Reckoning with Anthropology’s Past: Decolonial Pedagogy and the Promise of Historical Critique

Abstract (English)

Drawing from the Brandeis "History of Anthropological Thought" Syllabus Collective and reflections on teaching an introductory anthropology course to undergraduate students at Brandeis University in the summer of 2024, this paper argues that teaching the history of anthropology not as a fixed canon but as a dynamic and evolving reflection of culture, place, and time provides students with the critical tools needed to confront issues harming our society. Through this paper, I explore how anthropology’s historical trajectory can be a productive lens for interrogating its promises and pitfalls. By emphasizing anthropology’s dual identity as the most scientific of the social sciences and the most humanistic of the humanities, I demonstrate how the discipline is uniquely positioned to tackle pressing contemporary issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of structural inequality. This approach invites students to see anthropology’s history as a mirror of broader sociopolitical changes, enabling them to critically analyze how historical contexts have shaped the discipline’s methods and theories. Furthermore, it challenges students to consider how anthropology might evolve better to address the inequities of the present and future. Rather than simply cataloging anthropology’s colonial origins, this pedagogical model encourages a nuanced understanding of its transformations, highlighting the tensions between its complicity in systems of oppression and its potential as a tool for liberation and advocacy. Ultimately, this paper argues that a decolonial pedagogy in anthropology rooted in historical critique and reflection offers a productive way forward. By acknowledging anthropology’s fraught past while reimagining its future, educators and scholars can leverage its unique position to foster critical engagement with the social issues that define our contemporary world.