Work

Political polarization and the liberal bias: A plea for an anthropology of the popular

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this article, I question whether and how an engaged anthropology of the full political spectrum is possible. I propose the term anthropology of the popular to describe an approach of mobilizing ethnographic methods to expose and overcome social divisions and polarization. The anthropology of the popular is one where the anthropologist sees beyond the foil of present-day polarizations to build opportunities for dialogue and bridges where there are too few. In defining the subject of research, it is inspired by literature about emancipatory populism that associates the subaltern classes with victims of capitalism’s uneven development. The approach puts anthropological knowledge and skills to work to solve local problems and translate solutions into local languages and artifacts that can circulate when the anthropologist is no longer present, such as the cordel literature, as illustrated here in a case study in a peripheral neighborhood in Northeast Brazil.

Source: Human Organization

DOI: 10.1080/00187259.2025.2561702

Author: Luminiţa-Anda Mandache

Institution: University of Salzburg

Language: English

Topic: Anthropological Studies and Insights

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Brown University, Princeton University, Austrian Science Fund

Award: G9000238330