research to communities and publics. Contributors offer candid perspectives on their personal and professional transformations as they turn to a more engaged scholarly practice.”  ·  Krista Harper, University of Massachusetts Amherst“A truly fascinating read. It should provide countless inspiration for anthropologists of today and tomorrow. The case for public anthropology has now been well made.”  ·  Angie Hart, University of Brighton