Close Encounters: Bringing Anthropology to St Andrews

So, Inês, what’s the conference all about?

The conference, which is completely undergrad-led, is sponsored by the Royal Anthropological Institute. The pilot conference happened in Kent last year, and this year St Andrews was chosen to host the second one. I wanted it to be a really inclusive platform with a balance of events that undergrads could both attend and directly contribute to. I think we’ve managed a really dynamic combination with a wide range of events over both days, featuring really prominent anthropologists (which we are so lucky and honored to have!), postgraduate students who can give undergraduates a taste of what’s to come, and students just beginning their careers as anthropologists, who have a chance to speak in the Call for Papers presentation or submit art and past fieldwork recordings to the Unbounded Encounters installation in the Quad and the Closing Encounters exhibition at the Prince’s Room.

Is there a particular reason why St Andrews has been chosen to host?

Good question! I have no idea! Maybe because it coincides with the 600th Anniversary? 

Or maybe just because we are wonderful. Tell us about the theme of ‘Close Encounters’ – what kind of stuff is the conference going to cover?

The theme of the conference is Close Encounters: Bringing Anthropology Home. The idea behind it came from proposing something that challenged the stereotypes of anthropology as a discipline anchored in the study of the “exotic” or “the Other”. In the committee, most of us were interested in anthropology’s self-revision as a discipline, and on notions of an anthropology of the self, or anthropology of home. At the same time, the theme creates a really broad framework for exploring and maybe even subverting notions of closeness and distance, periphery and center, time and space. Personally, I also wanted the conference to be a kind of capsule event that would convey to people who are not necessarily anthropologists or don’t study the discipline, what Social Anthropology is about, and what kind of encounters the practice of anthropology entails or engages people in.

 Which events are you most looking forward to? 

This is such a tough question – all of them! I’m very excited for Dame Professor Marilyn Strathern’s lecture, and I’m interested in hearing what Betty Okot and Dr Malagala have to say about what was really happening in the field during the time the Kony 2012 campaign went viral. I’m really looking forward to Patrick O’Hare’s talk on Uruguayan waste recyclers and his workshop with Megan Laws (both Masters students) about the move from undergraduate to postgraduate study. I am also super excited about the image and sound installation in the quad on Friday and the Closing Encounters exhibition and event on the Saturday night!

Can everyone get involved? Even non-Anthros?

Absolutely! Anthropology is such a wide-reaching discipline and so many of the issues are so interdisciplinary! The “Kony 2012: Reopening Old Wounds” talk by Dr Malagala and Betty Okot is an example of something that will probably appeal to people of all academic backgrounds. As will the Skype session with Peru’s former President, Alejandro Toledo, about the ways in which the political system incorporates indigenous peoples, which will be followed by a discussion by anthropologist Juan Pablo Sarmiento Barletti. The way social anthropology looks at certain issues can completely change your way of thinking about things. I think it will be an amazing way for students of all disciplines to get to know what anthropology is about, what issues it concerns itself with. Some of the events are also going to be really fun and you don’t have to be an anthropologist to enjoy them! Like a hands-on material culture workshop by Dr Stephanie Bunn, the Unbounded Encounters installation and our Closing Encounters exhibition DJ’d by Theo Weiss.

Who should your fellow anthropologists be really excited to listen to?

Marilyn Strathern and Tim Ingold, definitely! But also their fellow students at the Papers presentations and in the workshops – so many rich interchanges happen at slightly more informal events like that, and St Andrews students will have the chance to meet and mingle with students from Universities all over the UK coming here for the conference, including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, UCL, LSE, Oxford and Belfast!

Sounds awesome! Where can we find details of the programme so we don’t miss anything?

On our website! Along with a ton of information about the speakers, the details of each event, info about our local food & drink sponsors’ exclusive deals, and of course, our registration page, where you can get your all inclusive two-day conference pass for £15. We will also be selling tickets on the door for £5 or £3 for each individual event (depending on the event), but I would really recommend the pass – it’s much better value!

‘Close Encounters: Bringing Anthropology Home’ will be taking place on the 12th and 13th of April. Find out more here.