5th Biennial Conference on Anthropology & Education

Programs in Anthropology invite you to join us for the 5th Biennial Conference on Anthropology & Education on Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th. The theme for this event is Anthropology, Education, Comparison.

Comparison has shaped anthropological thought from the beginning of the discipline. This comparative stance has always been controversial, possibly never more so as it has become in the 21st century. The stance has been challenged by those who pointed out that, even now, most comparisons proceed from a Euro-American point of view. This may be all the more true of the anthropology of education that remains determinedly focused on Euro-American political and ideological concerns. However, comparison continues to serve multiple essential functions for anthropologists. It helps them question taken-for-granted assumptions by revealing alternative social arrangements. Comparison also illuminates patterns and variations in human practices across societies, enabling researchers to develop and test theories about social organization and processes. Finally, by examining how similar phenomena manifest differently in various contexts, anthropologists gain deeper insights into the specific systems they study.

It is now time to discuss further the place of comparison in anthropology, and particularly in the anthropology of education. In this Fifth Biennial Conference, we imagine how to maintain a comparative perspective in the conditions all anthropologists now face.