Roundtable - Cosponsored Status Awarded

Sponsored by: National Association of Student Anthropologists

Cosponsored by: Society for Anthropological Sciences

Of interest to: Practicing and Applied Anthropologists, Teachers of Anthropology in Community Colleges, Students, Those Involved in Mentoring Activities

Primary Theme: Science

Secondary Theme: Teaching

(5-0205) Standing up for Anthropology: Learning to communicate effectively across disciplines and showcasing the value of anthropological knowledge

Mastering the anthropological tool-box often requires use of techniques, methodologies, and theory from other disciplines for advancing anthropological research and practice today. Interdisciplinary collaborations, and working across these boundaries in the form of courses or research, are experiences anthropology students increasingly encounter during their education. Although these collaborations can be fruitful, engaging, and extremely successful, there are oftentimes issues in communication due to common misconceptions about the other discipline. Misconceptions may include the concentration on quantitative versus qualitative data, the partiality of certain epistemological approaches, or the dismissal of viewing another science as 'real', to name a few.

In this roundtable discussion, we will present experiences of working across disciplinary lines and provide lessons learned that engage with the conference themes of "resistance, resilience and adaptation". Each presenter will discuss: why tensions may exist in the first place, what to do when conflict emerges in communication, how to promote your anthropological knowledge effectively, how to better listen and advocate in cross-disciplinary exchange, and how to gain more insight and wisdom from working through these critical experiences. This roundtable will act as a workshop of sorts as our presenters, at different career stages, will offer tips and tricks of the trade about engaging other disciplines in conversation, while also soliciting questions from those in the audience. Geared towards graduate students and early career scholars, this roundtable will address concerns in anthropological and broader science communication and offer strategies about how to effectively communicate and move forward.

Organizer(s)

• Kayla Hurd

  PhD Student
  University of Notre Dame

Chair(s)

• Kayla Hurd

  PhD Student
  University of Notre Dame

Presenter(s)

• Kayla Hurd

  PhD Student
  University of Notre Dame

Organizer(s)

• Sherylyn Briller

  Professor
  Purdue University

Presenter(s)

• Sherylyn Briller

  Professor
  Purdue University

• Maureece Levin

  Postdoctoral Scholar
  Stanford University

• Julie Lesnik

  Assistant Professor
  Wayne State University