Redefining Anthropology: Young Women’s Contributions to Navigating Power, Identity, and Methodology

Abstract (English)

This panel aims to bring together emerging female scholars - young women from distinct continents and academic contexts - to collectively address gendered inequalities in contemporary anthropological practice. Drawing from our fieldwork in South Africa, Mozambique, Brazil and Germany, we critically examine the challenges we face as young women navigating both the complexities of ethnographic research and the academic landscapes in which we all work.

We are inviting presentations which interrogate traditional research paradigms and explore how we, as women from diverse cultural backgrounds, redefine anthropological practice to ensure inclusivity, respect, and representation of marginalised voices. Our contributions engage with the pressing need to confront power imbalances within both our research and the institutional structures that govern academia.

As young women in the field, we encounter distinct age and gendered obstacles that inform our approaches to fieldwork—from negotiating authority with local communities to challenging the colonial legacies embedded within mainstream anthropological methodologies. Through the lens of our shared experiences and knowledge, we reflect on how our identities shape who we are as researchers, the research process and we discuss strategies to navigate the delicate balance between academic rigor and lived experience.

This panel offers a nuanced perspective on the evolving role of young women in anthropology, highlighting how we, from different parts of the world, are reshaping the discipline by adopting more inclusive, ethical, and decolonised methodologies.