Making Sense of ‘Anthropological-self’ in the Interactions with the ‘Scholarly Other’

Abstract

The origin of anthropology in the mid-nineteenth century coincided with the establishment and intensification of colonialism. The colonial administrators made use of the anthropological method to understand local populations for a variety of purposes. It made the discipline as an applied science since its inception. Since then, anthropologists have been deployed to understand various social conventions to design and implement culturally acceptable policies and programmes. The range of issues covered in anthropological studies made it an exhaustive and inclusive discipline. In such context, the rhetoric ‘anthropology studies everything about human life above the sky, under the sky and beneath the earth’ sounds realistic. It gave ample scope and flexibility for anthropologists to work effortlessly in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary settings. However, the academic hierarchies pose multiple challenges for anthropologists in the interaction with the ‘scholarly other.’ Such interactions based on imagined power relations occasionally lead to dilemmas, confrontation and identity crisis. But, the scope and the method of anthropology helps in accommodating ‘other perspectives’ and addressing the dilemmas while not ignoring the ‘scholarly self.’ It also enables anthropologists to convey the essence of anthropological knowledge and its application efficiently. The author reflects on the theme from the experience of working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary academic environment.